You could never label entertainer John "Just call me Johnny" Bisom a Johnny-come-lately. He was born with a piano key in one ear and a microphone in the other.

Well, that might be stretching it a bit, but the 40-something Long Beach native was surrounded by music as a child -- his mother was a piano teacher -- and he had his first stage role when he was age 8 or 9, portraying The Inn Keeper in his church's production of "The Christmas Story."

"I was scared stiff," Bisom said of his acting debut. "I thought I was out of my league and felt terribly insecure. I guess it was my first taste of what insecurity is all about but it's something I had to deal with when I got serious about becoming an entertainer. Even today, I'm not one who tries to gain attention, I'm much happier when I can just be a face in the crowd."

Bisom, who characterizes himself as an actor who also sings, will share the Old Town Temecula Community Theater stage with songstress Debbie Prutsman for a Sunday afternoon concert devoted to songs that have won either an Oscar (film) or Tony (Broadway musical).

Dick Stover's Onstage Orchestra will provide the musical backdrop for the vocalists as well as contribute instrumentals for the show titled "Blockbuster Hits from The Oscars and Tonys."

It will be the third time Bisom and Prutsman have worked together, including a concert at the Old Town venue last year when they paid tribute to songs featured in animated films. They also were paired a number of years ago elsewhere in productions of "Into The Woods," a Stephen Sondheim musical, and Jerry Herman's celebrated "Hello, Dolly."

"It'll be lark," said Bisom of the Sunday show. "Debbie, Dick and I have worked together often enough that we have developed a warm friendship. I think that camaraderie will be evident to the audience."

Bisom and Prutsman will be singing in tandem three times: "Comedy Tonight" from "Fiddler On The Roof" that will open the concert, "Beauty And The Beast" from the movie of the same name and "Till There Was You," written by Meredith Wilson for the Broadway blockbuster "The Music Man." And when they're not singing together, they'll be singing separately.

Bisom had an early interest in both singing and acting, but approached both art forms in an orderly fashion.

"To be honest, I always liked both but I realized I wanted acting to be my path while I was still in high school though it was not until I was studying theater at Long Beach City College that I was offered a singing role in play," he said. "I took it and just hoped I could pull it off. I did. But dropped out of college after my sophomore year to concentrate on gaining experience in the theater."

It wasn't easy for the product of the Long Beach school system. He needed work but he also was studying theater privately with several different teachers and nonunion jobs didn't pay much. So, for this budding actor, there were more sandwiches than steaks.

"I stuck with it though because in acting, I could be somebody I wasn't in real life," he said. "Acting gave me a boldness to be another person altogether. I guess you might call it a total transformation. Or put another way, acting gave me a way to explore myself and leave my shyness off stage."

He recalled his ascent to the top of his profession once took him to Vista where he hung his hat for a couple of years to gain additional experience in San Diego County productions. He got the experience, alright, but he returned to Los Angeles because he could make more money. Also, it gave him the exposure he felt he needed.

Since then, things have broken Bisom's way. His stage roles have run from Will Rogers In "Will Rogers Follies" to Johnny in "Johnny Guitar" to The Scarecrow in "The Wizard Oz" to "Plaid Tidings" which only recently-ended an extended run at the Welk Resort Theater. He also has been tapped for films and television productions, including "Veronica Mars," "ER," "Desperate Housewives," and "The X-Files" and he also can be heard in the animated film, "Shrek."

Does it make any difference to Bisom that the melodies he sings in a musical relate in some manner to the play's plot or his character whereas in a concert, he moves from one song to the next that are unrelated to each other?

None at all, according to the vocalist.

"I involve myself in the lyrics regardless of the setting," he said. "Every song is an adventure. Lyrics often take on new meanings from one concert to the next, so it really makes no difference if the song is something I've sung previously or never before."

Plainly, Bisom appears to be pretty happy cat.

"I'm totally satisfied with what I'm doing," he said. "As for my future, I just want there always to be a job waiting for me when I finish the current one."

Yet he's savvy enough to know that if it doesn't work out that way every time -- well, that's show biz.

"Blockbuster Hits from The Oscars and Tonys"

When: 2 p.m. Jan. 18

Where: Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main St., Temecula

Tickets: $30-$36 (Temecula Presents package price $145-$155)

Info: (866) 653-8696