My second tribute to Young Talent Time is not as packed with memories and commentary as I’d like it to be – at least not in the usual way. This isn’t because the cast member I’m focusing on was too busy recording or performing around the world to answer more than just a handful of questions – although that should indeed be the case, and I wish it was. It also wasn’t because the team member and I didn’t get along well enough to spend more interview time together – because we thought the world of one another.
It isn’t because the young stars contribution to the success of Young Talent Time was minimal or insignificant – because the enormous impact she made on the lives of the fans, which endures to this day, proves the opposite is true. No, as most YTT devotees are aware, the reason my tribute isn’t all it should be (with me asking questions and the team member answering them), is because my beautiful and very precious little YTT sister, Juanita Coco, had her life cut short in a car accident at only 17 years of age. And, because this is meant to be a wonderful celebration of Juanita’s life, I won’t say anything more about her passing – it’s too sad, and she deserves us to remember her, and smile.
My memories of Juanita are of a terrific young lady filled with happiness and energy. I recall driving home from The Sydney Myer Music Bowl and my former wife, Judy telling me how excited Juanita was to see me appearing with John Young and the team as special guest artist for the “I Say No” to drugs concert we’d just performed. Juanita had such a friendly, loving and sincere way about her – what you saw was what you got – and she was a little angel.
Juanita had a special intangible quality that endeared her to people in an instant. Most entertainers dream of being so charismatic – it’s a rare gift. Would she have gone on to enjoy a successful career as an adult entertainer had she lived? Yes, I believe so. She certainly had every element required for that to happen, and in humble my opinion was more talented than one or two of the team members who went on show business success.
Am I saying that the other team members didn’t deserve their success? No, definitely not. I’m only saying that Juanita had more to offer.
On the subject of the most talented team members, I’ll be posting an article on that very thing in the next day or two – so watch out for that. It’s a bit risky, I know – because I could potentially ruffle a few TV sibling feathers. Still, it’ll be fun to list my top 10, and even more fun to check out the reaction of the fans – and the team members who don’t make the list.
Getting back to Juanita, I’m going to post a few of my favourite Juanita videos below, and I invite you, her fans, to leave a comment with your own thoughts and memories. Let her know how you feel, because she’d love it ……. and can’t you just see that beautiful smile?
