By Diane Prokop

Times Staff Writer

Eddie Bruce is a lucky man.

The Somerton native not only won $25,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in May, he gets paid to do what he loves for a living.

The singer and leader of the Eddie Bruce Orchestra will perform his tribute to Tony Bennett at the prestigious New York supper club, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, on Sunday evening. The nightclub is owned by singer/pianist Michael Feinstein.

Except for a short stint working in his mother’s office, Bruce, a 1971 George Washington High School grad, has always worked in the music business.

“I was one of these guys that never waited a table, never delivered a paper,” he said.

He fell in love with the industry at an early age.

On his sixth birthday, his mother took him to see the Three Stooges live at the original Latin Casino, when the nightclub was still at 12th and Walnut streets before its move to Cherry Hill, N.J, in 1960 and its eventual demise 18 years later.

The real thrill for Bruce came after the comedy trio left the stage and the “first lady of song,” Ella Fitzgerald, stepped onto it.

“I was absolutely mystified by her and the music,” Bruce said by phone last week.

“I was an anachronism. In the sixties, my friends were listening to the (Rolling) Stones, and I was listening to (Frank) Sinatra and (Tony) Bennett,” Bruce said.

He was performing their music as well.

Bruce started singing when he was 11 or 12 at talent shows. In 1968, he appeared on the first Al Alberts variety show on Channel 48 and, until he was 18, performed as a regular “ShowStopper” (teenage performer) on Al Alberts Showcase after the talent show moved to Channel 6.

“It took twelve hours to do a one-hour show,” Bruce recalled.

During his tenure on the program, Bruce sang many a standard with Alberts, the former Four Aces star who died on Nov. 27 at age 87. (Bruce also paid tribute to another local legend who died in 2009, Harry Kalas, when he sang the signature tune High Hopes during a memorial for the longtime Phillies broadcaster.)

At 15, Bruce took a page from Bennett’s songbook when he appeared on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour at the legendary Ed Sullivan Studio in New York.

“I loved old-time show biz and the ‘Rat Pack,’” Bruce said, referring to the media-anointed group of crooners led by Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. some 45 years ago.

While Bruce’s orchestra plays everything from Top 40 to disco to swing for a great party atmosphere at weddings, bar mitzvahs and corporate affairs, his cabaret act is where he gets to sing the old standards he loves.

Bruce, who lives in Northern Liberties, has played for audiences at Bally’s in Atlantic City, the former Odette’s in New Hope, and Danny’s Skylight Room in New York.

His Bennett tribute broke the box-office record at Morgan’s Cabaret in the Prince Music Theater and garnered great reviews at the Metropolitan Room in New York.

He’s excited about his upcoming Feinstein’s gig. The supper club’s Web site says, “Only the best of the best are invited to perform at Feinstein’s at Loew’s Regency.”

“It’s really a big deal,” Bruce said.

While he hopes to book more dates at Feinstein’s this year, Bruce and the Tom Adams Trio will continue to perform Wednesday evenings at the Moshulu, the tall-ship restaurant at Penn’s Landing, through March. Guest artists have included master tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna and local singers Paula Johns and Denise Montana.

“The Moshulu is kind of unique. It (has a) supper club feeling. You can have dinner, drinks, listen to music or dance. It’s a real fun evening,” Bruce said.

He wants folks to know that cabaret also can be enjoyed in other venues as well. He performs his show for fund-raisers and black-tie dinner dances.

In fact, he hopes to take the Bruce on Bennett show on the road by the middle of this year.

“It’s pretty versatile,” he said.

Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com