Dec 28, 2012 By Deana Carpenter 4 min read

Bethel Park native April Brucker, who many folks may have seen on shows like TLC’s “My Strange Addiction” recently came to the Bethel Park Public Library to talk about and sign copies of her first book, the recently released “I Came, I Saw, I Sang: Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl.”

Brucker graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2003 and now lives in Hell’s Kitchen near Times Square in New York City. She credits her family, teachers and mentors for her success. She spoke to a crowd of about 25 at the library on Dec. 27.

“My mom has been especially instrumental,” she said of Anne Brucker, a personal trainer in Bethel Park. She added that she and her mom would proofread her book for an hour each night over the phone. Brucker also said her sister, Brenna, was also a big help.

And, she thanked the Bethel Park Library for issuing her first library card when she was 4 years old.

Brucker started doing singing telegrams as a way to pay her bills after attending New York University. She attended the Lee Strausburg institute at NYU and studied method acting under some of the same professors that had taught actors like Alec Baldwin and Adam Sandler.

“It’s a love letter to New York City and the things young people do to make their dreams come true,” she said. Brucker said she’s still “doing the singing telegram thing” and is also a spokesperson for the company for which she works.

One of the memorable telegrams Brucker recalled was “the time I caught on fire.” At the time, Brucker said she was delivering a happy birthday telegram to a customer at a West Village biker bar who had turned 21. The bar’s owner had ordered the telegram and Brucker came to deliver it in a pink gorilla suit carrying a birthday cake with lit candles on it. Her arm caught on fire from the candles and she remembered what she had learned as a kid – to stop drop and roll – so that’s what she did.

“I tossed the cake in the air and started rolling,” Brucker laughed. She said she was not hurt in the incident and the owner of the bar offered her free food and drinks, but she wanted to get out of there after that, so she just went home. She added she did get a $50 tip that night.

Brucker also talked about another, not so great telegram delivery moment. She delivered an “I’m sorry” telegram to a man that was from his girlfriend. She went to his apartment and sang the telegram and when she was finished she said the man said, “‘Do you know what she did?'” Brucker said she didn’t.

The man said that his girlfriend had, after a couple of drinks, run over his foot with her car several times while laughing. The man turned out to be a ballroom dancer and told Brucker that he was suing her and that the telegram was another piece of evidence for his case.

Brucker also recalled the time that she delivered a singing telegram to the Saudi Arabian Royal Family at a very fancy hotel. She was asked to perform Happy Birthday in a showgirl costume, but was told to be “charming – not seductive.” She was also told not to look anyone in the eye during the performance.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “Everyone was dressed to the nines. They were very charming.” She got a “very generous tip” from them.

Brucker said her next plans include writing the musical version of her book. In addition to writing and delivering singing telegrams, Brucker is also a freelance writer, an actress, a voiceover artist and a stand-up comedian. She has also appeared on the “Rachael Ray Show,” “Last Comic Standing 5,” “Entertainment Tonight” and “Inside Edition.”

Brucker’s book, “I Came, I Saw, I Sang: Memoirs of a Singing Telegram Delivery Girl,” is available on www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com or www.infinitypublishing.com. Until Jan. 7, a portion of the proceeds from the sales of the book will be donated to Sandy Hook Elementary School.