About Shari Claudette Fortino

Shari Claudette Fortino brings more than five decades of experience in performance, encompassing singing, dancing, comedy, choreography, and theatrical production. Her first television appearance came at just six months of age—and she has remained firmly on stage ever since.

Throughout her career, Shari has performed extensively in theater, film, and television. In 1987, she co-narrated an Academy Award–nominated documentary about the Debonaire Special Dancers alongside Jack Lemmon.

Shari is the former co-owner of the Bakersfield Melodrama Theatre, where she spent 17 years building an extraordinary legacy of performance and choreography credits. She is also the founder and former owner of the Vaudeville Express Singing Telegram Company, entertaining Kern County audiences for more than 35 years with singing telegrams and vaudeville-style performances.

About Michael Wayne Smothers

Michael Wayne Smothers began his professional music career at age 21 with his first paid engagement at the legendary Blackboard in Bakersfield, California, performing six nights a week as a singer and drummer. Over the next 12 years, he earned his living performing at many of Bakersfield’s most prominent dance clubs.

During this period, Michael frequently shared the stage with legendary artists including Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins, Joe Maphis, Jim Shaw, and Terry Kristopherson—musicians closely associated with the Buck Owens circle. His diverse musical background includes performing in the classic rock trio Rough Edges, singing jazz standards, writing lead sheets and charts with the Bakersfield Jazz Workshop, and leading the house band for a popular dance club headed by his dance-instructor wife, Shari Fortino.

Now based on California’s Central Coast, Michael continues to collaborate with outstanding musicians, including longtime colleague Danny Grasseschi, while pursuing ongoing creative projects.

Shari Fortino & Michael Smothers — The Latecomers

Together, Shari Fortino and Michael Smothers write original songs and perform throughout California’s Central Coast as The Latecomers. Originally formed as a folk duet, the group has grown into a full band while still retaining the ability to perform as an intimate duo. Their live and video performances blend storytelling, musicianship, and a lifetime of shared stage experience.