When Howie was only three years old (he was born on August 22, 1973),he jumped onto his grandmother's bed and sang her the old classic song,"Baby Face." Part of the Dorough family legend includes those times littleHowie would jump up on a bed and start singing and playing his little guitar! Back then Howie was a major Michael Jackson. "Michael had a biginfluence on my life, in terms of inspiring me to sing," Howie told BOP!"He's a great artist. He's incredibly talented. When I was a little kid, I hadthe album Thriller, I had the Michael Jackson glove, and I even had theThriller skateboard!" However, there was a point in Howie's early life when he was thinkingabout another career! "I had an uncle who was a doctor and my father wasactually a police officer," Howie revealed in an online interview. "So itwas between those two careers. But once my sister got me involved at the ageof six or seven in theater then I started dreaming that someday I would besinging live in front of a big audience." "I really started performing when I was seven," Howie told 16magazine. "My first play was The Wizard of Oz -- I played a Munchkin." Butthat was just the beginning. Quickly Howie got into the fast-track show bizwhirl. He performed in Orlando community theater productions such as TheSound of Music, showboat, and Camelot; he did a Nickolodeon pilot calledWelcome Freshman, appeared in the films Parenthood and Cop and a Half, and"did tons of commercials for Walt Disney World." And, in his spare time, hesang in his church choir! Howie knew that show biz was going to be his life and he even earnedan Associate of Arts degree in music. No wonder many consider him the backboneof BSB. He's always looking ahead to the future. But Howie doesn't forgetthose who have been there all along the way. Especially the original grassrootsBackstreet Boys fans. "I'd just like to tell them, thanks for all the support,"he told a Teen Beat reporter. "We've been gone for a while and I want tothank them for constantly supporting us. Now we're back home and now we'reready to take on America and hopefully we can have the same support and keepthe BSB pride alive!"
