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David Whiting mug for new column. 
Photo taken February 8, 2010. Kate Lucas, The Orange County Register.
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There are cool jobs. And then there are really cool jobs.

John McEntee is an entertainment producer, manager and agent. Want Stevie Nicks at your party?

For a fee, McEntee can make that happen. Want to meet Liza Minnelli backstage? McEntee can make that happen too.

For a meet and greet there’s no fee. But it helps to be a special friend – or a special fan.

McEntee’s professional world is celebrities, musicians, comedians and singers. Las Vegas is practically a second home. This month, McEntee is setting up a new production at the Palms Casino for impressionist-singer Jeff Tracta.

Walking through a side gate to McEntee’s home – and, yes, it’s big, 10,500-square-feet big – I wonder if I should have worn a big gold chain and shades.

An unassuming guy with regular glasses and jeans offers a friendly wave.

Is this the guy who has managed to turn a church parking lot fundraiser into one of Orange County’s biggest events?

• • •

To really know McEntee, is to visit the home where he grew up.

It’s a small one-story house in Brea with shingle siding, almost no yard – and it faces an alley.

The garage is more shack than a place for cars.

Growing up with seven brothers and his parents in the two-bedroom, one-bath house, McEntee often slept in the garage. On some nights, it was so cold he could see his breath.

But despite his success as an adult, McEntee stays close to his roots. Let me rephrase that. Because of his success, McEntee stays close to his roots.

When things get tough, he drives 10 minutes from his home on a hill in Fullerton to the old house. It reminds him how far he’s come.

Riding together, I pick out his estate above. With a sense of wonderment, McEntee, 57, tells me, “I used to look up at this hill and think someday I’d really like to have a home up there.”

Shaking his head, McEntee adds, “Now I do.”

We pass the church where he worshipped growing up, St. Angela’s. It’s still the family church.

It’s difficult to envision that in one week the vacant asphalt church parking lot will transform into “Summer Fest 25” with 17,000 visitors.

The “25” in Summer Fest stands for the festival’s 25th anniversary. It started when a nun asked McEntee to help launch a fund-raising carnival.

Already an established talent scout and president of his own entertainment company, TEI International, McEntee asked what the nun had lined up for entertainment.

“I have a clown,” she replied. “Me.”

• • •

Their faith doesn’t define McEntee and his wife of 31 years, Monica. But you could call it their rock.

Walking past the fountain in the expansive atrium fronting the home, you pass a statue of the Virgin Mary. The home’s gray walls and slate floors are the same color as the inside of Notre Dame.

But the church analogy stops there. The couple had the home built eight years ago and it exudes a homey feel.

Spend time with the McEntees and you come to realize it would be impossible for the vibe to be anything but informal.

Monica is no St. John Knits woman. On this day, like her husband, she relaxes in comfy jeans.

The love and partnership between the two is immediately obvious. I mention something about Monica. Her husband smiles, “She has Elizabeth Taylor’s eyes.”

When I ask about their journey, they share answers.

How did they meet?

She: “John was in a macho man contest and I was in the front row screaming.”

He: “I came in second.”

Those were McEntee’s salad days. A club owner client was short one macho man and asked McEntee to take off his shirt. McEntee declined. The owner put $50 on the table. McEntee took off his shirt.

When you start your business career at age 7 picking up trash to earn hotdogs and sodas, you don’t pass up $50.

But as an adult, you do donate the entertainment to help out St. Angela’s and bring in such headliners as MC Hammer.

And you decline charging admission because you understand what it’s like to be poor.

McEntee says, “I never got to go to Disneyland.”

Now? He lives a magical life.

• • •

McEntee lists Mandalay Bay, Wells Fargo and Caesars Palace among his clients. His constellation of stars includes Bette Midler, The Black Eyed Peas and Snoop Dogg.

The couple has a covered stage in their backyard, complete with full kitchen, pizza oven and sound-proof bathrooms that eliminate flushing sounds during ballads.

Their pool, spa and water slide includes a seven-fountain play area for kids.

But the reason for the McEntees’ home entertainment system isn’t about partying. Like Summer Fest, it’s about paying it forward.

Whether a “small” party with 400 guests or a “large” event with 1,000, there is purpose behind Monica’s planning and hard work.

Drop by their Christmas event, and you’re treated to Monica’s homemade turkey soup. But don’t show up without a gift for a needy child. They regularly collect 2,500 presents.

Halloween is about making dozens of costumes for homeless children.

McEntee also works with the American Heart Association, St. Jude and CHOC hospitals, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and Special Olympics.

Still, if you want to see McEntee really light up, ask him about his son’s viral sensation on YouTube, “Johnny Mac Trick Shot Quarterback.”

Nearly seven million views.

• • •

Their trick-passing son, Johnny, was quarterback at Servite High and last season was the University of Connecticut’s quarterback.

In the billiard room, there’s a painting of Johnny throwing a pass. Nearby, there’s a boxing glove signed by Mohammed Ali, a signed document by P.T. Barnum stating, “Time is money,” and an Angels baseball shirt signed by Manager Mike Scioscia.

The former ball player happens to be godfather to the McEntees’ middle child, Melissa. And, yes, there’s a photo of her, too – with President Bush.

And their eldest child? Her photo’s front and center. McEntee proudly offers her chosen profession.

Nina teaches music and Spanish at – where else? – St. Angela’s.

David Whiting’s column appears four days a week; [email protected].