Who can ever forget that night in 1972 when the “Poseidon” capsized at sea? Only a small number of survivors were found. Although each of them played a part in surviving this tragedy, it was the wisdom of young Robin Shelby who directed them through the hazardous passages of the ship and eventually to escape. Being an inquisitive young lad he had tour the ship shortly after boarding and learned that the ships hull was much thinner at the stern. He was familiar with the ships layout and realized any rescue attempt would come from there.

Of course we know that “The Poseidon Adventure” was a movie. One of its stars, actor Eric Shea played the part of Robin Shelby, he would go on to work for the Disney Company in a handful of films. An internet search for photos of Eric Shea yields very few results. In fact the cast photos from “The Poseidon Adventure” do not include him.

He played the title character of Alvin Fernald in three made for TV films.

• Alvin the Magnificent (1973)
• The Whiz Kid and the Mystery at Riverton (1974)
• The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper: Part 1 (1976)

These were some of my favorite films growing up. I liked the mystery but mostly I enjoyed the inventions Alvin came up with. One of them was a rocket launcher for delivering newspapers from his bike. Today you can find that sort of thing at sporting events when they bring out the T-Shirt cannon. Eric’s costars were Clay O’Brien and Kim Richards. They too starred in other Disney films. Such as, The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Witch Mountain films respectively.The Whiz Kid films were based on a book series by Clifford B. Hicks.

Although penned by Mr. Hicks, this quote taken from The Wacky World of Alvin Fernald sounds a bit like Walt Disney.

“What My Mind Can Conceive, I Can Achieve”