Mark Twain heads West again to Virginia City, Carson City and Lake Tahoe

The historical American character and humorist, Mark Twain is returning to Nevada and Lake Tahoe California, so be on the lookout for an elderly man with a distinctive mound of unruly white hair, wearing a white suit with an ever-present cigar in his hand. Actually, Rob Alvey, a professional geologist and adjunct Professor at York College in NYC is coming. Alvey, an award winning geologist with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Division is well regarded for his unique sense of humor and an uncanny resemblance to Samuel Clemens alter ego, Mark Twain. Even Hal Holbrook, the award-winning actor famous for his own impersonation of Mark Twain, remarked, “My God, you look more like Mark Twain than I do!” and they exchanged autographs.

Alvey has performed many times as Mark Twain adding his own humor and perspective to entertain and educate folks about Mark Twain. Alvey’s popular performances have raised over $12,000 for charity. “It’s not what I planned, but several years ago I realized I was slowly ‘morphing’ into Mark Twain. I couldn’t prevent it, so figured I’d just do what I could with it. Frankly, my wife would have been happier if I morphed into Brad Pitt instead.”

Alvey will be spending time in Virginia City and Carson City thanks to a research grant through the York College Adjunct Professionals program. He will be focusing on the period when young Samuel Clemens joined his older brother Orion in Nevada. Orion, a Missouri newspaper editor, had been appointed Secretary to the Governor of the Nevada Territories as a reward for his support for Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 election campaign. Younger brother Samuel joined him and spent over 2 years prospecting and exploring the area before obtaining a job as a reporter in Virginia City. Fortunately for history, Clemens was a failure as a prospector but found his talents as a writer and humorist to be an eternal treasure for America.

Alvey’s itinerary includes a tour of the Comstock Mine, a ride on a steam train to Gold Hill, visits to the Virginia City Historical Society and other areas where Samuel and Orion Clemens were known to frequent back in the day. Alvey is also booked on a historic paddle wheel steam boat ride on Lake Tahoe, but promises not to take control of the steering wheel to try to re-create Clemens job as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi.

Alvey, aka Mark Twain, is scheduled to be in the area June 22-29, 2016. If you are interested in meeting, interviewing or hosting “Mark Twain”, please contact Rob Alvey at robalvey1@gmail.com.

Rob Alvey’s Resume of “Mark Twain” performances:
• "Mark Twain Comes to Garden City Tonight"
Garden City Community Church, Garden City NY
2009
• "Mark Twain - Alive in NY"
Actors Guild Benefit, West Broadway, NYC NY
2010
• "Mark Twain- Alive in Garden City"
Garden City Historical Society, Garden City, NY
2012
• "Mark Twain- The Evolution of Man" York College
Jamaica, NY
2014
• "Mark Twain - Alive Again in Garden City,"
Garden City Casino, Garden City, NY
2015
• "How I Became Mark Twain"
Community Forum, Garden City, NY
2016
• "Being Mark Twain and Other Problems"
Westbury Arts Council, Westbury, NY
2016
• "How I Morphed into Mark Twain"
Garden City Senior Center, Garden City, NY
2016

Serious Background Information:
Robert M. Alvey, P.G., a native New Yorker, received BS and MS degrees in Geology in 1974 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY, and has practiced engineering, environmental and consulting geology in 7 decades. He served in Saudi Arabia with the USACE as a geotechnical engineer, was later employed as a research engineer with Brooklyn Union Gas utility and for nearly the last 20 years has been geologist with USEPA Region 2 in the Emergency & Remedial Response Division earning 3 Bronze Awards and superlative ratings for his efforts on Superfund Sites. He was former co-chair of the EPA Groundwater Forum and served a detail as Assistant to the Regional Administrator. He is nearly 20 years as an Adjunct Professor with York (CUNY) College Geology Department in Queens, NY and has frequently acted in original musical comedies with the Garden City Community Theatre. He also founded an innovative community based bird sanctuary working to invest nearly $2,000,000 in services at the 12 acre site.