WARREN Teen gets his shot at an acting career

The JFK freshman will be in a Cadillac Escalade television commercial.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Kathleen Mosko always thought her son, Brian, ought to be in pictures. Now people in the business are starting to agree.
Representatives from Make-A-Wish Foundation and General Motors picked up Brian, 14, and his parents Kathleen and Greg, in a FAB Limousine on Monday to take them to Pittsburgh where they were to spend the night before flying to Los Angeles this morning to film a television commercial for General Motors' luxury SUV, Cadillac Escalade. The commercial will air nationally.
It's his wish from Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes for children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions.
General Motors and members of United Auto Workers who work in its plants are one of the largest annual corporate sponsors of the organization.
Brian yearns for a career in movies or television. While in the land of glitz and glamour, Brian will meet with acting coaches and have a photo shoot with a professional photographer.
Earlier this year, the John F. Kennedy High School freshman won five awards at the International Model and Talent Competition in New York City. The competition included more than 1,800 contestants.
Disorder
Brian was born with hydrocephalus, more commonly known as water on the brain. He was also deaf and was diagnosed with Erb's palsy, a disorder that caused paralysis on his right side.
When Brian was younger, a developmental specialist told his mother he had a low IQ and not to expect too much from him. She rejected that diagnosis.
Surgery restored Brian's hearing, and by working with his mother in home school and with the staff at Fairhaven's Early Intervention Program, Brian progressed.
A critical portion of Brian's immune system is missing, making him more susceptible to illness. It's a condition similar to the one suffered by John Travolta's character in the TV movie, "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble." His chances of contracting an infection are about 10 times greater than the average person.
Every four weeks he receives an intravenous treatment that provides an artificial immune system. He's been undergoing the procedure since he was 7. The cost is $7,600 per infusion.
People with the disease typically die between the ages of 15 and 30.
TV show audition
Besides his success at the modeling competition and news of the Escalade commercial, Brian auditioned two weeks ago in Chicago for a television show. The family expects to learn those results soon.
"I've always thought that Brian was special, but I'm his mother," Kathleen Mosko said. "But now that all of these industry people have been telling me, I thought, 'Holy cow, I better start paying attention to this.' "
Absent from all of the recent happenings in Brian's life is his grandmother, who died more than two years ago. But Brian believes she's been with the family in spirit.
Kathleen Mosko says her mother stood by her and her son through all of his problems and other difficulties until her death.
"One day Brian said, 'Have you ever noticed that nothing good happened to us until Grandma died? She's working on the other side for us,' " she said.
After initially making contact with Make-A-Wish a few months ago, Kathleen got word the commercial would be a reality Nov. 12.
"His wish came on what would have been my mother's 82nd birthday," Kathleen said.