COUNTRY STAR MAKES DREAM COME TRUE

MOUNDS, Ill. -- Billy Ray Cyrus has a big fan in Southern Illinois -- a small fan really, 9-year-old Bronson Killius.

Mention the name Cyrus and a wide grins spreads across the face of Bronson.

Bronson has been a Cyrus fan since the country music superstar emerged into the spotlight in March 1992 with his "Achy Breaky Heart" video. Two months later Cyrus stock soared with the release of "Some Gave All," one of the most successful debut albums in music history.

Bronson is an even bigger Cyrus fan these days, as he rides a four-wheeler up and down the hills of his grandfather's farm and along the banks of the Ohio River.

The four-wheeler was a gift to Bronson from the singer.

"This (four wheeler) is something that Bronson has dreamed about but never thought about it happening," said his mother, Kathy Killius.

Bronson and his mother had tickets to a Cyrus concert in Carbondale, in November, and were disappointed when the event was canceled.

But, when Cyrus appeared at the Executive Inn in Paducah, Ky., Bronson and his mother were in the crowd, hoping above all hope that the singer would autograph Bronson's small guitar.

"We had no idea we would get close enough to talk to Cyrus," said Killius. "But we were hoping. As soon as he finished his final song, `Wild Thing,' I pushed Bronson's giant stroller -- he has cerebral palsy -- near the stage and started to take a picture of Cyrus."

Cyrus noticed the youngster and motioned for him to approach the stage.

"Bronson, who was ecstatic, and Cyrus became engaged in a conversation," said Killius.

Cyrus told Bronson that "Bronson" was a cool name.

"He's also a cool guy," said Cyrus, in reference to Charles Bronson, a movie star who is a fancier of motorcycles. "Do you have a Harley Davidson?"

"Not yet," said Bronson.

During the conversation, Bronson mentioned that he had ridden on a four-wheeler, one of his favorite pastimes along with horseback riding."

"Hey, If I bought you a four-wheeler, would you wear a helmet when you were riding?" asked Cyrus.

"Bronson was speechless, but shook his head yes," said his mother.

Cyrus wrote a number on the corner of the guitar.

"Call this number, ask for Jack," said Cyrus. "You'll get your four-wheeler."

"I was also speechless," said Killius. "I wasn't sure I had heard right. I had tears in my eyes. Bronson was the happiest he'd been in his life."

"Glancing at my watch, I noticed that it was 12:15 a.m. May 8," said Killius. "I realized that through my son's joy, I had just received the best Mother's Day present of a lifetime."

The following week Bronson selected his four-wheeler at a nearby dealership, and a check arrived from Cyrus for the cost of it.

"We've been riding it everywhere," said Killius. "We have friends and family who have farms. I made a special strap that goes around both of us, and he holds on to the handle with his good left hand. We've ridden so much that he has a blister on a blister on his hand.

"But Bronson is one happy little boy," said his mother, who is a cosmetologist.

"Cyrus loves youngsters," said his manager, Jack McFadden of McFadden Artists in Nashville. "He does a lot of things involving children."

McFadden, who lived in the Sikeston, Mo., area the first 14 years of his life, has managed several country and western singers, including Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Freddy Hart.

"He (Cyrus) is not looking for publicity," said McFadden.

Recently, Cyrus met some "special needs" youngsters backstage following a concert in Baltimore, Md. "One of the youngsters started talking about "Wheel of Fortune," saying he liked to watch that show."

Within a week, Cyrus arranged for all 12 of these children to attend the "Wheel of Fortune" show. "He arranged to fly them to the show and put them up at the Ritz Carlton Hotel," said McFadden.

Cyrus' actions are not limited to children, said McFadden.

"On May 30, Cyrus was watching a television newscast when he saw a guy receiving his Purple Heart 25 years after being wounded," said McFadden. "The fellow mentioned he would like to visit the Vietnam War Memorial Wall."

Cyrus arranged for the man and his wife to fly to Washington to visit the Wall.

Cyrus spent several years chasing his own dream.

"I chased this dream for many, many years," said Cyrus in his biographical sheet. "I tried and failed many times. There were times when life would just knock me down and I'd lay there breathless. But I learned a big lesson from playing baseball."

That lesson, said Cyrus, is that you can lay there and cry about it or get up and dust yourself off. "I always believe if you stood at the plate long enough and kept swinging, you gotta get a hit."

Cyrus' big hit came with "Achy Breaky Heart," a 1992 hit that put the Flatwoods, Ky., native into the big time.

Before that Cyrus' dream took him from his Kentucky home to the West Coast and the East Coast. He played in bands in California two years but wound up selling cars at an auto dealership. He headed east, and for four years played four sets a night, five nights a week in a ragtime lounge.

During weekends he drove into Nashville visiting offices on Music Row armed with his portfolio of photos and music.

Then he met McFadden. This led to a Mercury Records contract in 1990 and "Achy Breaky Heart." The single stormed the charts and became the Country Music Association's "Single of the Year." A month later the "Some Gave All" album debuted and has sold more than nine million copies.

"A lot of things have changed for me," said Cyrus. "But what is important is that when I look in the mirror I still see Billy Ray Cyrus from Flatwoods, Ky.