GLYN WEBB IS MARK TWAIN

Most people think of Mark Twain simply as a great 19th century writer, but he also was the most popular performer of his day.

"He was like a Madonna or Presley of his time," says Glyn Webb, a teacher who has parlayed his resemblance to Twain and love of his work into a second career.

Webb, a substitute teacher in Paducah, Ky., and McCracken County schools, will portray Mark Twain in a performance at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the University Center Ballroom. Webb's presentation will be one the entire family can enjoy, spokeswoman Sandra Shupp said.

The show is being presented by the Students of Language Arts, the Historic Preservation Association, the Center for Region History and Student Government.

Admission is $2 per person, $5 per family and free for university students.

A reception at the Johnson Faculty Centre on North Pacific will be held after the performance.

As a performer, Mark Twain would travel from town to town, speaking before huge groups of people and charging admission, Webb said. Fortunately, many of Twain's speeches found their way into print.

Webb, who slips in and out of character while talking, will be entirely in character during his appearance at Southeast. "I like to come and mingle and meet people," he said. A "good pipe" and a white suit are his only props.

He's been mobbed while visiting Hannibal. "People want to get their pictures taken with Mark Twain, and they really want to know some intimate things about him," Webb said.

"I have to bone up on his life and work."

Twain was a vigorous man who was still dancing past midnight at age 70 and whose doctor nagged him to stop running up and down the stairs.

Twain's lectures, which most of Webb's material is gleaned from, have lost none of their spirit either, Webb says.

"His themes were timeless and universal. He was always speaking out against prejudice and mistreatment of man to man. And he always thought he could be more effective if he presented things with humor."

Congress is a still-popular topic Twain was always talking about, Webb said, raising the pitch of his voice into a facsimile of Twain's.

"Suppose you were an idiot. Suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

A retired English teacher who now substitutes, Webb traces his interest in Twain's work to high school. He began resembling the writer once he grew a mustache.

"My hair turned gray very early in life," he said.

A faculty follies skit in which he borrowed heavily from Hal Holbrook's Twain act launched Webb's present preoccupation.

Almost 20 years later, he has researched and memorized more than two hours of material.

"Always do right," he said, saying goodbye as Twain. "This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."