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If there's something familiar about the hip-talking, Motown-singing, finger-poppin' character that actor Bruce Willis portrays on the hit series "Moonlighting," the residents of this small town located 30 miles south of Philadelphia know just what it is.
"The way he acts is typical of Penns Grove," says Sgt. William Sawyer of the local police department. "People from here are unique. He (Willis) was (a teen-ager) after the '50s and '60s, but he never got out of that mentality: It's a doo-wop personality."
Willis, 31, is Penns Grove's biggest claim to fame (although not its first one: "Dynasty" star John Forsythe was also born here). Born and bred in this small borough of 6,000, Willis is fondly remembered as the local boy who made good, the class clown and cut-up who stays in touch with his family and friends.
"He has never forgotten his friends," says Pat Pratta, the beauty parlor operator who worked on Willis' mother's hair for years. Pratta's shop, located on a small back street, is adorned with a prominent picture of Willis, complete with personalized inscription. The picture hangs on the wall by Pratta's chair, and in its lower left-hand corner, the owner-operator has stuck a small color portrait of Willis' mother.
"He sneaks back into town now and then," says Pratta. "When he comes home, the word is spread all over town, but he tends to keep to himself."
Even if Willis low-keys it when he comes home, it's obvious that Penns Grove could use whatever...