"Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.," he says with an engaging smile and as much pride as if he were saying "John D. Rockefeller IV" or, more fittingly, "Harry Connick Jr."

And rightly so.

Week by week this summer, Landau sang his way to celebrity status, surviving round after round of competition on "America's Got Talent."

The NBC show, now in its sixth season, is basically Ted Mack's Amateur Hour with more glitz and higher stakes. Amateur performers vie for a $1 million top prize and the chance to headline a Las Vegas show.

On Wednesday night, Landau won.

West Virginia won right along with him.

He joins the ranks of native sons and daughters who not only excel in their fields, but also project the kind of character that is our state's best resource. 

The TV people constructed a narrative for Landau - humble small-town car washer who looks like an Appalachian Bob Marley and then opens his mouth and sings like Frank Sinatra.

From reports out of his hometown of Logan, I gather he left his car-washing job some time ago and has been performing regionally for a while.

Despite the hype, it's impossible to watch him on the screen and doubt he's the real deal.

In his first appearance, he ambled on stage in baggy jeans and flowing dreadlocks.

Piers Morgan, the most critical of the three judges, asked him in a snarly tone if he was chewing gum.

With no backtalk, Landau plucked the wad from his mouth and stuck it in his pocket. He was the otherwise good little boy who momentarily forgot his manners.

From that point on, he displayed nothing but charm and class, and the audience was his. His success stemmed from his stage presence as much as his voice.  

He was unfailingly polite to the judges, expressing thanks even for the rare criticism.

There were backstage shots of him calling his mom to tell her he had survived another round.

He talked of his children and how he would build a better house for them if he won the big prize. He tearfully mentioned a time when he was homeless.

And despite what had to be enormous pressure in a Hollywood setting, he continued to sing like a dream.

After that first performance, he dressed in well-tailored tuxedos. The dreadlocks were pulled back.

He still didn't look like Frank Sinatra.

But he was slim, sophisticated and the very picture of what's considered cool and handsome in today's world, just as Frank was in his day.  

As Landau smoothly performed classic after classic, he may have done as much for a beloved old style of music as he did for West Virginia.

Those who know him in Logan - co-workers, family members and friends - say his repertoire is much broader than "America's Got Talent"  revealed.

Here's hoping his time in the national spotlight has just begun.

It would be great if he built that house for his kids right here in West Virginia, but we'll understand if his fortunes take him elsewhere.

However, I think I can speak for many of the folks back home in making a request.

How about a Clay Center performance?