To his friends and family members, Marlboro native Rob Kluge, 24, has always been a very funny and outgoing guy. With some help from executive producer Ryan Seacrest, all of America is now getting the chance to see Kluge’s personality shine on NBC-TV’s new reality show “Momma’s Boys.”
“I was at a fundraiser in Soho where I met this girl,” Kluge said. “As I was talking her up, she told me about this show that was casting the next day, and she thought I would be great for it.”
“Momma’s Boys” features Kluge and two other bachelors trying to find love with 32 women. The only catch — all three of the bachelors’ mothers live in the house with the girls.
Rob said it wasn’t that difficult to get his mom on board for the show.
“I called her up and asked if she had any interest in doing it. I didn’t think I had a chance at convincing her, but she was happy to jump at it. Being a teacher, she had the summer free, so it was easy for her to do the show with me and she wanted to do something different,” he explained.
Rob and his mother, Esther Kluge, tested over the summer at NBC and he said the show’s executives quickly took a liking to them. They offered the Kluges a contract for the show and flew them to the location to tape in July and August.
“Momma’s Boys,” which debuted on Dec. 16 at 10 p.m., aired to a audience of 6 million viewers. Kluge said the show was fair and balanced when it came to what was aired.
“The cameras were real honest; they showed everyone’s sincere emotions and abilities,” he explained. “Everything from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows was well documented.”
Kluge graduated from the University of Maryland in 2006 with a degree in finance. He currently works for the commercial real estate firm NAI Global in New York City.
One major factor he credits his outgoing personality to is the summers he spent as a camper and counselor at Camp Kinder Ring in Hopewell Junction, N.Y.
“I would say Camp Kinder Ring has had a huge part in shaping my life. Basically, the camp and the friends I have made there shaped me as a person, and NBC selected me because of who I am. Therefore, I guess you could say that my camp experience led me to this show,” he said.
One of Kluge’s closest friends and his current roommate, Mike Tenenbaum, also formerly of Marlboro, said this is one of the most exciting things he has ever seen.
“I have known Rob since elementary school and now to see him on NBC is just crazy. On top of that, my mom has been best friends with his mom for over 10 years, so you can imagine how exciting this is for all of us,” Tenenbaum said.
Tenenbaum said no matter how hard he has tried, he cannot get an answer about the outcome of the show from Kluge.
“Since I moved into New York with Rob about three months ago, I would say I have asked him about 2,000 questions about the show, with the same response every time, ‘I don’t remember.’ As you can imagine, I’m just as anxious to see where this show goes and if he will really find true love,” Tenenbaum said.
“Momma’s Boys” airs on NBC-TV every Monday at 9 p.m.