By Darrell Halen
Staff Writer

Courtesy photo Pelham’s Mike Conrad, seated, on right, takes part in the syndicated talk show “The Dr. Keith Ablow Show.” The episode featuring Conrad, which discusses baldness in men, will air at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, on Boston’s WFXT/Fox 25.

When Mike Conrad saw a large bald spot on the back of his head while watching a replay of a Pelham school board meeting on Pelham Community Television, he realized how much he was losing his hair.

Soon, his balding head will be seen by a much larger television audience. Conrad, chairman of the Pelham School Board, was invited to appear on “The Dr. Keith Ablow Show,” a national TV talk show, to get his head shaved.

The episode, which explores the age old question “Are bald men sexy?” will air at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, on Boston channel WFXT Fox 25.

Ablow seeks the answer with the help of four models from Howie Mandel’s TV show, “Deal or No Deal.”

“Would you date a bald man?” Ablow – a bald man himself – asked the ladies at the beginning of the show. “Do you find them attractive?”

Conrad, 41, who has been losing his hair for about five years, was one of three men invited to appear on the show.

His wife, Kathy, jokingly refers to her husband’s head as an “Irish yarmulke” during the show.

Ablow, a psychiatrist and author, helps people cope with personal challenges and lead more fulfilling lives in his one-hour daily talk show.

Conrad, the director of client services at The Troupe, a modern media design and production firm in Windham, was scouring the Internet for companies that might need the company’s services when he came upon a posting from the show seeking funny stories from men about going bald.

Conrad shared his story about the school board meeting replay, and eventually was invited to come on the show to have his head shaved.

“Any kind of new adventure – I’m up for it,” said Conrad, adding: “My hair is short anyway so it wasn’t a big difference for me.”

The experience was 24 hours of star treatment. He, Kathy, and their kids, Steven, 12, and Christina, 9, rode in a stretch limo to New York City.

Conrad had his own green room at the Rockerfeller Center at the show’s taping. The show picked up the tab for their travel and lodging.

Conrad has appeared in commercials produced by The Troupe, but this was his first time appearing in a national television show.

“It was interesting to see how a show is produced in New York,” he said.