1 post tagged “larry kert”

My father would have turned 85 last week and boy, did he love this time of year. Perhaps it was the proximity to his birthday and with it, a fresh start to a new year, but when the end of August would roll around he would just start to burst with positive energy.

On Sundays from late August through September, he’d throw a couple of tuna sandwiches into a cooler (always on white bread with more mayo than you can possibly even contemplate) along with a couple of Lipton Iced Teas (cue the Dandy Don Meredith jingle), and the Sunday LA Times - especially the crossword puzzle - and head on down to Will Rogers beach (PCH & Temescal) to enjoy a solitary day enjoying the end-of-summer sun, sand and salt water.

September also signaled the beginning of college football and with it, the promise of an undefeated season for his beloved Missouri Tigers. Now you’ve got to understand that underneath my dad’s raging, curmudgeonly exterior beat the heart of an eternal optimist. No matter how dark his world was, he knew that something good was just around the corner; be it a solid backhand slice that caught the end line, the opening of a new musical on Broadway with songs you could actually hum, or a G.W. scandal that would evict the pretender from the White House (he’s still waiting on that one). He would steadfastly refuse to fall into negativity. That’s not to say he wouldn’t bitch and moan or rant and rave about a situation - he did that in spades - that was part of the deal

(I can literally hear his bellowing tirade against McCain ringing in my ears). But if you got close enough to see under the big show, you’d see that he was searching to find something positive that could bring him through the tunnel of darkness and in so doing, he’d light the way for his friends and family.  

Now, you might find yourself asking, “What’s a New York Jew doing rooting for Missouri?” Simple answer, he attended college in Columbia, MO as a journalism major for two years before signing up for the Army in 1942. And know that this was a watershed era for the Tigers: a standout quarterback in Paul Christman who would later play in the pros, multiple Big 8 Championships and a couple of Bowl wins. So it was with great pride on Saturdays thereafter for 64 years whether in Caserta, Italy, Manhattan or Los Angeles, that he’d proudly wear the big “M’ and bleed a little Black and Gold.

Unfortunately, bleeding is about all the Tigers have done over the past 40 years, compiling losing season after losing season. Mix that with a couple of scandals and there’s little to show a die-hard fan such as Selwyn Stuart Edgar Waldman Small.  So the irony was not lost on my brother and I when on December 1 of last year, the first season after my father’s death, the Missouri Tigers were a short 60 minutes away from playing for the BCS championship game (okay, they blew it.. but they were really, really close). And now again this year, hope is once again on high as ESPN has them ranked #7 in its pre-season poll.  So I pour a glass of Cutty on the rocks and raise a toast to my dad and the other true believers out there who continue to have faith when there is no evidence that their faith will ever be rewarded.

Here are two tracks that are bursting with sunny optimism, even more impressive as they came out of shows filled with incredibly dark themes of racism, war, death, and the social ills of street gangs and juvenile delinquency.

From South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein great WW2 musical, comes A Cockeyed Optimist, here performed with pluck by original cast member, Mary Martin (Larry Hagman’s mother for those fans of Dallas or I Dream of Jeannie).

South Pacific opened on Broadway in 1949 and was the middle show in arguably, the greatest run on Broadway by any team - five mega hits which forever set the standard for musical creativity; Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific, The King & I, and The Sound of Music. This one’s probably a bit Pollyanna for a social gathering and you’d get more bang for your buck by choosing one of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Overtures, unless of course you’re entertaining a group of show biz veterans and want to impress them by drilling deep into the songbook.

Something’s Coming from West Side Story (music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) lights up the night sky and features an amazing performance by Larry Kert.

Living in the middle of a grimy tenement, in the midst of a sweltering summer, his exuberance and unconditional optimism are intoxicating.  Again, don’t know if your guests can handle show tunes (I find it about 50/50 – maybe it’s a generational or cultural thing) but I’d add this to any American celebrational party where you’d want to express the wide ranging musical colors this country has to offer.

This image is from the back cover of the memorial CD we distributed for my father’s friends and family at his service last year.

Besides a great set list of songs that showcase a bygone era of big band jazz and Broadway, the cd booklet contains a listing of 101 films he felt essential viewing, some interesting quotes he collected and kept close to his heart, as well as his grandmother, Belle Schary’s killer Brisket recipe, which answers the age old question, what does one do with lima beans.  

If you’re interested, we have quite a few extra copies lying around and would be happy to share the bounty with you.  Drop me a hello if you’d like one.