Larry Kert (December 5, 1930 - June 5, 1991) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor, singer, and dancer.
He was born Frederick Lawrence Kert in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
. His first professional credit was as a member of a theatrical troupe called the Upstarts in the 1950
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
revueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th-century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca. 1916-32...
Tickets, Please!. After a seven-month run, he worked sporadically in Off-Broadway and ballet productions as a dancer until 1957, when he made his first big break:
West Side Story.
In 1955, while dancing a chorus member in the Sammy Davis Jr show
Mr. WonderfulMr. Wonderful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss....
, Kert was recommended by his fellow dancer and friend
Chita RiveraChita Rivera is a Puerto Rican-American actress dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award . She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.-Early years:Rivera was born Dolores Conchita...
, who got the role of Anita, to audition as a dancer for
Gangway during the earliest Broadway pre-production of the
Arthur LaurentsArthur Laurents is an award-winning American playwright, librettist, stage director, and screenwriter. His credits include the stage musicals West Side Story and Gypsy and the film The Way We Were.-Early life:...
-
Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
-
Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre , multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize...
musical later titled
West Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical's plot is based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet....
, a modernized adaptation of
Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-cross'd lovers" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet and Macbeth, is...
set in upper
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
.
Larry Kert (December 5, 1930 - June 5, 1991) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor, singer, and dancer.
Early life
He was born Frederick Lawrence Kert in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
. His first professional credit was as a member of a theatrical troupe called the Upstarts in the 1950
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
revueA revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th-century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from ca. 1916-32...
Tickets, Please!. After a seven-month run, he worked sporadically in Off-Broadway and ballet productions as a dancer until 1957, when he made his first big break:
West Side Story.
West Side Story
In 1955, while dancing a chorus member in the Sammy Davis Jr show
Mr. WonderfulMr. Wonderful is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, and music and lyrics by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George David Weiss....
, Kert was recommended by his fellow dancer and friend
Chita RiveraChita Rivera is a Puerto Rican-American actress dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award . She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.-Early years:Rivera was born Dolores Conchita...
, who got the role of Anita, to audition as a dancer for
Gangway during the earliest Broadway pre-production of the
Arthur LaurentsArthur Laurents is an award-winning American playwright, librettist, stage director, and screenwriter. His credits include the stage musicals West Side Story and Gypsy and the film The Way We Were.-Early life:...
-
Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
-
Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre , multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize...
musical later titled
West Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical's plot is based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet....
, a modernized adaptation of
Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young "star-cross'd lovers" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet and Macbeth, is...
set in upper
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
. Based on recollections by Kert years later while singing at the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
, he was the 18th out of 150 hopefuls to audition, but he was the first one to be cut. A few months later, while Kert was working for
EsquireEsquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
in an advertising show, Stephen Sondheim approached him after seeing him perform and set up an audition for the part of Tony. Kert was reluctant to accept the offer, but a few weeks later, he was informed that he got the role.
According to Laurents in his memoir
Original Story By, director-choreographer
Jerome RobbinsJerome Robbins was an American film director and choreographer whose work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
frequently clashed with Kert, publicly chastising him for being a "faggot," despite the fact that Robbins himself, fellow dancer
Tommy AbbottTommy Abbott was an American-born actor, dancer, and choreographer best known for his role as Gee-Tar in the hit musical West Side Story....
and most of the creative team was gay. Kert did not repeat his role in the 1961 film version of the show. The reason was that, at 30 years old, he looked unbelievable to play a teenager, and the role went to former child actor
Richard BeymerGeorge Richard Beymer, Jr. is an American actor.-Life and career:Beymer was born in Avoca, Iowa, the son of Eunice and George Richard Beymer, a printer. Beymer and his family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1940 where he began his acting career in 1949 in television...
, although his vocals were dubbed by Jim (Jimmy) Bryant. Kert was upset at being passed over for the role, because he had hoped that it could have jump-started a potential film career.
Success and struggles
For several years, Kert experienced a streak of bad luck mixed with major moments that gained him much attention and, at one point, a Tony nomination.
A Family AffairA Family Affair is a musical with a book by James Goldman and William Goldman, lyrics by James Goldman and John Kander, and music by Kander...
limped along for three months in early 1962. He was a member of the cast of the infamous ill-fated musical version of
Truman CapoteTruman Garcia Capote , born Truman Streckfus Persons, was an American writer, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel"...
's novella,
Breakfast at Tiffany'sBreakfast at Tiffany's is one of the most notorious flops in the history of Broadway musicals.Based on the Truman Capote novella and 1961 film of the same name about a free spirit named Holly Golightly, it had a book by illustrious playwright Edward Albee and a score composed by the equally notable...
, which closed during previews in December 1966. His next project,
La StradaLa Strada is a musical with lyrics and music by Lionel Bart, with additional lyrics by Martin Charnin and additional music by Elliot Lawrence. It is based on the 1954 film of the same name by Federico Fellini. Bart wrote the score in 1967 and made a demonstration recording, although the musical...
(1969), closed on opening night. Often, he spent a lot of time working in
Off-BroadwayOff Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of plays, musicals or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, the hub of the theater industry in the United...
, theatre workshops, and taught dance. However, as an
understudyIn theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a leading actor or actress in a play. Should the lead actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part. Usually, when the understudy takes...
, he did get a chance to play the male lead Cliff in the first run of
CabaretCabaret is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
for most of the run, when the chosen actor fell ill and had to take time off. Despite this critical acclaim, he never regained the momentum he had as Tony in
West Side Story.
His next big break came as a replacement.
Dean JonesDean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977.- Early years :...
, better known for his roles in
DisneyThe Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products...
films than he was as a musical performer, had been cast as the lead in
Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre , multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize...
's
CompanyCompany is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.Originally entitled Threes, its plot revolves around Bobby , the five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends...
(1970), but was stressed due to ongoing divorce proceedings. Soon after opening night, he was replaced by Kert -- the critics returned a second time and raved about his dynamic performance. So acclaimed was he that the
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
s nominating committee that year allowed him to compete as the award for Best Actor in a Musical, an honor usually allowed only for the performer who originates the particular role.
As it had already been recorded, the original cast album did not include Kert. However, when the cast travelled to London to reprise their roles,
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
took him into the studio to record new tracks to lay down over Jones' removed ones. This "new" recording was released as the Original London Cast recording. In 1998, when
Sony Musicis a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. . Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game...
who had acquired the Columbia catalogues, released a newly-digitalized
CDA Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
version of the original Broadway cast recording, Kert's rendition of "Being Alive", the show's final number, was included as a bonus track.
Kert never achieved the growing and ongoing success his stint in
Company suggested he was destined to enjoy. In 1975, he appeared in
A Musical Jubilee, a revue that lasted barely three months.
RagsRags is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and music by Charles Strouse.-Production history:The Broadway production opened on August 21, 1986 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre with little advance sale and to mostly indifferent reviews, and it closed after only four...
(1986) closed two days after it opened, and in his final show,
Legs DiamondLegs Diamond can refer to:*Jack Diamond , the alias of New York gangster Jack Moran*Legs Diamond , an American rock and roll band*Legs Diamond , a musical written by Peter Allen...
(1988), he was a standby for star
Peter AllenPeter Allen was an Australian songwriter and entertainer. His songs were made popular by many recording artists, including Melissa Manchester and Olivia Newton-John, Elkie Brooks, and one, Arthur's Theme, won the Academy Award...
.
One of Kert's last recordings was the 1987 2-CD studio cast album of the complete scores of two George and Ira Gershwin musicals -
Of Thee I SingOf Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by George and Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President of the United States on the "love" platform...
and its sequel,
Let 'Em Eat CakeLet 'Em Eat Cake is a Broadway musical that opened October 21, 1933 at the Imperial Theatre, New York, USA and ran for 89 performances. It had music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind...
. This was the first time both scores had been recorded completely, and the recordings were the first of many made possible because of the now famous discovery in a
Secaucus, New JerseySecaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 15,931. The town's name is pronounced "SEE-kaw-cus", with the accent on the first syllable, not the second as often used by non-natives....
warehouse of many original show manuscripts by the great songwriters of the American musical theatre.
Kert made brief appearances in the feature films
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and
New York, New YorkNew York, New York is a musical-drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, released in 1977. It is a musical tribute, featuring new songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb as well as standards, to Scorsese's home town of New York City, and stars Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli as a pair of musicians and...
(1977). His television credits include guest appearances on
Alfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents is an anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers and mysteries...
,
Kraft Suspense TheatreKraft Suspense Theatre is a television anthology series that ran from 1963 to 1965 on NBC, which was sponsored by Kraft Foods, alternating with Perry Como's monthly Kraft Music Hall specials. Como's production company, "Roncom Films", also produced Kraft Suspense Theatre...
,
The Bell Telephone HourThe Bell Telephone Hour, aka The Telephone Hour, is a long-run concert series which began April 29, 1940 on NBC radio and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone, it showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It...
,
Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American television series that starred Jack Lord in the lead role for a fictional Hawaii state police department. The show ran for 12 seasons, from 1968 to 1980. The twelfth season was repackaged into syndication under the title McGarrett.-Overview:The CBS television network...
,
KojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the eponymous, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973 to March 18, 1978 on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
, and
Love, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long television anthology which was produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
. He appeared several times on
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Kert's last stage appearance was in a touring company of
La Cage aux FollesLa Cage aux Folles is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and lyrics and music by Jerry Herman. Based on the 1973 French play of the same name by Jean Poiret, it focuses on a gay couple: Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his romantic...
but he missed performances because of illness. Kert died in New York City from
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ....
-related complications in 1991. His older sister, who survives him, is singer Anita Ellis, noted for dubbing
Rita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s not only as one of the era's top stars, but also as the era's greatest sex symbol, most notably in Gilda...
and other non-singing stars in their films.
Stage credits
- Legs Diamond (1989)
- Rags (1986)
- Side by Side by Sondheim (1978)
- A Musical Jubilee (1976)
- Sondheim: A Musical Tribute (1973)
- Company (1972)
- La Strada (1969)
- Breakfast at Tiffany's (1966)
- Cabaret (1969)
- A Family Affair (1962)
- West Side Story (1959)
- Mr. Wonderful (1957)
- John Murray Anderson's Almanac (1954)
- Tickets, Please! (1950)
External links