Showcasing the astonishing talent of singer, dancer and actor, Larry Kert.
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Larry Kert gained an international reputation for playing the original Tony in the Broadway version of West Side Story opposite the stunning and amazingly talented Carol Lawrence.
Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence performed the song "Tonight" from West Side Story on The Ed Sullivan Show on November 2, 1958, just over a year after the musical opened on Broadway.
Click here to hear Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence sing Tonight
Click here to hear Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence sing Tonight
Thirty years after West Side Story Larry Kert was still wowing audiences. A major success was a tour he undertook in 1987 with concert versions of George and Ira Gershwins' twin musicals on the Presidency, "Of Thee I Sing" and "Let 'Em Eat Cake." Famous music critic, Lon Tuck in The Washington Post praised Larry Kert's unique talent writing:
"The firmness of his sound, the precision of his rhythm and the beauty of his phrasing in a song like 'Mine' is just lovely. This terribly talented man is singing just as finely as he was 30 years ago when he burst upon the scene as the unforgettable Tony in 'West Side Story.' "
Larry Kert died in 1991 at the early age of 60. In his obituary The New York Times wrote "Mr. Kert, with his big, resonant tenor, captivated "West Side Story" audiences for three years with such compelling songs as "Tonight," "Maria" and "Something's Coming."
"The firmness of his sound, the precision of his rhythm and the beauty of his phrasing in a song like 'Mine' is just lovely. This terribly talented man is singing just as finely as he was 30 years ago when he burst upon the scene as the unforgettable Tony in 'West Side Story.' "
Larry Kert died in 1991 at the early age of 60. In his obituary The New York Times wrote "Mr. Kert, with his big, resonant tenor, captivated "West Side Story" audiences for three years with such compelling songs as "Tonight," "Maria" and "Something's Coming."
Life Story
Larry was born in Los Angeles, California on 5th December 1930. He was the youngest of four siblings. Kert's eldest sister, under the stage name Anita Ellis, became a famous vocalist who was noted for dubbing Rita Hayworth and other non-singing stars in their films. Amazingly he initially worked as a stunt man, extra and stand-in in 100 films
His first professional credit was in the seven-month run of a 1950 Broadway revue called "Tickets, Please!" Until his big break in West Side Story.
After that show he worked in ballet productions as a dancer in Off-Broadway productions.
It was in 1955, while he was a dancer in the chorus in the Sammy Davis, Jr. show "Mr. Wonderful", that Kert was recommended by his fellow dancer and friend Chita Rivera [See Footnote] to audition as a dancer for "Gangway".
If "Gangaway" is unfamiliar it's because it was the original name of West Side Story when it was in pre-production!!
Their were 150 actors, dancers and singers auditioning for West Side Story. Despite his marvelous voice and acting and dancing skills he was not selected.
By one of those life changing events while he was working in a show Stephen Sondheim saw him perform. He was so impressed that he set up an audition for Larry for the lead part of Tony. Initially he was reluctant to accept the offer of the audition, but after auditioning on his own and with Carol Lawrence he landed the role of Tony.
Note: The amazing Carol Lawrence went on to a mega career after West Side Story and is still performing to packed audiences 60 years later.
According to Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book for West Side Story, Larry Kert was "a California extrovert, laughing, bubbling, deadly funny"
To the surprise of many Larry Kert was not given the role in the 1961 film version of the show. He was told that at age 30 years he was not believable as a teenager. The role went to the former child actor Richard Beymer, whose singing voice was dubbed by Jimmy Bryant. There was equal surprise that having not been given the role he wasn't given Richard Beymer's singing voice to dub.
There was equal suprise that Carol Lawrence was not given the film part or at least contracted to dub Natalie Wood's singing voice.
Many people thought that given the electric connection between Larry and Carol on stage they would at least if not given the film roles been given the dubbing roles.
Footnote: The many talented Chita Rivera won the role of Anita in West Side Story.
Buy "Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story" by Nigel Simeone By Clicking This Link
Links
Theater and Film Career
Theater and Film Career
Photo of Larry Kert as Tony from the musical West Side Story 1957.
Stephen Sondheim talks about Larry Kert
Stephen Sondheim talked about the song "Something's Coming" which he and Leonard Bernstein wrote in one day for Larry Kert to perform on the opening night of West Side Story.
Here is what he said about Larry Kert's rendition of the song on opening night.
"Larry did it on opening night in Washington and stopped the show! He had the audience in the palm of his hand."
Here is a clip of that interview
Stephen Sondheim talked about the song "Something's Coming" which he and Leonard Bernstein wrote in one day for Larry Kert to perform on the opening night of West Side Story.
Here is what he said about Larry Kert's rendition of the song on opening night.
"Larry did it on opening night in Washington and stopped the show! He had the audience in the palm of his hand."
Here is a clip of that interview
Quote from Leonard Bernstein after watching the audition of Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence together "That's the most mesmersing audition I have ever seen."
Stephen Sondheim wrote the sleeve notes to "Larry Kert Sings Bernstein", Larry Kert's first Album.
In them he wrote "Five days before .'West Side Story' opened out of town, Lennie and I decided we needed a song to introduce Tony, the character that Larry plays in the show. We wrote 'Something's Coming,' and we wrote it in only one day, because the combination of character and performer, the image of Larry Kert as Tony, was so vivid. It was the quickest written song in the score, and one of the best. "The right singer and the right song a rare combination. But once a combination is found, the result is exhilarating ... and the result is Larry Kert."
In them he wrote "Five days before .'West Side Story' opened out of town, Lennie and I decided we needed a song to introduce Tony, the character that Larry plays in the show. We wrote 'Something's Coming,' and we wrote it in only one day, because the combination of character and performer, the image of Larry Kert as Tony, was so vivid. It was the quickest written song in the score, and one of the best. "The right singer and the right song a rare combination. But once a combination is found, the result is exhilarating ... and the result is Larry Kert."
