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Larry Kert
Kert as Tony in the original Broadway production ofWest Side Story (1957)
Born	Lawrence Frederick Kert (1930-12-05)December 5, 1930 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	June 5, 1991(1991-06-05) (aged 60) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor singer dancer
Years active	1950–1989
Known for	Tony inWest Side Story
Partner	Ron Pullen
Relatives	Anita Ellis (sister)

Lawrence Frederick Kert (December 5, 1930 – June 5, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He is best known for his role of Tony in the originalBroadway production of the musicalWest Side Story. He was nominated for aTony Award (1971)^[1] for his work in the musical comedyCompany (1970).

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Kert was born inLos Angeles, the youngest of four children ofOrthodox Jewish parents, Harry and Lillian (née Pearson; originally Peretz) Kert (some sources cite the family surname asKurt).^[2] Kert's eldest sibling,Anita, became a vocalist, noted fordubbingRita Hayworth and other non-singing stars in their films.^[3] He and his siblings graduated fromHollywood High School. A Shubert TheaterPlaybill for 1963'sI Can Get It For You Wholesale, starring Kert states: "He attended Los Angeles City College. As a teenager he worked at breaking wild horses to saddle—which led to a teen-age career as a stunt man, stand-in, and extra in well-nigh 100 films".

Kert's first professional credit was as a member of a theatrical troupe called the "Bill Norvas and the Upstarts" in the 1950BroadwayrevueTickets, Please!.^[4] After a seven-month run, he worked sporadically in Broadway,^[5] Off-Broadway and ballet productions as a dancer until 1957, when he was cast inWest Side Story.

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In 1955, while dancing in the chorus in theSammy Davis Jr. showMr. Wonderful, Kert was recommended by his fellow dancer and friendChita Rivera, who eventually won the role of Anita inWest Side Story, to audition as a dancer forGangway during the earliest Broadway pre-production of theArthur Laurents-Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim musical later titledWest Side Story, an adaptation ofRomeo and Juliet set on the west side of mid-townManhattan in the 1950s. Kert was the 18th out of 150 hopefuls to audition, but was the first one to be cut. A few months later, while he was working forEsquire 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 had the role.^{[citation needed]}

According toArthur Laurents, who wrote thebook forWest Side Story, Kert was "a California extrovert, laughing, bubbling, deadly funny, and openly gay."^[6] Director-choreographerJerome Robbins frequently clashed with Kert, publicly chastising him for being a "faggot", despite the fact that Robbins himself, fellow dancerTommy Abbott, and most of the creative team were gay.^[6] Kert did not repeat his role in the 1961 film version of the show because at 30 years old he could not have believably played a teenager. The role went to former child actorRichard Beymer, whose vocals were dubbed byJimmy Bryant. Kert was upset at being passed over for the role, because he had hoped that it would jump-start his film career.^{[citation needed]}

Kert's later career had only occasional high points. The Broadway musicalA Family Affair limped along for three months in early 1962. He was a member of the cast of the infamous ill-fated musical version ofTruman Capote's novella,Breakfast at Tiffany's, which closed during previews in December 1966. His next project,La Strada (1969), starringBernadette Peters, closed on opening night. He often worked inOff-Broadway, theatre workshops, and taught dance. However, replacing the original actor who fell ill, he played the male lead Cliff in the first run ofCabaret for most of its run.^{[citation needed]}

His next big break came as a replacement forDean Jones as the lead inStephen Sondheim'sCompany (1970). Soon after opening night, directorHarold Prince released Jones from his contract and substituted Kert. TheTony Awards nominating committee allowed him to compete in the category of Best Actor in a Musical, though the rules normally restricted nominations to the performer who originated a role. The original cast album ofCompany had already been recorded before Kert joined the first cast. When the cast traveled to London to reprise their roles,Columbia Records recorded new tracks with Kert to substitute for those Jones had recorded. This recording with Kert was released as the Original London Cast recording. In 1998, whenSony Music, which had acquired the Columbia catalog, released a new digital version of the original Broadway cast recording, Kert's rendition of "Being Alive", the show's final number, was included as a bonus track.^{[citation needed]}

In 1977, he won the role ofLiza Minnelli's leading man in "Happy Endings", amovie within the movieNew York, New York. Kert hoped that his role as the producer, though small, would be his great movie breakthrough. But beforeNew York, New York opened,United Artists, the distributor, insisted that it was too long and persuaded directorMartin Scorsese to drop most of the 11-minute "Happy Endings" sequence from the final version, including all of Kert's scenes. In 1981,New York, New York was re-released with "Happy Endings" intact and Kert's role restored.^[7]

In 1975, he appeared inA Musical Jubilee, a revue that lasted barely three months.Rags (1986) closed two days after it opened. In his final show,Legs Diamond (1988), he was a standby for starPeter Allen. One of Kert's last recordings was the 1987 2-CD studio cast album of the complete scores of twoGeorge andIra Gershwin musicals:Of Thee I Sing and its sequelLet 'Em Eat Cake. This was the first time these scores had been recorded in their entirety.^{[citation needed]}

Kert made brief appearances in the feature filmsGentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) andNew York, New York (1977).^[8] His television credits included guest appearances onThe Sorcerer's Apprentice (Alfred Hitchcock Presents),Kraft Suspense Theatre,The Bell Telephone Hour,Combat! (Season 4 episode "One At A Time", aired 1966),Hawaii Five-O,Kojak: Conspiracy of Fear (1973), andLove, American Style. He also appeared several times onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.^[9] In (1988) Kert appeared for a Special Tribute to Broadway command performance at Ronald Reagan’s White House,performing “Maria”, “Tonite” and “Something’s Coming” accompanied byMarvin Hamlisch.

Kert's last stage appearance came in a touring company ofLa Cage aux Folles but he missed performances because of illness. Kert died, at 60, in hisManhattan home ofAIDS in 1991. Kert's longtime partner at the time of his death was Ron Pullen, though this did not become publicly known until after he died.^[10][11]

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1962) (Season 7 Episode 39: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice") as George
• Hawaii Five-O (1973) (Season 5 Episode 15 "Thanks for the Honeymoon") as Marty

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLarry Kert.

• Larry Kert atIMDb
• Larry Kert at theInternet Broadway Database
• Larry Kert at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Larry Kert atglbtq.com
• Larry Kert Sings Leonard Bernstein album information atDiscogs.

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