{{Short description|American actor, singer and dancer (1930–1991)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Larry Kert | image = Larry Kert Photo 1957.jpg | caption = Kert as Tony in the original Broadway production of ''West Side Story'' (1957) | birth_name = Lawrence Frederick Kert | birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|12|05|mf=y}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=y|1991|06|05|1930|12|05}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|singer|dancer}} | years_active = 1950–1989 | spouse = | known_for = Tony in ''West 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 original Broadway production of the musical ''West Side Story''. He was nominated for a Tony Award (1971)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Larry Kert (Playbill) |url=https://www.playbill.com/person/larry-kert-vault-0000062158}}</ref> for his work in the musical comedy ''Company'' (1970).
==Early life== Kert was born in Los Angeles, the youngest of four children of Orthodox Jewish parents, Harry and Lillian (née Pearson; originally Peretz) Kert (some sources cite the family surname as '''Kurt''').<ref name="Who's Who">{{cite book| title=Who's Who in Entertainment, Volume 1| date=1989| publisher=Marquis Who's Who| page=181<!--ISBN needed-->}}</ref> Kert's eldest sibling, Anita, became a vocalist, noted for dubbing Rita Hayworth and other non-singing stars in their films.<ref name="jazzreview quinn lemley interview">{{cite web|last1=O'Brien|first1=Gerard W.|title=The Heat is On... Quinn Lemley's Musical Journey as Rita Hayworth|url=http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-4854.html|website=jazzreview.com|accessdate=August 8, 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827011401/http://www.jazzreview.com/article/review-4854.html|archivedate=August 27, 2006|date=July 25, 2006}}</ref> He and his siblings graduated from Hollywood High School.<ref name="UPI">{{cite news |title=Larry Kert, original 'West Side Story' performer, dead at 60 |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/06/07/Larry-Kert-original-West-Side-Story-performer-dead-at-60/4356676267200/ |agency=United Press International |date=June 7, 1991 |access-date=May 21, 2026}}</ref> A Shubert Theater ''Playbill'' for 1963's ''I 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". He later dropped out of Los Angeles City College and moved to New York to study acting and singing.<ref name="UPI"/>
Kert's first professional credit was as a member of a theatrical troupe called the "Bill Norvas and the Upstarts" in the 1950 Broadway revue ''Tickets, Please!''.<ref>[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/tickets-please-2145 "Tickets, Please!"]. ibdb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2019.</ref> After a seven-month run, he worked sporadically in Broadway,<ref name=bway>[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/larry-kert-48001#Credits "Kert Broadway"]. ibdb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2019.</ref> Off-Broadway and ballet productions as a dancer until 1957, when he was cast in ''West Side Story''.
==''West Side Story''== [[File:Balcony scene West Side Story.JPG|thumb|Larry Kert and Carol Lawrence in the balcony scene of ''West Side Story'', original Broadway cast (1957) ]] In 1955, while dancing in the chorus in the Sammy Davis Jr. show ''Mr. Wonderful'', Kert was recommended by his fellow dancer and friend Chita Rivera, who eventually won the role of Anita in ''West Side Story'', to audition as a dancer for ''Gangway'' during the earliest Broadway pre-production of the Arthur Laurents-Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim musical later titled ''West Side Story'', an adaptation of ''Romeo and Juliet'' set on the west side of mid-town Manhattan in the 1950s.<ref name="Masterworks">{{cite web |title=Larry Kert |url=https://masterworksbroadway.com/artist/larry-kert/ |website=Masterworks Broadway |publisher=Sony Music Entertainment |access-date=May 21, 2026}}</ref> 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 for ''Esquire'' 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.<ref name="WSSsaga">{{cite web |title=The Incredible Saga of West Side Story |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/5769/the-incredible-saga-of-west-side-story/ |website=Broadway.com |date=April 17, 2017 |access-date=May 21, 2026}}</ref>
According to Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book for ''West Side Story'', Kert was "a California extrovert, laughing, bubbling, deadly funny, and openly gay."<ref name=original>{{cite book| first=Arthur| last=Laurents| title=Original Story By: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood| year=2002| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XbXeMf8LOsC&q=kert| page=358| location=New York| publisher=Applause Books| isbn=978-1-5578-3467-6| access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref> Director-choreographer Jerome Robbins frequently clashed with Kert, publicly chastising him for being a "faggot", despite the fact that Robbins himself, fellow dancer Tommy Abbott, and most of the creative team were gay.<ref name="original"/> 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.<ref name="Masterworks"/> The role went to former child actor Richard Beymer, whose vocals were dubbed by Jimmy Bryant.
==Success and struggles== Kert's later career had only occasional high points. The Broadway musical ''A Family Affair'' limped along for three months in early 1962. He was a member of the cast of the infamous ill-fated musical version of Truman Capote's novella, ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'', which closed during previews in December 1966. His next project, ''La Strada'' (1969), starring Bernadette Peters, closed on opening night. He often worked in Off-Broadway, theatre workshops, and taught dance. He also played the male lead, Cliff, as a replacement during the original Broadway run of ''Cabaret'', taking over the part in December 1968 and remaining until the production closed in September 1969.<ref name="IBDBCab">{{cite web |title=Cabaret (Broadway, 1966) |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/cabaret-3348 |website=Internet Broadway Database |access-date=May 21, 2026}}</ref>
His next big break came as a replacement for Dean Jones as the lead in Stephen Sondheim's ''Company'' (1970). Soon after opening night, director Harold Prince released Jones from his contract and substituted Kert. The Tony 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.<ref name="Masterworks"/> The original cast album of ''Company'' 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, when Sony 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.<ref name="SondheimCo">{{cite web |title=Company |url=https://www.sondheimsociety.com/company |website=The Sondheim Society |access-date=May 21, 2026}}</ref>
In 1977, he won the role of Liza Minnelli's leading man in "Happy Endings", a movie within the movie ''New York, New York''. Kert hoped that his role as the producer, though small, would be his great movie breakthrough. But before ''New York, New York'' opened, United Artists, the distributor, insisted that it was too long and persuaded director Martin 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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/19/nyregion/notes-on-people-for-larry-kert-a-happy-ending-four-years-late.html| title=Notes On people; For Larry Kert, a Happy Ending Four Years Late| date=June 19, 1981| newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
In 1975, he appeared in ''A 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 star Peter Allen. 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 Sing'' and its sequel ''Let 'Em Eat Cake''. This was the first time these scores had been recorded in their entirety. <ref>1987 recording booklet (CBS – M2K 42522)</ref>
Kert made brief appearances in the feature films ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953) and ''New York, New York'' (1977).<ref>{{IMDb name|0450040}}</ref> His television credits included guest appearances on ''The 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)'', and ''Love, American Style''. He also appeared several times on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''.<ref>{{IMDb name|0450040}}</ref> 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 by Marvin Hamlisch.
==Death== Kert's last stage appearance came in a touring company of ''La Cage aux Folles'' but he missed performances because of illness. Kert died, at 60, in his Manhattan home of AIDS 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.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/07/obituaries/larry-kert-60-a-romantic-lead-in-the-original-west-side-story.html "Larry Kert, 60, a Romantic Lead In the Original 'West Side Story', Dies"]. ''The New York Times''. June 7, 1991.</ref><ref>{{cite book| first=Charles| last=Kaiser| title=The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6jlcmZrSXpEC&q=kert|publisher=Grove Press| year=2007| page=93| isbn=978-1-5558-4831-6| access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref>
On October 11, 1992, Kert's ashes were among those scattered on the White House lawn as part of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power's "Ashes Action" protest.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ashes on the Lawn - Transcript |url=https://www.radiolab.org/podcast/ashes-lawn/transcript |access-date=March 7, 2026 |website=Radiolab Podcasts {{!}} WNYC Studios |language=en}}</ref>
==Stage credits== {| class="wikitable" !Year(s) !Production !Role !Notes |- |1950 |''Tickets, Please!'' |Performer |Broadway |- |1953 |''John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' |Ensemble |Broadway |- |1956-1957 |''Mr. Wonderful'' |Stagehand |Broadway |- |1957-1959 |rowspan=3|''West Side Story'' |rowspan=3|Tony |Broadway |- |1959-1960 |US Tour |- |1960 |Broadway |- |1962-1963 |''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' |Harry Bogen |US Tour |- |1963 |''West Side Story'' |Tony |Regional |- |1966 |''Breakfast at Tiffany's'' |Carlos |Broadway |- |1968-1969 |''Cabaret'' |Clifford Bradshaw |Broadway |- |1969 |''La Strada'' |Mario |Broadway |- |1970-1972 |rowspan=2|''Company'' |rowspan=2|Robert |Broadway |- |1972 |West End |- |1973 |''Two Gentlemen of Verona'' |Proteus |Los Angeles Civic Light Opera |- |1973-1974 |''Two Gentlemen of Verona'' |Proteus |US Tour |- |1974 |''Sugar'' |Joe/Josephine |Los Angeles Civic Light Opera |- |1975 |''A Musical Jubilee'' |Performer |Broadway |- |1977-1978 |''Side by Side by Sondheim'' |Performer |Broadway |- |1978 |''Chicago'' |Billy Flynn |Butler University |- |1979-1980 |''Sugar'' |Joe/Josephine |US Tour |- |rowspan=2|1982 |''Gigi'' |Gaston Lachailles |rowspan=2|The Muny |- |''Anything Goes'' |Billy Crocker |- |1983 |''A Little Night Music'' |Fredrik Egerman |Theatre Under the Stars |- |rowspan=4|1984 |rowspan=3|''Funny Girl'' |rowspan=3|Nick Arnstein |The Muny |- |Playhouse Square |- |Cincinnati Music Hall |- |''Guys and Dolls'' |Sky Masterson |Paper Mill Playhouse |- |rowspan=2|1985 |rowspan=2|''The Music Man'' |rowspan=2|Harold Hill |North Shore Music Theatre |- |Ogunquit Playhouse |- |1986 |''Rags'' |Nathan Hershkowitz |Broadway |- |1987-1988 |''La Cage aux Folles'' |Georges |US Tour |}
==Selected filmography== * ''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
==Sources== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|0450040}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{iobdb name|5559}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20111105211051/http://www.glbtq.com/arts/kert_larry.html Larry Kert] at [http://www.glbtq.com glbtq.com] * [http://www.discogs.com/release/1176669 Larry Kert Sings Leonard Bernstein] album information at Discogs. *[https://archives.nypl.org/the/186300 Larry Kert papers, 1930-2016], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kert, Larry}} Category:1930 births Category:1991 deaths Category:20th-century American dancers Category:20th-century American Jews Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American male singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) Category:American gay actors Category:American LGBTQ musicians Category:American male dancers Category:American male musical theatre actors Category:Gay Jews Category:Jewish American male actors Category:LGBTQ people from California Category:Male actors from Los Angeles