[Harp-L] [Fwd: Harmonica virtusos Jerry Adler dies]

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Subject: Harmonica virtusos Jerry Adler dies
From:    "Norman Vickers" <nvickers1@xxxxxxx>
Date:    Sat, March 20, 2010 4:13 pm
To:      "Harp-l@harp-l. org" <Harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
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From:  Norman Vickers,

Jazz Society of Pensacola



>From Sarasota Herald-Tribune




OBITUARY


Harmonica virtuoso Jerry Adler dies in Manatee County



<http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100320/ARTICLE/3201022/-1/NEWSSITEMA
P?p=all&tc=pgall>
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gory=ARTICLE&ArtNo=3201022&Ref=AR&MaxW=600&border=0

HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE / 1997

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<http://photos.heraldtribune.com/cgi-bin/fotobroker.cgi?c=latest.htm&a=&op_b
y_line=contains&by_line=1997&b=photo_db&s=&t=&show=3-4>  photo

Harmonica virtuoso Jerry Adler plays before a standing-room-only audience in
Sarasota in 1997. Adler, 91, died March 13.


By HALLE STOCKTON

Published: Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 19, 2010 at 7:02 p.m.

( page all of 3 )

SARASOTA COUNTY - He performed with entertainment icons such as Ed Sullivan,
Frank Sinatra and Jack Benny. He contributed to music in popular films such
as "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "The Alamo" and "High Noon."





And at age 17, he forgot to bow to the King of England before coaxing
melodies from his harmonica for the royals.

Jerry Adler was among the elite chromatic harmonica musicians in the world
during his 75-year career.

The virtuoso died from prostate cancer in Manatee County's Tidewell Hospice
on March 13. He was 91.

Adler, a Baltimore native, lived at the DeSoto Beach Club in Sarasota County
and was also a member of the Jazz Club of Sarasota.

He began his music career at age 15. His older brother, Larry, was also a
successful harmonica player but focused on classical music. Jerry Adler's
strength was popular music.

His climb in the music business began with winning a harmonica contest
sponsored by the Baltimore Sun. The prize was to open a week of shows for
comedian Red Skelton.

Two years later, he was asked to play at the Palladium in London for the
king and queen of England.

Adler -- known for his candor and brazen attitude -- initially refused to
bow to the king but later agreed to the courtesy. However, when he actually
met King George V, Adler said he simply forgot to bow and shook his hand
instead.

"That hit the front pages of every paper in Europe," Adler told the
Herald-Tribune in 1997. "You just weren't supposed to do that."

Adler said performing for President Harry S. Truman at the White House was a
career highlight. The unlikely pair played "The Missouri Waltz" with Truman
on the piano and Adler on the harp.

After the song, Adler recalled telling the president, "Well, you're a hell
of a better president than you are a pianist."

Adler played the harmonica in nightclubs, theaters and on cruise ships. His
talent carried him around the world.

In his elder years, he told the Herald-Tribune he played once a week and
scaled back his collection of 3,000 mouth organs to a dozen or so.

At 90, he was still putting on small shows for friends and neighbors.

Adler's autobiography, "Living From Hand to Mouth," was published in 2005.
The memoir took Adler a decade to compile and has since been sold worldwide.

"This book brought him fame all over again," said close friend Nan
Fortunick. "He suddenly heard from people in different countries again, and
Germany wanted to fly him over for a concert."

Adler is survived by his son, Michael Adler of Germantown, Md., and a
daughter, Susan Lantis, of Capitola, Calif.

He was preceded in death by his first wife and mother of the children,
Sylvia Gandel, to whom he was married for 45 years.

Fortunick met Adler and his second wife, Jean Ruppa, about a decade ago.
Ruppa died last year.

Adler would perform for friends and family after holiday dinners and other
gatherings at Fortunick's house.

"It was amazing for a man of his age," she said. "He could hold an
unbelievable note."

Adler's well of stories never ran dry. The musician told Fortunick he and
Judy Garland discussed marriage before a producer told Garland it would ruin
her in Hollywood. This was when Adler was not as famous.

Adler also mentioned a brief romance with Vivien Leigh, star of such films
as "Gone with the Wind," Fortunick recalled.

Another tale not included in his 2005 autobiography was a New Orleans
encounter with jazz icon Louis Armstrong.

"He was walking down the street in New Orleans when Louis Armstrong called
out his name and asked if he wanted to join him for drinks and a jazz
session," Fortunick said. "What a record that would have been."

Adler's final music-making was singing along with his children from his
hospice bed. He had been unable to communicate for days, but when his
children sang a family favorite he joined in.

"It was like another part of his brain turned on," Michael Adler said. "It
was a song my sister and I used to listen to and run down the hallway into
his arms."

Jerry Adler asked not to have a funeral service and to be cremated, his son
said. His ashes will be scattered in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore.