[Harp-L] Larry Adler

[Slim Heilpern]

> On Nov 15, 2018, at 10:51 AM, Mick Zaklan <mzaklan at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> …

>  I recall that when he played SPAH, his brother Jerry told a story about
> himself that I remember Larry attributing to himself.  And both brothers
> were there!  Don't remember the story, but I was stunned that each was
> using the same tale.

That’s funny Mick. That also happened in print as I recall from reading both of their auto-bios years ago. I just did a quick index lookup and on pages 4-5 of Jerry’s “Living From Hand to Mouth” Jerry tells the exact story (as I remember it) that Larry told countless times (not only in his auto-bio) regarding his first encounter with George Gershwin, and of course Jerry tells it as if it happened to him. I wonder if it happened to either of them ;-).

This always flipped me out because Jerry must have known when he wrote this that Larry tells the same story, but no mention of the discrepancy at all. 

….
>   At the Tango, Larry and I chatted several times and I can tell you his
> ego was considerable.  I'm sure it rubbed some people wrong, but I found it
> humorous and part of the guy's charm.  I feel fortunate that my life
> overlapped his a bit and I got a chance to see him work.
> 
> Mick Zaklan

Yes, I found him charming too and accept his ego and his tall tales as being part of the package — we may never of known his music or his name without them.

- Slim

www.SlimAndPenny.com