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Creator
Kert, Larry
Call number
*T-Mss 2023-016
Physical description
11.38 linear feet (31 boxes, 1 tube). 143 audio recordings. 40 moving image recordings
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Larry Kert papers, *T-Mss 2023-016. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Larry Kert (1930-1991), an American actor, singer, and dancer, who was known for originating the role of Tony in Broadway's West Side Story (1957) and replacing Dean Jones as Robert in the original Broadway cast of Company (1970). The Larry Kert papers, dating from 1930 to 2016, chronicle his work primarily in musical theater productions and cabaret acts through sheet music, scripts, audio and moving image recordings, photographs, printed matter, and associated files. The collection also holds a small amount of sheet music, scripts, and photographs from American choreographer, dancer, and director Tony Stevens (1948-2011), and correspondence, ephemera, and photographs compiled by Kert's life partner Ron Pullen (1955-2023).

Biographical/historical information

Larry Kert (1930-1991) was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He was born Frederick Lawrence Kert in Los Angeles, California in 1930. Kert's oldest sister Anita (née Kert, later Shapiro) Ellis (1920-2015) was a singer and actress known for dubbing Rita Hayworth's songs.

Kert, the youngest of four children, was raised in Los Angeles. He found work in the film industry as an extra and stunt man in his teens. Kert graduated from Hollywood High School, then dropped out of Los Angeles City College to move to New York and study acting and singing.

He joined the theatrical group Bill Norvas and the Upstarts, and performed with them and alone in the 1950 Broadway revue Tickets, Please! After the show closed, Kert appeared in small roles and worked as an understudy in television shows, on tour, and on Broadway.

In 1955, Kert began auditioning for a role in the Romeo and Juliet-inspired musical West Side Story. He was cast as, and subsequently created, the romantic lead Tony. He performed the role for the next three years, in the 1957 original Broadway production, the 1959 national tour, and the 1960 return engagement on Broadway.

In the 1960s, Kert guest-starred in television shows, led short-lived musicals on Broadway and the West Coast, recorded albums, and performed his first nightclub shows. Some of Kert's guest appearances in television programs included Checkmate, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Kraft Suspense Theatre, and Combat! Short-lived Broadway musicals included the three month production of A Family Affair in 1962, four previews (and no opening) of Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1966, and a one-performance run of La Strada in 1969. His first solo cabaret act was at the Slate Brothers nightclub in Los Angeles, California. He also performed nightclub shows in Tokyo, Japan, and Hong Kong.

In 1970, Kert replaced Dean Jones as Robert, the lead role, in Company three weeks after the musical's opening. His work in the role earned Kert a Tony Award nomination, the first replacement actor to do so.

In the 1970s and the 1980s, Kert continued to perform in nightclub shows, television, film, and theater productions. In 1977, Kert was cast opposite Liza Minnelli in a production number called "Happy Endings" for the 1977 Martin Scorsese film New York, New York. In the late-1970s, Kert began adding songs by Al Jolson to his cabaret shows. For the next decade he unsuccessfully tried to bring a musical about Al Jolson to Broadway. His Broadway appearances included the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim (1977-1978) and the musical Rags (1986). In addition to Broadway roles, Kert performed in the national tours of Two Gentlemen of Verona (1973-1974), Annie Get Your Gun (1977), Sugar (1979, an adaptation of Some Like It Hot), Off-Broadway shows, as well as on cruise ships. He also directed a student production of Chicago at the University of Miami in 1986.

Kert's life partner was Ron Pullen (1955-2023) from 1979 until his death. Pullen kept Kert's legacy alive after his death.

Kert's final public performance was with Carol Lawrence, who created the role of Maria in West Side Story, at the Rainbow and Stars cabaret in Rockefeller Center in 1990.

In 1991, Kert died of AIDS-related complications in New York City.

Scope and arrangement

The Larry Kert papers date from 1930 to 2016 and detail his theater, television, cabaret, and film work. The bulk of the collection chronicles Kert's acting and singing in theater productions and nightclub acts from 1957 to the 1980s through sheet music and scores, scripts, sound and moving image recordings, and photographs. The collection holds a smaller number of posters, programs, and flyers from the early and later periods of Kert's career. Ron Pullen assembled all posthumous materials, including contracts, correspondence related to Kert's career, memorial programs from the 1990s for Kert and friends, and a small amount of personal photographs. The papers also provide some insight into Tony Stevens's early theater work through sheet music and scripts; and later life and work as a choreographer and director through photographs.

Be advised, Al Jolson-related scores and sheet music, scripts, audio and moving image recordings, and photographs include images and words that can be harmful and offensive.

The Larry Kert papers are arranged in five series:

  • Series I: Scores and Sheet Music
    1930s-2000s

    This series, dating from the 1930s to the 2000s, represent mostly a mix of Kert's musical roles and selections from his nightclub shows. West Side Story, Company, and Side by Side by Sondheim are well represented, but sometimes it is unclear whether the sheet music was created for the musical production or cabaret act. Also present are several Al Jolson songs and medleys. Some of the sheet music features Kert's name and annotations. Song titles are in quotes.

    Tony Stevens's sheet music for The Fig Leaves are Falling and Billy and four folders of sheet music and event programs associated with Cuban-American actor and playwright John Herrera (1955-) are interfiled with Kert's scores and sheet music.

    Be advised, Al Jolson-related scores and sheet music include words that can be harmful and offensive.

  • Series II: Scripts
    1930-2016

    Series II holds scripts from produced and unproduced musicals, as well as some plays and television shows that date from 1930 to 2016. There are three binders from musical productions featuring scene and musical number drafts. Some of the musical scripts are pre-published book drafts with early working titles.

    The series contains scripts for most of Kert's Broadway, touring, Off-Broadway, and regional musical productions. Several writers wrote different musicals based on Al Jolson's life (Joley, Jolson, and Al Jolson, Tonight), these scripts are also present in the series. Most of the unproduced musical scripts present were sent to Kert with notes from the librettist. The television scripts include Kert's guest-starring episodes in Combat!, Hawaii Five-O, and Kojak. There is a draft interfiled with Kert's scripts from a Tony Stevens associated production of Billy-Be-Dam (an early version of Billy).

    There are three binders, Chicago, Rags, and The Rise of David Levinsky, from musical productions that include scene and musical number drafts. Of note is the Chicago binder that also holds Kert's director notes, stage sketches, and annotated sheet music and song lyrics from the University of Miami's 1986 production.

    Be advised, Al Jolson-related scripts include words that can be harmful and offensive.

  • Series III: Audio and Moving Image Recordings
    1946-2013

    Series III holds audio and moving image recordings of Kert's performances in theater productions, events, and cabaret acts dating from 1946 to 2013.

    Moving image recordings are mostly of Kert's performances at events (such as the White House in 1988 and the Tony Awards in 1974), theatrical productions, nightclub shows, and promotional appearances, as well as footage of Kert's memorial service and his sister, Anita Ellis. There are videos of trips to Turkey from 1995, as well as family videos from the 1990s, which may belong to Kert's partner, Ron Pullen.

    The audio recordings mostly cover performances or rehearsals of musicals starring Kert in Broadway, Off-Broadway, tours, or regional productions. Other audio recordings include Kert's 1960 album Larry Kert Sings Leonard Bernstein, interviews with Kert, Kert and Carol Lawrence's cabaret act, multiple recordings of Anita Ellis singing, and songs sent to Kert by various composers.

    Be advised, Al Jolson-related audio and moving image recordings include images and words that can be harmful and offensive.

  • Series IV: Photographs
    1950-1990

    Series IV, dating from 1950 to 1990, contains promotional photographs of Kert and other actors. The images depict theatrical, television, and film productions; events; and candids of the original Broadway cast of West Side Story. There are also headshots of Kert and other actors, and photographs of Kert with his pets, friends, and partners.

    Aside from prints, there are contact sheets, negatives, slides, and four albums. Three of the albums hold candids shot backstage and from the wings during rehearsals and performances of West Side Story. The fourth album, gifted to Kert by entertainment attorney L. Arnold Weissberger, contains prints of Kert on stage in A Musical Jubilee. There are some photographs, a resume, scripts, and notes related to Tony Stevens interfiled with Kert's photographs. Of note are negatives and marked up contact sheets of the West Side Story candid shots.

    Be advised, Al Jolson-related photographs include images that can be harmful and offensive.

  • Series V: Printed Matter and Personal Ephemera
    1948-2015

    The series includes printed matter, Kert's contracts, correspondence about Kert, notes, and a parking citation from Kert's time at Los Angeles City College that dates dating from 1948 to 2015.

    Printed matter in the series consists of posters, programs, review clippings, and promotional releases from Kert's theatrical work, including a large Company poster. The printed matter covers Kert's roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in touring and regional productions, as well as at gala events and in cabaret acts. Of note are Kert's memorial program, Tamiment Playhouse programs from the 1955 to 1956 seasons, and posters from Kert's nightclub shows.

    Personal ephemera includes Kert's contracts; correspondence mostly to Pullen about Kert; as well as notes and a parking citation from Kert's brief time at Los Angeles City College.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Ron Pullen, 2023.

Processing information

Processed by Amy Lau in 2026.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Access restrictions

Box 31 is restricted until 2066.

Inquiries regarding audio and moving image materials in the collection may be directed to the Billy Rose Theatre Division (theatre@nypl.org). Audio and moving image materials may be subject to preservation evaluation and migration prior to access.