After taking piano lessons for a while, I sat a music exam and became what is known as a ‘Junior Exhibitioner’. This entitled me to attend a London Music College under the guidance of Dr W S Lloyd-Webber (the father of Andrew).
Since first becoming aware of, and transfixed, by this amazing little instrument that would fit in my pocket, I have been a fan of Larry Adler. So much so, that it was my dream to meet him, although there was no valid reason why this should ever happen.
I studied music, and after some years (including studies in America) I qualified as a music teacher and became involved in music as a career. However, after some time my passion for photography took me in a new direction.
I started to work professionally in my new chosen field. Some years later, I received an answerphone message from no other than a certain Larry Adler. I was both surprised and delighted to receive this call but to my extreme disappointment, it was not the Larry I was hoping to meet. By coincidence, this Larry was the agent for another musician – Peggy Seeger (the sister of Pete).
However, it was following my change of direction into photography that I first had the opportunity to meet the Larry Adler that I had been hoping to meet.
In 1995, having just opened the Italiaander Portrait Gallery at Harrods, I was invited with my wife Tamar, to a Variety Club lunch at The Dorchester Hotel where Larry was to be one of the celebrity guests. The event was for the comedian Davy Kaye who had devoted his life to helping disadvantaged children through the Variety Club. Another guest who was there to speak about Davy was Dr Christian Barnard (who carried out the world’s first heart transplant).
During the lunch, the lights dimmed, an orchestral (recording) started and suddenly Larry was performing. It was a magical moment!
After lunch, I was introduced to Larry by John Ratcliff who had invited us to this special occasion. John, a past international president of Variety and his wife Marsha Rae, (who had created Gold Heart Day which has raised millions for the charity) sang my photographic praises and told Larry that I wanted to photograph him.
Larry gave me his phone number and invited me to call him to arrange a portrait session. I did so the next day and he suggested that I drop by, there and then. Fortunately I had some free time and to my amazement I discovered that his home was a short walk from my studio in Primrose Hill. We met and arranged what was to become the first of a number of portrait sittings.
I was looking forward to having the opportunity to photograph Larry and spend some time talking about music. I didn’t for one minute expect that we would develop a friendship, but Larry often dropped by my studio. We would meet for lunch or I would occasionally go to concerts where he was performing and take some photographs. Subsequently I photographed him a number of times – in his home, in my studio and on stage.
Larry with Gary Italiaander (and sculpture by an American artist) at the home of Cindy Lass.
© Italiaander
Larry’s Early Life
It is not my intention to write a complete history of Larry’s life as he did that in his autobiography, It Ain’t Necessarily So, which makes fascinating reading!
Larry as a young child Joachim Kreck Film - und Fernsehproduktion
But I will at this point talk about how Larry started on the road to becoming the most unique presenter of the harmonica of all time and dip into that history periodically, to give some perspective to when certain things took place.
Larry started his autobiography with an explanation of his choice of the title, pointing out that memory is open to interpretation. He did this by talking about an incident involving him, which had occurred in Germany. A few different people had recalled a story as they remembered it and all the recollections were quite different. Larry then began to question his own memory of the event!
Deciding on the most appropriate title for this book, Reflections – A Tribute to Larry Adler, was relatively straightforward. Just as it was, when I decided to write the book in the first place. I wanted to collect a variety of memories about this remarkable man and to create a lasting record.
At the time of writing Reflections it had been difficult, and in some cases almost impossible, to obtain a clear record of certain information, particularly regarding tennis. However the most important aspect, his musical life, has been documented here by those who knew him well.
For now, let’s go back to 1914, the year Larry was born.
Lawrence Cecil Adler was born on the 10th February 1914 in Baltimore, USA just before the outbreak of World War 1 - a fact that he hoped someone in the future would consider to be significant.
It is fair to say, although no one would have been aware of it then, he was about to make his mark on this world.
Larry was born into a Jewish family; his parents, whose original family name was Zelakovitch, were born in Russia before moving to America as infants.
One of the earliest portraits of Larry with his parents. From Larry’s private collection - with kind permission of Marmoset Adler
As a young child, no one in Larry’s family was musical, but when he was around 5 years old an uncle took him to see Rachmaninov perform in Baltimore and Larry was immediately smitten. After this, Larry was taken to see Al Jolson perform and he then wanted to be a combination of the two - Al Rachmaninov!
Larry’s father ran a plumbing business and Larry would sometimes help with plumbing jobs which convinced him, whatever his future, it did not include a career in plumbing.
Larry’s brother, born five years later, was named Hilliard Gerald but was known as Jerry. He also went on to become a harmonica maestro in the USA like his older brother.
A young Larry
With kind permission of Joachim Kreck Film - und Fernsehproduktion.
Jerry Adler
Written shortly after Larry’s death in 2001, during Jerry’s visit to Britain for the Memorial Concert. Jerry was also a harmonica maestro, mainly performing in the USA and on cruise ships. He died in 2010.
Now, my recollection about Larry. At the age of 10 he became the junior cantor of our local synagogue in Baltimore. He was a tyrant about mother, dad and I following the rigid rules of Sabbath. No lights in the house except for candles. We were forbidden to carry money in our pockets which, unfortunately, was not a terrible sacrifice because we didn't have any!
When Larry was 10 years old, he was walking down the street in Baltimore and suddenly passed a music store. He was fascinated by a beautiful Mason-Hamlin piano displayed in the window. He walked into the store with the assurance of a knowledgeable adult that he was seriously interested in the piano. Word has it that the salesman, in his eager desire to make the sale, promised Larry that if he was serious about the purchase, he would throw in a Hohner chromatic harmonica!
Larry eagerly ran home to inform our parents that it was his dream to own this exquisite piano. Dad was a hard-working plumber who eked out a living that bordered on poverty. He actually talked Dad into going with him to see the piano and then the salesman talked our father into making the purchase. Larry promised that he would dedicate his life to learning the piano. But if the truth be told, I believe that he was far more interested in the "free" harmonica!
When Larry decided to pursue show biz he was determined to not break his orthodox rules on kosher food and proceeded to eat corn flakes three times a day. This went on for over three months until he