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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 theatre production of the musical West Side Story. He was nominated for a Tony Awards (1971) for his work in the musical comedy Company (1970).
Kert's first professional credit was as a member of a theatrical troupe called the "Bill Norvas and the Upstarts" in the 1950 Broadway theatre revue Tickets, Please!. "Tickets, Please!". ibdb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2019. After a seven-month run, he worked sporadically in Broadway, "Kert Broadway". ibdb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2019. Off-Broadway and ballet productions as a dancer until 1957, when he was cast in West Side Story.
According to Arthur Laurents, who wrote the libretto for West Side Story, Kert was "a California extrovert, laughing, bubbling, deadly funny, and openly gay." 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. 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. The role went to former child actor Richard Beymer, whose vocals were dubbed by Jimmy Bryant. Kert was upset at being passed over for the role, because he had hoped that it would jump-start his film career.
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 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. 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, 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.
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.
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 Gershwin 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. 1987 recording booklet (CBS – M2K 42522)
Kert made brief appearances in the feature films Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and New York, New York (1977). 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, , and Love, American Style. He also appeared several times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. 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.
| 1950 | Tickets, Please! | Performer | Broadway |
| 1953 | John Murray Anderson's Almanac | Ensemble | Broadway |
| 1956-1957 | Mr. Wonderful | Stagehand | Broadway |
| 1957-1959 | West Side Story | 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 | Company | 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 |
| 1982 | Gigi | Gaston Lachailles | The Muny |
| Anything Goes | Billy Crocker | ||
| 1983 | A Little Night Music | Fredrik Egerman | Theatre Under the Stars |
| 1984 | Funny Girl | Nick Arnstein | The Muny |
| Playhouse Square | |||
| Cincinnati Music Hall | |||
| Guys and Dolls | Sky Masterson | Paper Mill Playhouse | |
| 1985 | The Music Man | Harold Hill | North Shore Music Theatre |
| Ogunquit Playhouse | |||
| 1986 | Rags | Nathan Hershkowitz | Broadway |
| 1987-1988 | La Cage aux Folles | Georges | US Tour |
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