| Remembering LORENZO MUSIC |
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| It is my sad duty to inform you that Mr. Lorenzo Music, the voice behind the fat cat, died of bone cancer on August 4th, 2001. My heart stopped abruptly for a minute as I saw the little blurb about him in my people magazine. While I was shocked he had died- I was angry that this wonderful and gentle man had not recieved the proper obituary coverage that is given to so many other "worthy" celebrities. I was hurt to see that the people behind PEOPLE magazine could be so carelesss and assume that Two sentences on the scoop page would do this man justice. Lorenzo Music was a national treasure- and he will be greatly missed.... For all you Lorenzo lovers I have compiled a few articles and blurbs about him, so even though he is gone... He will never be forgotten. |
| August 8, 2001 OBITUARIES Lorenzo Music; Voice of Garfield the Cat By MYRNA OLIVER, TIMES STAFF WRITER He swore he didn't know Garfield the Cat from Charlie the Tuna. Nevertheless, the former folk singer and comedy writer with the voice once described as "kind of cutely stupid" became television's animated Garfield. Lorenzo Music, who was also the voice of Carlton, the unseen drunk doorman of the TV series "Rhoda," as well as a crash dummy and a pig Latin-spouting tout for the Queen Mary, has died. He was 64. Music died Saturday of bone cancer at his home in Los Angeles' Hancock Park. Garfield creator Jim Davis chose Music as the orange cat's sardonic voice for the comic strip's first animated television special in 1982. Building on Garfield and the popularity he had already achieved on "Rhoda" from 1974 to 1978, Music became something of the pet rock of voice advertising. Music played a crash dummy in a public service ad urging automobile passengers to buckle their seat belts--and collected a settlement from Universal Pictures after the likeness was used without permission in the 1987 film "Harry and the Hendersons." "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get so overexposed that no one will want me," Music told The Times in 1987, a little embarrassed by his newfound success. "But it seems that the more you do in this business, the more people want you. "Anonymity works for me," Music said. "That way I never grow old." Born Gerald David Music in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Duluth, Minn., Music studied at the University of Minnesota. He assumed the name Lorenzo for spiritual reasons. While in college, he met his wife, Henrietta, and performed with her for several years. In 1976 they had a syndicated variety program, "The Lorenzo and Henrietta Music Show," which was seen locally on KTTV Channel 11. Music was a folk singer working in San Francisco when he met Tommy Smothers, to whom his voice has been compared. Smothers hired him to write for his "The Smothers Brothers Show" with brother Dick. The show earned Music an Emmy in 1969, and he went on to write and work as story editor for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Bob Newhart Show." Music and his wife also wrote the theme song for the Newhart show. Working on the Mary Tyler Moore spinoff "Rhoda" with partner David Davis, Music had no intention of acting in the sitcom. But producers who liked his unusual voice asked him to try it, and he became Carlton the Doorman. After "Rhoda" was canceled, a Paramount executive suggested that Music capitalize on the fondness for the Carlton voice by making radio commercials--a new career that he followed until about a month ago. Music is survived by his wife and their four children, Roz, Fernando, Sam and Leilani. |
| LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Lorenzo Music, who provided the distinctive voice of "Garfield" the cartoon cat and worked on television series including "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Rhoda," has died. He was 64. Music died at his home Saturday of lung cancer that had spread throughout his body. He worked until about a month ago, when he recorded Garfield's voice for an automobile advertisement, said his wife, Henrietta. "The most compelling thing about him was the sort of relentless, easy, every day humor," she said Tuesday. "He had a dry, sharp wit and it was quick. He was cracking jokes on Thursday; we were all sitting around in his room." Music won an Emmy as a writer for the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" in 1969 and went on to become a story editor for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." He co-wrote with his wife the theme song for "The Bob Newhart Show," which he helped create. Music and his partner David Davis created "Rhoda," a spinoff to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and Music became the voice of Carlton the doorman, who communicated through an intercom but was never seen. "Valerie's heart is breaking, but Rhoda is certain that Carlton the doorman is giving St. Peter at the gate a run for his money," said Valerie Harper, the star of "Rhoda." Music went on to work full time as a voice actor, portraying several cartoon characters and eventually voicing "Garfield" in prime-time animated specials and for a Saturday morning series that aired for seven years. Music born Gerald David Music on May 2, 1937, in New York City and grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota, where he met his wife. The pair formed a comedy act that lasted eight years. Music later took the first name Lorenzo for spiritual reasons, his wife said. Music is survived by his wife and their four children. |
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| Lorenzo and his wife, Henrietta circa 1976 |
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| Copyright PAWS INC. www.garfield.com |
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| Garfield's Signature Pose |
| A Choice Blurb from Entertainment Weekly Magazine...... |
| BLURB OF THE WEEK LORENZO MUSIC, CREATOR OF 'THE BOB NEWHART SHOW' " Henry Alford stole.... my book! I had been thinking about writing a book and was just about to put it on paper when I read Municipal Bondage. It's the exact same book I was planning to write! Word for word! He even "copied my style." |
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| LORENZO |
| I AM |
| If you have some more Lorenzo Music articles, pictures and information please e-mail me- If you have any things you'd like to say to or about Lorenzo, feel free to send me your comments.I'd love for this site to grow and grow! I want people to be able to feel as close to this great man as possible. May he rest and peace and lie with the Angels... |