I was
deeply saddened today by the news that Leon Redbone passed away this morning. Leon – who
retired from performing in 2015 due to health concerns – was a man of
self-created mystery who cultivated that mystery from the beginning of his
career. He was a unique character, who I never saw break character.
Once,
in the 1970s, I went to pick
Leon up at the Montreal airport. I watched for him at the international arrivals gate for what seemed
like a very long time and finally assumed he was a no-show. Then I felt a tap
on my shoulder, turned around, and Leon said, “I hope you arranged to have fan
dancers at the show tonight. I can’t do the show without fan dancers.” He had ducked
out of Canada Customs through a side door and watched me watching for him for a
while.
Leon was a brilliant singer, guitarist and stage
performer whose repertoire was pulled from old jazz, blues and Tin Pan Alley songs.
My
deepest condolences to Leon’s wife, Beryl Handler, who was already Leon’s
manager when I first produced a concert with him in 1974, and to their daughters.
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