[78-L] Marvin Hamlisch

[OKIN EARL]

 Either Hamlisch was very arrogant or he was very insecure. Sometimes,
the result is the same.

A few years ago, he was working here in London and was given our best
session musicians to play his arrangements...trust me...they're the
BEST!

Nevertheless, he kept being rude to them.
At one point, however, he stopped abruptly and said 'What's this shit
I'm hearing?'

My friend Mitch, who is a world-class guitarist who has worked with
EVERYONE and has a great sense of humour, looked up and replied...

'It's YOUR shit, Marvin'.

It's always sad when anyone dies, but I was never a great fan of his, I afraid.

Earl.

> From: Philip Carli <Philip_Carli at pittsford.monroe.edu>

>
> I was very angry at Hamlisch at the Academy Award ceremonies that year when he accepted his STING Oscar - not even one mention of Joplin's name the whole night, and I never forgave that; at the time he just seemed an arrogant guy who was lucky.  I had a piano teacher then who in addition to my Chopin, Beethoven, and other standard lit was willing to work with me on the Joplin, Joseph F. Lamb, and James Scott I brought in excitedly.  (This teacher also put me onto Gottschalk, a lifelong love.) Ignoring Joplin at the Oscars raised my immature indignation. After that  I always referred to Hamlisch as "Ham-misch" and my mother playing the CHORUS LINE lp over and over on our Zenith console drove me crazy; when the family went to see the show in LA I deliberately opted out.  I think he changed once things weren't so lucky and effortless for him; I'm sorry he passed at a time when I think he was contributing something beyond his compositions to musical life, had some personal perspe
>  ctive that showed in his interviews, and it saddens me now that he's gone.