Banana’s appeal
Broadway stars recall Dick Latessa, the generous, Tony-winning character actor
WHEN Harvey Fierstein slipped on a housecoat to play Edna in “Hairspray,” his co-star, Dick Latessa, told him he wasn’t the first to do a musical in drag: “We did a number in the out-of-town tryout of ‘Fol- lies’ in drag. Hal [ Prince] eventually gave it to the girls, but I’ll tell you, I thought we were great.”
In a stage career that spanned more than 40 years, Latessa, who died this week at 87, did it all: comedy, drama, song and dance. Even when young, he was never a leading man — always a character actor, or a “second banana,” as he called himself. But every star he shared a stage with was grateful for the support. “He was a huge talent, and he was generous,” says Linda Lavin, who appeared with him in Nicky Silver’s “The Lyons,” on Broadway and off. “We played two deeply disappointed and angry people, bitterly married to each other. And we loved playing it together because we found the humor.”
I first saw Latessa in 1991’s “The Will Rogers Follies.” He played Will’s father, a small role with a charming song, “It’s a Boy!,” in which he performed a dance routine with the ease, grace and humor he brought to all his roles.
“No matter how insane, chaotic and frenzied [it was] backstage, Dick would stay calm,” says press agent Judy Jacksina. “He would flash his 1-million watt smile and wait it out in his dressing room. His mantra was that it would all work out.”
Born and raised in Cleveland, Latessa came to New York to pursue acting relatively late in life — at 38 — and landed his first job in 1968 in the flop musical “The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N.” He was seldom out of work, performing in more than a dozen Broadway shows, as well as off-Broadway plays, movies and TV shows. Everybody on Broadway seemed to know him, even if the public did not. But then came what he always said was his best part: Edna Turnblad’s husband, Wilbur, in “Hairspray.” He and Fierstein had chemistry from the first day of rehearsal, the start of “a very special partnership,” Fierstein says.
Their soft-shoe duet, “(You’re) Timeless to Me,” never failed to stop the show. Both won Tonys for their performances.
Latessa was devoted to his three daughters. His “Hairspray” dressing room, Fierstein recalls, “had nothing there but a chair. Of course, I couldn’t let that be, so I bought him a [small] DVD player to entertain him. His dresser told me he peeled the wrapping paper open enough to see what the gift was, smiled and said, ‘Isn’t that nice of him?’ Then, he wrapped it back up and gave it to one of his daughters!”
“Hairspray” co-writer Scott Wittman remembers this about Latessa: “I had a deal with Veuve Clicquot. If I could get one bottle of Veuve in the show, they would supply cases for any ‘Hairspray’ party. Those parties were legendary, often continuing until the wee hours of the morning. The cast was young and the youngest was Dick, at 73, who would twist the night away until the sun came up.”