A summer of sorrows for Orlando’s arts community
For the Central Florida arts community, it has truly been a summer of sorrows. A string of deaths has left many in the creative realm grieving for weeks, with two upcoming celebrations of life attesting to that.
From 5-9 p.m. on Aug. 6, friends of Kerry Giese will gather at Penguin Point Productions in Oviedo Mall for a lighthearted evening of reminiscences about the actor-playwright-director, who died June 18 at age 67. On Sept. 16, a celebration of Doug Ba’aser will take place at Orlando Repertory Theatre. Ba’aser, the actor, trivia host and radio personality known for Fringe Festival appearances, comedy plays and his drag character Taffy Pinkerbox, died at age 62 on July 16.
Vicki Roussman, Orlando’s “comedy mom,” was already celebrated at a service in which a musician-comedian sang “Let the Good Times Roll.” The promoter-producer died at age 75 on June 17.
And friends of Adrian LePeltier remembered him at a wand-raising tribute at Universal Orlando in honor of the actor and bon vivant who had portrayed a wandkeeper in the Harry Potter realm. LePeltier, who also acted at multiple local theaters and was a Universal creative director, died July 8 at age 82.
LePeltier and Ba’aser have been saluted in these pages already, but here’s more about Giese and Roussman, who also left their mark on our entertainment scene.
Many know Giese, whose stage name was Kerry Burke, from roles at Sleuths Mystery Dinner Shows or through his work with Theatre at the J, the theater-program at the Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando in Maitland.
But before arriving in Central Florida, he had a long and varied career in theater, movies and TV. He managed a comedy club in New York, where he also appeared on the soap opera “Ryan’s Hope.” He performed on the stand-up comedy circuit, moved to Hollywood and guest starred on shows such as “Married With Children” and “Mr. Belvedere.” He warmed up the audience for Carol Burnett’s “Carol & Company” TV show before taking a gig at Disneyland, where he met his wife, Amanda.
“He was easygoing, friendly and funny — but without any of the baggage” that can come with performing, said Laurel Clark, who worked with him at Sleuths. She recalled he was a quick study — who took on Sleuths’ most challenging role with aplomb.
“He was so creative, he could write and act and direct,” Clark said. At Sleuths, “he went straight to detective-ing, which not many do. He was really good at it. He could be very funny, get the facts [of the fictional case] out, keep it family-friendly and control the room.”
Giese also was a playwright, and Clark remembered him working on a parody of the musical “Hair” and an original idea, “Meet Me in Margaritaville” — works she hopes will see the light of day again. In 2014, he presented his original dramedy “Glory Days” at the Orlando Fringe Festival.
“He should have more of a legacy than his performing,” she said.
Giese was a fan of the New York Yankees, the Beatles and Steely Dan and was proud to be a
“self-proclaimed hippy and bleeding heart liberal,” according to his official obituary.
But Clark remembered, most of all, that “Everybody loved him.”
Roussman was the larger-than-life force behind FunnyEola, a free comedy night at Lake Eola Park’s amphitheater that ran for more than a decade in the 1990s-early 2000s. And she later presented Cranes Comedy at Cranes Roost Park at Altamonte Springs.
“She was loud, she was funny, she was raucous, she was a little risqué sometimes,” said John DiDonna, who worked with her while running a comedy troupe. “When she came in a room, you knew she was in the room. She had a huge laugh that I can still hear in the back of my head.”
Roussman, who also taught “Comedy as a Career” classes at Valencia College, graduated from Edgewater High in Orlando before heading to New York, where she was a talent booking agent and producer. She returned to Central Florida in the mid-1980s to care for her ailing father.
Friend Bonnie Sprung remembered her compassion — along with her technophobia and love of dogs.
“All the times you kvetched about ‘How do I fix this on my computer’ or ‘Come over and please take pictures of me and my new dog,’ ” Sprung posted in tribute on social media. “But you had a warm heart and would always be there if anyone needed anything.”
DiDonna said far beyond presenting and producing comedy shows, Roussman cared about developing talent and bringing out the best in her performers.
“She not only gave people a forum, she helped nurture and inspire people,” he said.
For years, she led the free, weekly Comedy All-Stars Workshop, giving would-be comedians a chance to brainstorm, connect and test one-liners. A 1994 Orlando Sentinel feature described her as “earth mother, patron saint and occasional business agent to a goodly portion of Central Florida’s would-be stand-up comedians.”
But Roussman — known for her signature purple fashion — never wanted to be a comedian herself. In fact, she told the Sentinel she wouldn’t be good at it.
“I have a feeling it’s some kind of thing in your DNA,” she said. “It’s one of those genetic quirks — you either can do it or you can’t.”
But Roussman was in love with comedy — and with sharing the gift of laughter with the world.
“I think it’s one of the most intelligent art forms we have going,” she said. “‘I’m fascinated by it.”