Larry Kert; ‘West Side Story’ Star

Larry Kert, whose soaring tenor voice gave the nation its initial glimpse of many of the melodic miracles of “West Side Story,” has died in New York of AIDS.

Kert, 60, died of the disease Wednesday at his home, said director Martin Charnin, who appeared with the actor in the landmark musical.

The musical retelling of “Romeo and Juliet” arrived at the Winter Garden Theater in 1957. Kert and Carol Lawrence played star-crossed lovers doomed by gang warfare between Anglos and Puerto Ricans.

Kert, with his appealing voice and sensitive stance, sang some of the most memorable songs in the Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim score--”Maria,” “Tonight” and “Something’s Coming.”

But Kert’s career faltered after that meteoric rise, and it was not until 1970, when he starred in “Company,” that the Los Angeles native returned to his early prominence.

Kert had been hired to understudy Dean Jones as the star of “Company,” Sondheim’s musical about marriage and bachelorhood in Manhattan.

After only two weeks, Jones left the cast, ostensibly for health reasons, but many said it was because of disenchantment with the play.

Kert was drinking a beer at a New York Knicks basketball game when he was told to rush to the theater.

He was nominated for a Tony Award for his subsequent performances, the only replacement actor ever considered for the prize. He toured with the play for several years.

Among the other musicals in which Kert appeared on Broadway were “A Family Affair” (1962), “La Strada” (1969) and “A Musical Jubilee” (1975). His last Broadway appearance was in 1986 as Teresa Stratas’ husband in the musical “Rags.”

He also was seen on tour in “Sugar” with Robert Morse (a musical version of “Some Like It Hot”) and “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” and he worked cruise ships and nightclubs.

Dancer Alan Johnson, who had known Kert since their “West Side Story” days, said Kert and Lawrence were reunited in October at the Rainbow and Stars nightclub atop Rockefeller Center, where they reprised many of the top hits from the show.

Johnson recalled how his friend and Lawrence had auditioned for weeks before becoming Tony and Maria.

“Originally, they were looking for a different type, but Larry and Carol kept being paired together at the auditions and it became obvious to all of us they were the best,” Johnson said.

Kert attended Marshall and Hollywood high schools in Los Angeles and graduated from Hollywood Professional School. He left Los Angeles City College to join a song and dance group called Bill Norvas and the Upstarts, eventually moving to Hollywood’s Players’ Ring Gallery and ultimately to Broadway.

Charismatic and aggressive on stage, Kert was modest and soft-spoken away from the lights.

He raised Ibizan hounds, sometimes at more profit than he made from his stage career, studied fencing and lamented the fact that neither he nor any of the leads from “West Side Story” were considered for the 1961 film version.

In an interview after “Company” had returned him to the spotlight, Kert reflected in a Times interview about his roller-coaster career:

“ ‘West Side Story’ was my security blanket. I was afraid to fill in something else. . . . Now I’ve learned through analysis . . . I’m not afraid to fall on my face. . . . “

Kert is survived by two sisters, singer Anita Ellis and Evelyn Kert, and a brother, Mort. His longtime companion was Ron Pullen.

No funeral service is planned. A memorial service will be held later this month, probably at the Winter Garden, Charnin said.

Johnson asked that donations in Kert’s name be made either to the Actors’ Fund or the Manhattan Center for Living.