Voting Station

Larry Adler

Please vote to return to collections.

Musician

The Resume

    (February 10, 1914-August 6, 2001)
    Born in Baltimore, Maryland
    Harmonica player
    Known for playing classical works on harmonica, including Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ Ravel’s ‘Bolero,’ Vivaldi’s ‘Violin Concerto in A Minor,’ and Beethoven’s ‘Minuet in G’
    Scored the films ‘Genevieve’ (1953), ‘A Cry from the Streets’ (1958), ‘The Hellions’ (1961), ‘King & Country’ (1964), and ‘High Wind in Jamaica’ (1965)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was dismissed from the Peabody Conservatory of Music for being untalented.
    He ran away from home at age fifteen.
    He did not receive notification from AMPAS of his nomination for an Oscar for Best Score for ‘Genevieve’ until 31 years after it happened.
    He was married and divorced twice.
    He conducted an affair with Ingrid Bergman when they were on a USO tour together during World War II.
    He turned down a knighthood because he had retained his American citizenship.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was blacklisted after refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and went into exile in England for the rest of his life.
    He reportedly caused harmonica sales in Britain to increase 20-fold.
    He got contemporary composers like Ralph Vaughan Williams and Darius Milhaud to compose works for the harmonica.
    When he was 80, he and producer George Martin recorded ‘The Glory of Gershwin,’ which hit #2 on the British album chart and made him the oldest performer to earn a gold record.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 20 Votes: 15.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying