A00436 - Lawrence Carey Ragland, Amherst College Class of 1970, James Solomon Russell High School (Lawrenceville, Virginia) Graduate, Amherst Zumbye Who Appeared on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show
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In Memory
Larry “Rags” Ragland died Jan. 24, 2002, in New York, less than a month short of his 54th birthday. Larry spent his last few years working as a commercial lines underwriter for S & M Kline Company on Long Island, but the majority of his career was spent in the entertainment industry. Rags majored in both math and Zumbyes, and the memory of his solos still resounds with more than one of us.
Tim Armour ’70 recalls, “He was a Zumbye when I was and had just a terrific voice. He soloed on ‘When I Fall in Love’ and had a soft velvety voice that was absolutely pro quality. He’s featured, I think, on the ‘Z’ album of our era. Two other things I remember well. One is that he was in the car I was in traveling to Florida for spring vacation one year. Somewhere south of Richmond, Va., we stopped to eat at a typical roadside place late at night on our Florida ‘drive through.’ Three white college kids and Rags. We didn’t get served. We waited, waited, waited, and no one paid any attention to us. Two of us had no idea what was happening—one from Idaho (me) and someone else equally sheltered. After about a half hour (we were patient, and very hungry!), Rags said, ‘Let’s go.’ He clearly knew what was happening. He was cool about it; the rest of us weren’t. But the rest of us had never experienced anything like that, and he had. The other thing I remember is that several years after graduation when I could stay up that late, I was watching Johnny Carson, and the guest singer is Rags! Wow! He was good, too!”
Larry was born in Lawrenceville, Va., the youngest of six children. He graduated from James Solomon Russell High School in 1966, where he excelled in math and science. At Amherst, he was a member of Psi Upsilon. Larry never married but was close to his nieces and nephews. He enjoyed tennis, chess and Scrabble. His survivors include two sisters, Lucia Windley and Irma Moore, and his brother Leon, who was kind enough to send the order of service from his memorial service in Portsmouth, Va., as well as a videotape of some of Larry’s performances.
Rags’s appearance on the Tonight Show was the result of his having been seen by Tonight Show frequent guest host Bill Cosby, who took a liking to Larry’s singing and his comedy work. Among many other places, Larry appeared at Dangerfield’s, Catch a Rising Star and the Apollo in New York City. The videotape of his appearance at the Apollo was electric. He began with a couple of stand-up jokes: “I saw an ad on TV last night that said ‘You can feed a child in Pakistan for 30 cents a day’—so this morning I put my three kids on a plane.” Larry’s musical impressions were absolutely right on: Sammy Davis Jr., Ray Charles, The Temptations, Johnny Mathis and Willie Nelson, among others—they earned him a standing ovation at the Apollo. Other clips show grainier footage of other performances, but it’s vintage Larry all the way. I’ll bring the tape to our 35th where we can take a few minutes to enjoy it together.
Tim Armour ’70 summed him up: “He had a wonderful voice, a gentle but rather cynical way about him and quietly went about his business. I’ll play the record and miss him.”
Brock Putnam ’70
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