Hancock Park Resident Larry Robins Passes Away at 75

Los Angeles lost one of its finest citizens on Saturday, January 23, 2021. Larry Robins passed away at age 75 from complications after battling Multiple Myeloma.

A former music manager and most recently a producer on a Netflix series, Larry had a storied career. After moving to Los Angeles from Toronto in 1969, he began working in Hollywood. One of his first gigs was on the Sonny & Cher show, where he would hold up Chaz to watch “Mommy & Daddy.” He went on to manage musical stars such as Natalie Cole, Bill Hedley, Peter, Paul & Mary, Bonnie & Delaney, and more. He also managed voiceover actors for cartoon series, including Animaniacs, Rugrats, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. But beyond all of his professional achievements, Larry will be remembered for his kindness, generosity and his deep, personal relationships.

I met Larry in 2017, when my family moved in two doors down from him and his wife, Catherine. I knew immediately there was something magical about him. He had a warm smile and made us feel welcomed in the neighborhood as if we had lived there for years. He’d step out of the house to walk his “babies” – dogs Gracie and Eddie – and just naturally a crowd of neighbors would gather as he struck up a conversation with all. He had an ability to genuinely connect with anyone and everyone, whether heads of studios or those with no roof over their heads.

Every morning for decades, you could find Larry at the Farmers Market on Farifax, where he sat at his regular table, enjoyed his coffee, read the LA Times, and held court. Local resident Cindy Appel was enjoying breakfast there one morning, and she said she “noticed that in the space of 20 minutes, 10 people came over to talk to this guy. He’d shake their hand, ask about their family, listen to their problems, and offer bagels.” One day, Appel broke the ice and started talking politics. After that, she and Larry became friends and spoke about everything from the TV business to politics to their families. “He was the King of Farmers Market. He made it a community” says Appel.

Since his passing, similar stories flooded social media platforms. Robins’ friend Terrance Whitten stated, “no one in my life respected what was going on between my ears more than Larry did.”

Ronnie Pessin said she met Larry while working at Republique, another local spot he frequented. He’d enter through the employee door, iPad in hand, and order his pastry and coffee. He’d engage in conversation with Pessin each day, and when she quietly left the restaurant to start at a new one, he got her contact info from another team member to keep up the friendship. Walter and Marge Manzke of Republique put it best in an online tribute: “Larry was truly a man who led by example. He was always full of stories, jokes, and life lessons that he was eager to share with anyone and everyone. He had the special gift of forming meaningful relationships with everyone he met.”

Larry was beloved by all who knew him, but most especially by his wife of 40 years, Catherine Scott. I remember enjoying a wonderful meal at their home and being enthralled with watching the two of them together. It was though they were straight out of a scene in Nicholas Spark’s, “The Notebook.” They danced around each other while serving us, giggling like newlyweds and stealing sweet glances at each other throughout the evening. This man of many words was often quiet around the love of his life, eager to hear his “sweetheart’s” every word. When I spoke this week with Catherine about “the man of her dreams,” she mentioned how humble he was. “He could be soaring in business and health and never brag, or he could be going through tough times physically or professionally and never complain” she said. 

Scott remembered him with a story: “Many years ago I was driving down 3rd street and saw him come out of a convalescent home. That night I asked him what he had been up to. He replied that one of the regulars at the Farmer’s Market had fallen and broken her hip. ‘She loves the bagels from there so I bring one to her each morning.’ I asked how long she had been in there. He said ‘umm…about two and a half years’. He NEVER mentioned it to me. He never looked for credit or a pat on the back. He just did it because it fit his life’s philosophy. If you have the power to do something to improve someone’s life, you do it.”

I think the world would be a better place if we all tapped into our inner Larry. “If you have the power to do something to improve someone’s life, you do it.”

Larry Robins will be publicly remembered later this summer at the Original Farmers Market on Farifax as the management will unveil a plaque dedicated to his memory at his table.