You always knew when Lanny Davis was in the room, because when he laughed, he laughed. You might think you’ve heard someone with a big guffaw before, but I guarantee you, nobody’s laugh measured up to Lanny’s. His laugh would fill a room and then some, and when Lanny laughed, everybody laughed, because it was so great to see somebody enjoying life like that.
As big as his laugh was, though, his heart was a zillion times bigger. Lanny was one of the nicest, friendliest, most loyal people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. If Lanny was your friend, you had a friend for life.
We lost our friend Lanny on Friday. He passed away following a long bout with cancer, and this loss is heartbreaking. We’ve lost a giant of a man.
You might have known Lanny, too. If you’ve seen any play that the Community Theatre of Howell has done in the last 15 years or so, you’ve probably seen Lanny Davis. You’ve either seen him on stage or you’ve seen one of the many plays or musicals he directed.
That’s how I got to know Lanny. I met my wife in a CTH play back in 1994 called “Kiss Me, Kate,” and Lanny was one of the first people in the group I got to know.
“Who’s that guy with the big laugh? The one who won’t stop smiling?”
“Oh, that’s Lanny.”
When Lanny was on stage, you couldn’t miss him, either. He was an incredibly talented singer and actor, and he brought to life some of the most memorable performances Livingston County has ever seen. The first show I saw him in was “Oklahoma!” He played Curly, and you could tell right away that this man was something special.
I think my favorite Lanny Davis role was when he played Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” If you’ve ever seen that play, you know that Big Daddy is one of the greatest roles ever written for an actor. Big Daddy is domineering and mean and needs to totally command the stage.
Lanny did. He was incredible. I’ve seen a whole lot of theater in Livingston County through the years, but I’ve never seen a performance like that. One of the nicest people I’ve ever met was playing one of the meanest people I’d ever seen.
After the show, I went up to him and said, “Lanny, you scared the heck out of me!”
“Good!” he said. “That’s what I was hoping for!”
Then he let out one of those big Lanny Davis laughs, and I wasn’t afraid of him anymore.
Lanny also directed some of the best shows CTH has ever done – “The Wizard of Oz,” “Steppin’ Out,” “Carousel,” “Singin’ in the Rain” and a whole bunch more. He directed shows like he lived his life — big and lively.
If you’ve ever seen the CTH stage at the Howell High School Freshman Campus, you know that it’s not exactly huge. Despite the modest space, though, Lanny’s shows always looked like they were on stage at the Fisher. He had big, bold sets and special effects that would knock your socks off.
When he directed “Singin’ in the Rain,” Lanny had it in his head that he wanted there to be real rain during the show’s title number. (In the movie, this was when Gene Kelly sang and danced as he splashed through the puddles.) When Lanny announced that he wanted to come up with a way to produce real rain on the stage, the prevailing opinion was pretty much this: “Are you crazy? On this tiny stage?”
Well, you can probably guess what happened next. Lanny figured out a way to make it rain on the stage, and when that number took place, the audience gasped when the drops started to fall.
Also when he directed “Singin’ in the Rain,” Lanny had it in his head that he wanted a certain person to play a certain role in the show — me. Somehow, Lanny had found out that I had taken two years of tap-dancing lessons back when I was 13 and 14. (In case you’re wondering why a 13-year-old boy would voluntarily take tap-dancing lessons, I did it to meet girls. But that’s another story.)
Anyway, Lanny needed someone who knew how to tap dance to play a vocal instructor in a musical number called “Moses Supposes.” There are (believe it or not) very few men in Livingston County who know how to tap dance even a little, so when Lanny found out that I knew how to do a shuffle-hop-step, he told me that I HAD to try out for the part.
The problem was, this was the exact time that I was starting a campaign for state representative.
“I’m going to be really busy,” I said. “I’m not sure I can do it.”
“But just think how many voters are going to be in the audience!” he said.
Well, you can probably guess what happened next. I ended up playing the tap-dancing vocal instructor. I didn’t win the election, of course, but being in the show no doubt got me a few votes that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.
The real benefit of that experience, though, was that I got to be in a Lanny Davis show. It’s one of the great, treasured experiences of my life.
So there are an awful lot of people who are experiencing unbearable sadness today because we’ve lost our friend Lanny. He had one of the most wonderful families I’ve ever known, and I can’t imagine the grief that his wife Lisa and their kids, Angel, Rebecca and John Mark, are feeling today. We should all keep them in our prayers.
Today, though, I’m trying to remember the way that Lanny Davis lived.
The best that any of us can hope for in life is to raise good kids, make good friends and make our mark in some way. If those are the measuring sticks of a good life, then Lanny set a standard that might never be matched.
A man of very deep faith, Lanny and Lisa raised great kids. Angel, Rebecca and John Mark are three of the best — successful, talented and just as friendly and wonderful as their parents.
Lanny made good friends. He probably has no idea how many great friends he had — all of the people who are feeling such heartbreak today.
And Lanny made his mark. Boy, did he ever.
Livingston County has lost one of the greatest entertainers it’s ever known. And I’ve lost a great friend.
If you hear a little thunder tonight coming from the clouds, don’t worry. That’s just Lanny, laughing.
Rest in peace, my friend.
