The list of famous Westporters is vast and well-known. Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Shonda Rhimes, Rodney Dangerfield, Bette Davis, Michael Douglas, Rod Serling, Martha Stewart, Harvey Weinstein, Michael Bolton, Marilyn Chambers, Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, Robert Ludlum, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, Jim Nantz, Harry Reasoner, Meat Loaf, Nile Rodgers, Neil Sedaka, Frank Deford, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charles Lindbergh, Fiorello La Guardia, James Comey — and those are only a few.
So why do we never mention Johnny Marks?
This Christmas, it’s appropriate to remember the man who for many years had a home on Green Acre Lane, off South Compo.
He died in 1985 from complications of diabetes. His son continued to live there.
Johnny Marks
Marks wrote “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” — the classic tune that, since its first release by Gene Autry in 1949, has sold nearly 200 million records.
That was just the start. Marks formed his own publishing company — St. Nicholas Music — and churned out a slew of other Christmas classics: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Run, Rudolph, Run” and “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” among them.
Not bad for a Jewish kid from Mount Vernon, New York.
A few years ago, I wrote about Johnny Marks. I said I didn’t know much about his life in Westport. I asked readers to chime in.
Jim Rodebush wrote: “Johnny Marks was a daily Compo Beach guy. He sat in the same spot with the same group of people. I worked at Compo from 1972 until 1977 and got to know him just to say hello.
“Fast forward a couple of years and I was working in New York. Having lunch one day in Washington Square; Johnny was playing speed chess.
“He saw me, but my hair was short and I was in a suit and tie. He came over and asked how he knew me. I replied, ‘Compo Beach.’ He laughed, and we had a nice conversation about Westport and Compo.”
Sherri Daley noted, “Decades ago. I was drinking at a local bar with the man I loved. We chatted with a handsome older gentleman about everything from Schopenhauer to antique cars. When the bartender announced he was closing up, the old gent invited us over to his house.
“We followed him. It was December and the roads were icy and black, but we managed to get to his house and struggle up the icy stone walk. He told us to get some champagne out of the fridge. That was all there was in it: 6 bottles of Dom Perignon. I got one and we followed him into the living room.
“The room was huge, with very little furniture and a grand piano. The parquet floors were polished to a high gloss; the moon and the piano reflected in the wood. We could see snow falling out the large windows
“Of course I asked the old gent if he played, and of course he said he did. He played us everything from Beethoven to old show tunes. Then, around dawn, with a wink at me, he said, ‘Let me play you a little something I wrote.’
And he played ‘Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer.’
“Three years later, I read the old gent’s obituary in the Wall Street Journal. It was the first time I knew his name.”
Jon Nicholson added, “In the late ’70s, Andy Rothman and I played 9 holes of golf with a much older man that we were teamed up with by the starter. The gentleman was very patient with us, as Andy and I hacked our way around Longshore.
“He continued on when we stopped at the halfway house. The woman running the snack shack informed us who he was, which was of course exciting to a couple of teenagers. Oh, the inane questions we could have asked!”
Ann Chernow said, “We met Mr. Marks at several Westport parties. He and his son were always charming, and fun to be with. I think of him every Christmas when his songs play often.”
Let’s not forget Johnny Marks. He’ll go down in history!
ENCORE! The character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created 10 years before Marks wrote the song by his brother-in-law, Robert L. May, as an assignment for Montgomery Ward.
May’s granddaughter Margie lived in Westport. She attended Saugatuck Elementary School, Bedford Junior High, and Staples High (Class of 1966).
It’s a small world. But Rudolph made sure Santa covered it all!
(“06880” is truly “Where Westport meets the world. If you enjoy stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
