Hugo Gerstl's endeavors include
author, lawyer, singer, actor, pilot ...
By DENNIS TAYLOR
Monterey Herald Article
He characterizes himself as "a mean, nasty civil trial lawyer," but Hugo Gerstl is likely to give you a hug the first time you meet him.
He describes himself as "probably the laziest, most boring person I know," and looks back on his life — 71 years of it — as "unimportant" and "insignificant." But his story is rich with accomplishments.
As a teenager and young adult, Gerstl injected himself into the middle of Southern California's pop and rock music scene as a musician, conductor, arranger and occasional background singer with a hand in 75 commercially released records. Three of them became bona fide hits on the Billboard Top 40: "Express Yourself," which reached No. 4, "Do Your Thing" and "Love Land."
He served in the U.S. Air Force, earning two commendations, then graduated UCLA Law School and passed the California Bar. In his 42-year law career, he has practiced in 19 states, the District of Columbia and British Columbia, Canada.
He has written several books — both fiction and nonfiction — some of them translated and sold in Portugal, the Czech Republic, Turkey and Germany. He co-owned a publishing company and started a local writers workshop that has flourished on the Peninsula since 1993.
In community theater, he was an actor, singer and musical director for multiple productions from 1983-90, including "Candide" and "The Music Man."
Gerstl and his second wife, Lorraine, served as joint vice presidents of their synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, from 1993-96.
"Life is a marvelously happy place to be," he says. "I'm in the happiest marriage ever, with five wonderful children, six grandchildren, a treasure trove of memories and a future in which each day is not only a blessing, but also the beginning of the world."
Gerstl was born in 1941 to Jewish parents who fled Austria to escape Hitler's Third Reich. He has vague memories of "blackouts" in Baltimore, covering the windows with black curtains, passing time by listening to the family's 78-rpm records.
"We'd listen to Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and, head and shoulders above them all, Johann Strauss," he says. "My first foray into performing arts was when I was 3, dancing to 'The Skaters Waltz' on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, watching people drop coins into my cup."
When the family business failed in Baltimore, they packed up their new, '46 Ford coupe and moved to Los Angeles, where they opened a successful deli.
Young Hugo was saddled with classical piano lessons — an ordeal he hated, but tolerated — becoming proficient enough at the keyboard that, by age 12, he was able to start his own band.
"We were pretty awful, but I stuck with it and soon we were performing at events and getting paid for it," he says. "From there, one thing sort of led to another."
He enrolled at L.A.'s Hamilton High, a public school where the average student scored in the 94th percentile in college entrance exams. He found himself surrounded by classmates with musical aspirations.
Gerstl performed in school plays and programs with Michele Dusek (who became actress/singer Michele Lee), and cut his first demonstration record with a band fronted by Richie Rotkin, who became the lead singer of the Rip Chords ("Hey Little Cobra," "409" and other hits).
"L.A. was very close to being the center of the music world, along with New York and Nashville. A group of us could pony up some money, get into a studio and record," says Gerstl, who went on to UCLA, where he paid $68 per semester.
His circle of musical cronies included Glen Campbell, Jan & Dean, Sonny Bono, Richie Valens and Phil Spector. He contributed to songs as a member of The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Section.
After marrying in 1965 and passing the bar, Gerstl served in the Air Force (1966-70). A stint in Turkey sparked a love affair with its ancient history and culture that led to his first novel, "The Legacy."
He moved to Monterey in 1970, working for two law firms before opening his own practice in 1972.
Gerstl conquered a fear of flying by becoming a pilot, flying his own planes until 1991, when he discovered a dangerous mechanical problem on his Cessna 205 just before takeoff one day.
"I got out of the plane, thanked God for 12 good years, and have not flown myself since," he says. "Besides, the airlines give you frequent flyer miles."
Besides playing piano at his synagogue, and for a third-grade class at Santa Catalina School (where his wife has been a teacher for 25 years), Gerstl has put his music career on the shelf in favor of writing.
He says he wrote a humor book, "How To Survive — and Profit From — Your Son's Bar Mitzvah," in six days while he waited for a jury to return after a 6½-week trial. One of his novels, "Scribe," rose to No. 2 on a best-seller list in Portugal. His most recent works, a novel called "Against All Odds" and a political rant titled "The Politics of Hate," are available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and other outlets.
Dennis Taylor can be reached at 646-4344 or dtaylor@montereyherald.com.
Monterey Herald Article,
May 11, 2012