Ron Harry; Boston Garden organist
Hyfler/Rosner
Boston Globe
Ron Harry, who pumped out rally riffs along with touches of
musical whimsy as the organist for the Celtics and Bruins at
Boston Garden and the FleetCenter, died Sunday of an
apparent blood clot while vacationing in Hawaii, the
Associated Press reported. He was 75.
Mr. Harry succeeded a legend, John Kiley, as organist for
the Celtics and Bruins in 1984. For the first few seasons,
Mr. Harry tended to be a low-key musical observer of the
action.
"They didn't want the rah-rah stuff," he told the
Globe in 1994. "I was told not to play 'Charge' under
penalty of death."
As loud music and musically scripted rallying cries
became commonplace in arenas across the country, Mr. Harry
expanded his repertoire, as well as his volume, at the
games.
His selections drawn across a musical landscape from
hymnals to hard rock could carry a veiled dart at an
opponent but they were mainly marked by his sense of humor.
"Every now and then, I do something that breaks me up,
but I don't know if people get it," he told the Globe.
During one game in the holiday season, for example, he
followed a bloody fight on the ice with "Let There Be Peace
on Earth."
When Bill Walton was a member of the Celtics, Mr. Harry
often greeted his entrance to a game with a Grateful Dead
song, a favorite of the free-spirited Walton.
One of Mr. Harry's trademarks was performing the song "It's
A Great Day Tonight For the Irish," as the Celtics took the
floor for warm-ups, Jeff Twiss, vice president of media
relations for the team, told the Associated Press.
"He never wanted to be seen but always wanted to be heard,"
Twiss recalled. "You might see him in the press room before
a game. But he always want to be in the background, and
didn't want the accolades."
Mr. Harry, who retired from the Bruins in 1995, continued
to work for the Celtics through the past season.
Mr. Harry, a Boston native who lived in Mason, N.H., had
studied at the Cushing Academy in Ashburnham and the
Juilliard School in New York City. In addition to his work
at the FleetCenter, he had played at Boston area clubs.
He arrived in Honolulu on Aug. 2 and indicated he was not
feeling well, said Sanchia Roberts, a friend of more than 40
years. However, she said, he was able to take part in a
number of activities, including a luncheon cruise, during
which he saw a pod of dolphins.
"He recalled how my husband and I talked of seeking whales
and dolphins but that he had never seen them, and now he
had," she said.
Mr. Harry's friendship with Roberts and her husband, Bobby,
dates back 42 years, when they performed together around
Boston, she said.
"He originally worked for my father when he managed the
Hotel Touraine in Boston," she said.
Mr. Harry was to be buried in a cemetery across from his
home, the Associated Press reported.
