Charles 'Chappy' Hardy had appetite for N.O.,62
Chris
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
By John Pope
Staff writer
Charles Edouard "Chappy" Hardy, an ebullient personality who never stopped
celebrating New Orleans' cuisine, customs and quirks, died Sunday of a heart
attack in Pass Christian, Miss. He was 62.
"Chappy is one of the reasons I moved to New Orleans: He knew everybody, and
he knew where all the bodies were buried," said the actor John Goodman, a
friend since the two met during the filming of "Everybody's All-American" in
1988 in Baton Rouge.
In a telephone interview from New York City, Goodman said he enjoyed "just
driving around the city with him, exploring every nook and cranny. He had
lived there all his life, but he was curious about the places and the
people."
Mr. Hardy had the ability to make friends wherever he went, and he could
give memorable parties with almost no provocation or preparation, said his
brother, Ford Thomas Hardy Jr.
"He'd invite people to parties at Jazz Fest," Hardy said. "He'd cook up a
roast and invite 35 people. The food might not have been there for hours,
but the fun was."
Mr. Hardy had "stories for all occasions" and a long list of friends,
Goodman said. "We used to call him America's Guest. Wherever he went, he
knew somebody who had a place where he could stay."
Mr. Hardy, who embodied the term bon vivant, was a fixture in local
restaurants and watering holes, and he took his enthusiasm for the city to
the airwaves, with programs such as "Chappy Goes to Mardi Gras" on
television and "Eating Right, Bite by Bite" on National Public Radio.
For the Mardi Gras program, Mr. Hardy hit the streets "and started shooting
like crazy," he told Times-Picayune television critic Dave Walker in 2004.
"Shooting like crazy was right," Walker wrote. "The film's footage of
Endymion almost got washed out when Hardy spilled a beer into (Mark) Moore's
camera."
A lifelong New Orleanian, Mr. Hardy graduated from Jesuit High School and
LSU. After serving in the Navy, he was a stockbroker before going into
advertising and media work.
According to his online biography, Mr. Hardy was a producer of the movie
"Storyville" and a publicist for "The Long Walk Home," which starred Whoopi
Goldberg and Sissy Spacek. For "Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long," Mr.
Hardy was listed as "production oracle."
In the mid-1970s, Mr. Hardy was a founder of the Contemporary Arts Center.
On opening night in 1976, he drove Fats Domino's pink Cadillac to the
center, a converted warehouse at 900 Camp St., where the car was one of the
exhibits.
Philip Carter, a longtime friend, said Mr. Hardy was "the embodiment of
every aspect of the city. His love of the music, his joy of the simple
pleasures of food and drink, his great talents for the nightlife of the
place were all very much of the place, and it was what made Chappy Chappy."
In addition to his brother, survivors include his son, McCall Gottlieb
"Zephyr" Hardy, and a sister, Lady Helen Hardy.
Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements, which are
incomplete.
Charles Edouard 'Chappy' Hardy
Hoodoo
(Central Daylight Time), spoke thusly:
> Mr. Hardy, who embodied the term bon vivant, was a fixture in local
> restaurants and watering holes, and he took his enthusiasm for the city
> to the airwaves, with programs such as "Chappy Goes to Mardi Gras" on
> television and "Eating Right, Bite by Bite" on National Public Radio.
Thanks for posting this obit article.
--
"Think with your dipstick, Jimmy."
Gotta Find My Roogalator