I first visited Chicago in the late 1980s to attend a meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The AASLD was founded in Chicago in 1950 by Hans Popper—my teacher, then colleague and friend, who is universally credited with initiating the modern study of liver diseases, and creating the specialties of hepatology and hepatopathology—along with Sheila Sherlock from London, Leon Schiff from Cincinnati and other leaders in caring for patients with liver disease. The AASLD soon became, and still is, the most important liver-related scientific meeting in the world. For many years the meetings were held in Chicago until the attendance (9-10,000 before Covid) grew too great to be accommodated by the Chicago hotels.

In 1986, after I moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and was able to devote most of my professional time to liver diseases, I began regularly attending the meetings, which take place in early November. I tried, each year, to find some time to enjoy the sights and activities of Chicago, including the Art Institute, the Chicago Symphony, the famous Second City Theater, architectural tours and more.


The five-day AASLD meetings begins at seven a.m. and consists of full days, with lectures and seminars in the evenings. I often went for a long walk after dinner when the evening topics were not of great interest to me. Chicago is a marvelous city with its panoply of wonderfully designed buildings and exciting street art.

One evening I found myself in Water Tower Place, a big commercial building which, in those years, included a wonderful Rizzoli Bookstore. Along with books, magazines, and knickknacks, they carried music recordings, some of which they played through wall-mounted loudspeakers.


The first time I walked into that store—I guess it was 1986 or 1987—I heard a voice filling the very air, a voice I had never heard before (or so I thought). A most wonderful and unfamiliar singer. Literally transfixed, I waited until the number was over and then ran to the CD section to learn whose voice I heard.


Karen Akers.


I had never heard of Karen Akers, yet I instantly became an instant fan and follower.


What does “or so I thought” have to do with this story.


In 1982, she was one of the stars of the Broadway hit show Nine, performing with Raul Julia and Liliane Montevecchi, and was nominated for a Tony Award. I missed that show and, at that time, was completely unaware of Karen Akers. In 1989, she appeared in the Broadway stage version of Grand Hotel, which ran for three years, but we were living in Los Angeles and didn’t get to see that show either.


Woody Allen’s wonderful romantic fantasy/comedy, The Purple Rose of Cairo, was released in March 1985. It was our first year living in Los Angeles and we saw it soon after it opened. The film takes place in the early years of the Great Depression and tells the story of a young waitress, Cecilia, played by Mia Farrow. Her job is stressful and depressing and she is married to an abusive and philandering husband, Monk, played by Danny Aiello. After losing her job she finds distraction in a movie theater seeing The Purple Rose of Cairo over and over. The film’s hero, Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), a handsome and dashing archaeologist, seems to be in love with Kitty Haynes, a sultry cabaret singer—a chanteuse—played by Karen Akers.

Purple Rose of Cairo – Karen Akers, Jeff Daniels, Mia Farrow, John Wood

With the magic of Allen’s imagination, Baxter comes to notice Cecilia sitting in the theater audience and is attracted to her. Somehow, Baxter steps from the screen and he and Cecilia run out of the theater. This is a calamity for the theater manager as well as the other characters, who refuse to proceed without their star player. Eventually, the film’s producer, in Hollywood sends the actor portraying Tom Baxter, Gil Shepherd (still, of course, Jeff Daniels), to fix the problem. The movie is inventive, funny, charming and highly entertaining, and, most viewers, enjoyed it immensely. It remains one of Allen’s best. I wasn’t particularly aware of Karen Akers except for noticing that she was very tall and very thin (she’s only 5’9” but tends to wear spike heels which make her seem taller). There’s much more to the film and I strongly recommend you watch it on Netflix or Hulu or wherever you find it.


In 1986, Akers appeared in the movie Heartburn. Written by Nora Ephron and based on Ephron’s marriage to Carl Bernstein, the film stars Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep and was directed by Mike Nichols. Karen Akers appeared as Thelma Rice, a socialite with whom the Nicholson character is having an affair. We also saw that film, but I don’t recall Akers at all.

She has appeared all over the world, in concert halls, cabarets, on the stage, as a singer and also as an actress. Even at the White House.

 

1991 – with President George H.W. Bush at a state dinner for Polish President Lech Walesa

 

 

 

She didn’t make an impression on me until I heard her in the Rizzoli bookstore. I came back from the meeting with a copy of her first CD, Presenting Karen Akers,

Karen Akers’ first album

raving about her to anyone willing to listen. After I returned to Los Angeles, I went to the Sam Goody music store (long ago out of business) on Sunset Boulevard and bought a few copies for friends. I now have  all her CDs.


Karen Akers was born in New York City in 1945 as Karen Orth-Pallavicini. Her father was an immigrant to America, of Austrian and Swiss-Italian heritage. She graduated from Manhattanville College. Her first husband was named Akers.


She has a wonderful voice, deep, sultry and melodious as she clearly enunciates every word, every syllable, but her performances are particularly striking because of her ability to embellish the songs with heartfelt feelings. There are many wonderful singers, just watch “America’s Got Talent” or “Britain’s Got Talent,” buy only a few can infuse their singing with deep and personal emotion, able to move us all with the heart behind the words. Sinatra is a prime example, as is Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin and others,


From the first time I heard her voice, Karen Akers moved me in that same way. Her recordings, and especially her recitals, tend to be autobiographical, paralleling events of her life including her marriages and divorces.


The music of some of her recordings will be familiar to you: “Send in the Clowns,” “Non, je ne Regrette Rien,” “The Rose,” “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” and others. The album, Under Paris Skies, is all in French (she is fluent) and consists of classic French cabaret songs (e.g., “La Vie en Rose”). Simply Styne is Jule Styne songs, including “Three Coins in the Fountain,” “Just in Time,” “Make Someone Happy,” “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” and more than a dozen others, most of which are immediately recognizable.


She mostly sings wonderful, thought-provoking and complex, romantic compositions by less-known composers (Craig Carnelia is someone she particularly admires; among her favorites are “You Can Have the TV” and “Just a Housewife”) and unfamiliar songs by more familiar composers (Sondheim’s “Not a Day Goes By,” Randy Newman’s “Feels Like Home,” Howard Dietz’ “Haunted Heart”).


Over the years, we have seen her perform in Los Angeles and New York a half-dozen times, the last occurrence in New York about eight or more years ago. I’ve checked her schedule a few times online but, until this year, haven’t gotten to see her again in a long time.


A few weeks ago, my dear friend, Phil Kurnit, sent me a message asking if I knew of an upcoming Karen Akers performance at Birdland, the legendary jazz venue. Starting as a jazz club on Broadway, Birdland’s opening lineup included Charlie (“Yardbird,” “Bird”) Parker (for whom the club was named), Stan Getz, Harry Belafonte and others. Now located on W. 44th Street, Birdland remains a prime place to hear great jazz and other music. It’s also a restaurant and the food is quite good.


I immediately ordered tickets for the Akers performance.


It is a grand under-exaggeration to state that her performance did not disappoint! She was, again, wonderful!!


This time she began by reminding the audience know the program would mostly consist of songs reflective of events in her own life, including romances, marriages and divorces. At 78, her voice is still wonderful with even darker tones than before. When she sings you can feel the depth and the intelligence that enlighten the lyrics. Karen Akers voice has been likened to velvet and silk. She has been called a new Piaf .


I met Karen Akers once on La Cienega Boulevard in West Hollywood. Kate and I and Susie Berci, our late very dear friend, were on the way to a late afternoon movie at the Beverly Center (one of the first malls in Los Angeles, built in 1982, one block from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center). I don’t recall the film we were heading to see, and there are no longer movie theaters at the Beverly Center, but there, on the street ahead of us, was Karen Akers. Susie and Kate, both aware of my great fondness for the singer, said they would go up and get tickets for the movie but that I should run ahead and say “hello.” I had many opportunities to see a Hollywood personality during my years in Los Angeles – in the streets, in stores and even in the elevators of Cedars-Sinai (e.g. Sidney Poitier, Buddy Hackett, Jodie Foster, John Huston, Steve Martin, Richard Dreyfuss and others) but I never intruded on their privacy. This time I sprinted ahead and spoke to her, explaining how I had admired her and about the Rizzoli experience when I first heard her. I also told her about Susie and Kate waiting for me at the movies. I think we may have shaken hands and then I left. I have no recollection of what she said to me but I suspect she may have thought I was slightly “daft,” as Susie, originally from England, would say.


I have been searching for the next performance I can attend.

 

 


The links below will help introduce her to you. The Wolf Trap concert is worth your time and is reminiscent of the Birdland performance we recently enjoyed.


Selected songs and performances by Karen Akers (you can find many more on YouTube)

Not a Day Goes By – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JySYrByDb8
(One of her favorite songs)

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VULyuXFgMWE
[The Piaf song, beautifully sung by Karen Akers]

Karen Akers at Wolf Trap – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jz7CPtYDWA
[A full 1-hour concert. Wonderful.]

I Met a Man Today – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msNjKsXZ2hQ
[One of her best]

(from the film The Purple Rose of Cairo) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfzJCrxKVMU
[You can click “Skip” at the bottom right to bypass commercials – Karen Akers appears soon after the start of this clip]

Karen Akers sings Nine – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAGrItMPC2o

Somewhere – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1250904811753088

February 16, 2019 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwlCksyobAY
[Skip the ad by clicking at the bottom right]

How Long Has This Been Going On? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su_cMZ3i3v8
[Interview with Jane Pauley on Today show]

I’m not Afraid – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nU_sWIBYB8
(a Jacques Brel song)