This was really a great remembrance, thanks for sharing… On Sun, 15 Aug 2021 at 3:59 PM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV < [email protected]> wrote:
> > Donz forwarded a FB post for the AFL insiders from one of Inky's > ex-partners that he passed in Miami, where he'd settled. > > Not many details, but (even with the unfortunate way he left the LS) he > was a huge part of the the show's history. > > --Dave Sikula > > I am sorry to be writing to you with sad news. Our friend, Tony Mendez, > who relocated to Miami in 2015, recently passed away. While I don't have > many details to share about Tony's death I did want to share these photos > and the below Facebook post from Andrew, Tony's former partner. Andrew's > words are more beautiful than anything I could possibly write. > > I'm sure you all remember that Tony was a huge lover of dogs. Badass > Animal Rescue was the agency that connected Tony with Togo. Here is a link > if you feel like making a donation to this agency. > https://badassrescue.networkforgood.com/projects/119139-badass-donation > > Tony was truly one of a kind. He will be missed. > > From Andrew's Facebook Post: > This is so painful to write—I found out this past Thursday night that Tony > Mendez died unexpectedly. Tony and I met in 1995 and were partners for 18 > years. We had our ups and downs but remained close in the years that > followed—he was family. > > Tony was a total character and one of the loveliest people you could ever > meet—generous, empathetic, kind—and very, very funny. I used to call him my > little magical realist because he had such a singular, wonder-filled way of > looking at the world. > > He had kind of a wild life. He and his family escaped from Cuba in 1960 > and settled in LA, where he got his first job doing cue cards for the > Hollywood Palace. He had the best stories—Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Joan > Crawford. And then he became a Broadway dancer—Irene with Debbie Reynolds, > Applause with Lauren Bacall, Pippin, Dancin’, the world tour of Evita, and > more. Then more cue cards—first for SNL, then for the Late Show. He would > always come out with the most unexpected stories. I still remember the time > we were watching To Kill a Mockingbird together. We got to the final > dramatic Halloween showdown and he said, quite casually, “Oh, I was there. > My friend’s father operated the wind machine and let us watch.” > > Tony had a lot of enthusiasms, but chief among them was the ballet. He was > a familiar sight at ABT—he would buy tickets for virtually every > performance—and he always wore shorts to the theater unless it was the dead > of winter. Ballet was a crucial thread in his family life too, as his > sister, Josefina “Yuyi” Mendez, was a major figure in the Cuban National > Ballet, serving as prima ballerina and ballet mistress for decades. The > fact that they were able to really reconnect in the years before her death > in 2007 brought Tony a great deal of joy. > > His other great love was animals, especially Togo, whom he adopted in May > of 2013. Togo was his shadow, they went everywhere together—Tony would even > sneak Togo into the ballet. (Sadly, Togo died on July 3.) > > Tony and Togo moved to Miami Beach in 2015. That was hard for him, leaving > his apartment and rooftop garden on W 10th Street and the city he loved so > much, but he was looking forward to new larks and new adventures. > > I honestly can’t even begin to measure the impact he had on my life. When > I met him, he was the most fully realized person I’d ever known, so totally > himself. I learned so much from him. Saying I’m going to miss him is an > understatement, and I know his surviving family and friends will miss him > dreadfully too. > > Rest in peace, Tony. You will not be forgott > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/6046b013-9f59-46c8-813c-b1385e8199e9n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/6046b013-9f59-46c8-813c-b1385e8199e9n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Sent from Gmail Mobile -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYL8ag8EoVB%2BsveewpzpOnc2TyF9y%2BnfRX2KC%3D32i1hhPw%40mail.gmail.com.
