That's incredible. "If he can't accept things yet, he may never be able to..but what good does it do? He was generous off the field. In the 2010 documentary Out: The Glenn Burke Story, his former Athletics teammate Claudell Washington said Manager Billy Martin introduced Burke to his new team with a homophobic slur. He died of pneumonia.. Back in his suite, in the residence area of Dodgertown, I ask him if it was difficult having a gay son. Tommy was forever bugging the editors of Interview to feature him, but they wouldn't. And, sometimes, his mood. He was totally like a normal man. Two blocks away, on Santa Monica Boulevard, at A Different Light, atop the shelves given over to books on how to manage to stay alive for another few weeks, sit a dozen clear bottles, each filled with amber fluid and a ragsymbolic Molotovs, labeled with the name of a man or a woman or a government agency that is setting back the common cause, reinforcing the stereotypes, driving the social stigmata even deeper into West Hollywood's already weakened flesh. The story is that you dont close doors on your family, Pallone said. You just cant close doors, period, because you never know how its going to hurt you. Lasorda is survived by his wife of 70 years, Jo, their daughter, Laura, and granddaughter Emily Tess. This man who crossed himself when someone swore in public. 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The Dodgers confirmed Jo Lasorda passed away Monday night at the home in Fullerton she and Tommy shared for most of their 70-year marriage. As parents they're both sowell, very straitlaced and conservative. . Tommy is smiling at us from a hundred pictures. There was nothing sexual about Tommy's fashion-posing. Jo and Tommy welcomed two children into their lives: a son named Tommy Lasorda Jr. and a daughter named Laura. The nature of the pain will forever be in debate. And he never back-tracked from denying his son. In red. The heart stops beating properly. In 1976, he was anointed the second manager in the Los Angeles Dodgers' nineteen-year history. "Tommy used to tell us incredible stuff about how he used to beeverything he'd donedrugs, sleeping with women, sleeping with men," says Magno. Press alt + / to open this menu. "He'd come a long waydenying what he used to be, so happy with what he'd become.". Friends is all they were. In a nutshell, could Lasorda have done more at such a consequential and critical time? "I was in Nashville," Tom says, still sitting in the lounge, back on automatic now, reciting. I meanbut he was incredible. I had new respect for his father. He played for the Dodgers, so I was at first filled with disbelief, and then with excitement. TOMMY: I feel like I should, but I don't. "He believed when he watched me hit at the young age of 14 that I could play major league baseball." In 1991, Lasorda's son, Tom Jr., known as Spunky, died at 33, a death attributed to pneumonia and dehydration. "I was his Oscar Wilde. The tan is de rigueur. Lasorda had a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest while home . We had our differences on the field, but he was also fair. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use. Spheeris, 75, was glad more people were talking about Tommy Jr. because the topic was more hush-hush at the time. PENELOPE: O.K., but you understand, when somebody looks at a picture of you, they're going to say, this guy's awfully feminine. No cause of death was given. Read his introduction here. His clubhouse became a haunt for show-business personalities, usually of distinctly outsized demeanorSinatra, Ricklesand he himself became the beacon of a new mythology, leader of the team that played in a ballpark on a hill on a road called Elysian, perched above the downtown, high and imperious. Al Campanis, the Dodgers general manager at the time, offered Burke bonus money if he married something he later said was not a bribe but because the Dodgers encouraged family stability and maturity on their roster. He's dead. "He was a good, sensitive kid," says Dusty Baker, now a coach with the San Francisco Giants. memorial page for Thomas Charles "Spunky" Lasorda Jr. (6 May 1958-3 Jun 1991), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6929, citing Rose Hills Memorial Park, . At brunch at the French Quarter, men stop their conversations to lay out their pills on the tables, and take them one by one with sips of juice. And thats what happened with Tommy., Tommy Lasordas Death Starts a Conversation About His Son, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/sports/baseball/tommy-lasorda-son.html. One person who would not admit to this speculation, that he was gay and that he died of AIDS, was his father. When a person experiences cardiac arrest, it typically results in death if cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, isnt immediately performed followed by a defibrillator, which is used to shock the heart and restore a normal heart rhythm within a few minutes.. Some people have the fortitude, but they simply don't have the strengthThere comes a point, no matter how public they may be, [at which] we need to step back and let them be. Does my wifedo Ideserve this?' He was on the field during BP. PENELOPE: Do you think the press would be mean to you if they had the chance? Tommy would tell her about the latest material he'd bought to have made into a suit. Which I have.". When Penelope Spheeris heard that Tommy Lasorda died on Thursday at 93, she knew many people would be touched by the sad news, particularly in Los Angeles. Burke, who was Black, turned down the offer. Tommy Lasorda managed the Dodgers for 20 years, from 1976 to 1996, leading the team to two. When they went shopping, they would fly down Melrose in Tommy's Datsun 280Z, much, much too fast, Tommy leaning out of the driver's window, hair flying in the wind, like some Valley Girl gone weird, hurling gravelly insults ("Who did your hair? I also read in that paper that a lady gave birth to a fuckin' monkey, too. Tommy Lasorda, 93. "Talking to college baseball coaches, and a buddy told me nine nuns had been evicted from their home. Lasorda's death was caused by a sudden cardiopulmonary. It looks awful") at the pedestrians diving out of the way. He'd never reveal himself that way. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Jo Lasorda, their daughter, Laura, and granddaughter Emily Tess. West Hollywood shakes its head and drives on by. Jo Lasorda died at 8:59 p.m. Monday, according to the team. When Penelope Spheeris heard that Tommy Lasorda died on Thursday at 93, she knew many people would be touched by the sad news, particularly in Los Angeles. It may have been that he simply grew weary of the scene. It is generally used to erase scars or wrinkles. He had none of his father's basset-hound features; Tommy's bones were carved, gently, from glass. He was cool in that. I also read that a lady gave birth to a fucking monkey. And so, on the odd night. Even more so, as society changed, and our community became more accepted and as HIV became a manageable disease, and those who fought the battle and lost their lives during the early days of the AIDS pandemic have rightly been called heroes, Lasorda never wavered. "He was very lonely.". granddaughter . But he smoked, and he drank. As for the father, there's no question about the nature of the demon he's been prey to for the past two years. I can't describe how good that made me feel.". "He was typical Tommy. It may have been that he grew up. Nicknamed "Spunky," the 33-year-old had been sick for an extended period of time, and the LA Times reported that the cause of death was "pneumonia and severe dehydration." However, since then, it has been suggested that Tom Jr., a gay man, died from complications of AIDS. LOS ANGELES, CA - 1989: Manager Tommy Lasorda #2 and Reggie Smith #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers take batting practice before a game at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California. He loved Diana Ross. In the punk dubs, amid the slam-dancing and the head-butting, Tommy parted the leathered seas, a chic foil for all the pierced flesh and fury, this man who didn't sweat. They became friends. In trying to figure out what each had tucked down deep, we can only conjecture. His four toes. At school, they shared cigarettes in the hallway. "He died of AIDS," Magno says. Tom's word maintains the baseball field at Jackson State and upgraded the facilities at Georgia Tech. They lived in the same modest home in Fullerton, Calif., for most of that time and had two children: a daughter, Laura, and a son, Tom Jr. His son died in 1991. On June 3, 1991, with his parents and his sisters at his bedside, in the apartment on the cool, flower-strewn street, Tommy Lasorda died. Tommy Lasorda Jr Cause of Death - We grieve with the group of Tommy Lasorda Jr, we see how unsettling they could be at this moment, so we are sending our contemplations and supplications to the influenced ones. As long as he's healthy, I say. From his friend Tommy. I say that I thought a step forward had been taken by Magic Johnson's disclosure of his own HIV infection, that that's why some people in Los Angeles expected him to "Hey," he says. He wanted to please his dad. By the time I joined GQ's staff, the plague had blown up. He was very much like the old boy. Accessibility Help. Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 8, 2021. Pallone said he believed Lasorda funneled his grief into his charitable work, often geared toward helping youth. The most prominent: Billy Bean, who became M.L.B.s first ambassador of inclusion after his playing days. Still, Tommy would have several of his favorites printed for his parents. So was her maiden name. West Virginia MMA coach and fighters are offering security for a drag brunch. It's a well-worn voice. He attended many games each season. With the cigarette. The details of Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda's death have been revealed. The doctor put out a report of how he died. Once, he got work at the Right Bank, a shoe store, to get discounts. No cause of death was announced. Lasorda was absent from the team for three days. By the age of twenty-two, Tom Lasorda was a successful minor league pitcher by trade, a left-hander with a curveball and not a lot more. Tommy Lasorda -- a Dodgers legend and arguably the most famous manager in MLB history -- has died, TMZ Sports has confirmed. Lasorda was more than the tough manager who won World Series titles in 1981 and 1988. I didn't want to show my familythat's my family away from my house. As a for-profit goliath, fed by young men who learn homophobia at an early age, governed by men who were themselves raised in a primitive society, Big Sport's seeds of gender-preference bias have been sown very, very deeply, and uprooting them is going to take more than a story or two and more than a handful of men who come out every few years. This is not Tommy Lasorda Jr.'s, routine nighttime activity. They spent the days poolside at a private home up behind the perfect pink stucco of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Tommy lacquering himself with a tan that was the stuff of legend. There was no immediate word on a cause of death. ", "Of course he was gay," says Jeff Kleinman, the manager of a downtown restaurant who used to travel the same club circuit as Lasorda in the early eighties. Hall of Fame Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda died on Thursday night, the team announced in a statement on Friday. He's dead. legacy and career on track while having a gay son in such an environment where people just have no tolerance for gay people.. Tommy Lasorda, a baseball Hall of Famer who spent seven decades in the Dodgers organization, died on Thursday, January 7, at the age of 93. The Stacks is Deadspin's living archive of great journalism, curated by Bronx Banter's Alex Belth. Tommy was invariably dressed impeccably. He was astoundingly beautiful, more than most women," Spheeris says now. On the other hand, as a father, I was torn. "He was a case. Is she making a sport out of it? His father bought him an antique-clothing store. "I signed that contract [to manage the Dodgers] with a commitment to do the best of my ability," he says. I knew Bean well when I was hooked on baseball. Heart attack can be understood as a circulation problem. He was a quiet tenant, a thoroughly pleasant man. He had been discharged Tuesday, one of many trips in and out of the hospital in recent years for heart, back and shoulder problems. No way. "I think he'd have been so proud of me. I never heard him say 'I want to do my own thing.' At the time of Garvey's ascension to prominence, the Dodgers were managed by long-time veteran Walter Alston, and in 1976, he was replaced by the colorful and showy Tommy Lasorda. The lights for the baseball field in Caledonia, Miss. They had two children together, Tom Jr., born on May 6, 1958, and daughter Laura Lasorda, born on August 23, 1952. [Tom's] world is a different world. A unique soul with a great personality has an amazing sense of humor, diligent and caring. ", "There's something wrong with hiding the truth," Penelope Spheeris says. No cause of death was given. On a night he was not at Rage, or the Rose Tattoo, he'd climb to the roof, the lord of well-tanned West Hollywood, and lose himself in the steady rhythm of bat hitting ballthe reflex ritual that only a man inside the game can truly appreciate. That's America. "Nobody in their right mind is going to say it's not difficultI know how difficult it is for them to try and understand their son," Dave Pallone says. Over the course of his marriages, the radio talent had five children - Chance, Cannon, Larry King Jr., Andy, and Chaia. Their first son died at the age of thirty-three, though the cause of death is in dispute. If I go in with my head hung down when I put on my uniform, what good does it do?". Friday, Jan. 8, 2021: The Los Angeles Dodgers issued a statement via Twitter today announcing the death of Tommy Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager of the team from 1976 to 1996. His memorial service was attended by Frank Sinatra and Don Rickles. Who's written the best piece about this?". to one of the greatest Dodgers of ALL-TIME pic.twitter.com/jCvzfaxhK3, We mourn the passing of Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda. daughter Laura, and a granddaughter. Mark Chambers departs gay basketball leadership after 30+ years in the sport. At Sunny Hills High School, in Fullerton, Calif."the most horrible nouveau riche white-bread high school in the world," recalls Cat Gwynn, a Los Angeles photographer and filmmaker and a Sunny Hills alumnaTommy Lasorda moved through the hallways with a style and a self-assurance uncommon in a man so young; you could see them from afar, Tommy and his group. At the Duck Club, down behind the Whiskey, in 1985, Tommy sat in a corner drinking Blue Hawaiians. "Everyone should know that there is this Tom [senior] who really loved his son and was always there for him. Tommy insisted he passed of cancer, while many indicate it was related to AIDS. [Showed him] how to dress a little better.". That would have been too much. I kept my problems to myself. But ultimately, on balance, I had no choice. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Jo Lasorda, a daughter Laura Lasorda and a granddaughter, Emily. Could you imagine? Another bounces to the street. "If I'm depressed, what good does it do? My father was the greatest man.". GettyTommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the game against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium on July 30, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. "I like to help people. People need to know these things. They said, 'We prayed for a miracle, and God sent you to us.'". The Dodgers manager showed love for Tommy Jr., but publicly denied that he was gay and that he died of AIDS complications. Miami Heat Star Fears Game in Washington: Im Not Leaving My Room. (Anonymous/ASSOCIATED PRESS) Lasorda, who compiled a 1,599-1,439 record as Dodgers manager from 1976 until . Tommy Lasorda received many tributes after the news of his death spread on Friday. As the Los Angeles Times obituary on Lasorda Sr. states: "In 1991, Lasorda's son, Tom Jr., known as Spunky, died at 33, a death attributed to pneumonia and dehydration. The father and the son had that in common. First, the obvious answer to the obvious question: Yes, Tommy was livid when it was published. His spirit has flagged considerably, but his days, in season and out, are as full of Dodger Blue banquet appearances as ever, with impromptu Dodgers pep rallies in airport concourses from Nashville to Seattle. It may not look like work, but it is; the work is to look as good as you can. I had visited a friend at St. Vincent's who was in the terminal stages of an HIV-related illness, and smuggled in a chocolate milkshake from McDonald's for him, and fed it to him, but he couldn't keep it down. He won two World . He wanted to be more macho but didn't know how to. The legendary manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers has always denied his son was gay. Without it. The Dodgers confirmed Jo Lasorda passed away Monday night at the home in Fullerton she and Tommy shared for most of their 70-year marriage. "I was enamored of him because he wasn't at all uncomfortable with who he was. One is from the blue period. "He walked around with a big smile on his face, as if everything was great because he had everything around him to prove it was great," Spheeris says. I know what he died of. If he could help you with something, he would do it. Outsports has reached out to Ocamb and the current editor of the Blade requesting more information about this claim. Then Tommy would spend all his money on himself. Sections of this page. He liked me because I was an older guy who'd tasted life. Official reports in the media of the time said Spunky died of "pneumonia and severe. It's a place that heralds and nurtures out-of-time baseball and out-of-time Dodgers. A close friend who was with Tommy the day before his death vehemently disagrees. It appears there was one person in strong denial all his life and that was Lasorda. . While the news of his death was hardly shockinghe'd been suffering from cardiopulmonary issues that kept him hospitalized. "I'll lay you three to one Magic plays again. In 20 years as manager of the baseball club, Lasorda won two World Series championships, four National League pennants and eight division titles, and was famous for saying he bled Dodger blue out of loyalty to the organization. They were very much alike. Tommy, Jr. ("Spunky", d. 3-Jun-1991 reportedly AIDS . No one had. A heart attack (or myocardial infarction) refers to death of heart muscle tissue due to the loss of blood supply. He starts to whistle. He was 93. pic.twitter.com/fkPf67iH7h, "I bleed Dodger blue andwhen I die, I'm going to the big Dodger in the sky. The facility was renamed the Thomas Lasorda Jr. Field House. Born: 22-Sep-1927 Birthplace: Norristown, PA Died: 7-Jan-2021 Location of death: Fullerton, CA Cause of death: Heart Attack. In 1997, Lasorda and his wife donated $500,000 through the Thomas Lasorda Jr. Memorial Foundation to maintain a public gym in Yorba Linda, Calif., not far from where they lived. '"I guarantee you one fuckin' thing," he says. Death 3 Jun 1991 (aged 33) . By January 2021, Jo Lasorda was at least 85 years old. ", "If nothing else, his father should be proud that he repented," Alex Magno says. I think the least you can do, when you go out and play in front of a million people and sweat and pull muscles and bleed and do that as a living, when that person passes away, is be there. Australian Olympian Natalie Cook details her two pre and post gay marriage ban wedding ceremonies. Beautiful designer clothes he looked great in.". On January 5, Lasorda was finally discharged and returned to his home. ", "He was really lonely," Pinkowski says. The way you get rid of a fear is by attacking itCan you imagine if the Dodgers, who are somewhat conservative, could stand up and say, 'We understand this is a problem that needs to be addressedWe broke down the barriers from the beginning with Jackie Robinson. Tommy had that good self-esteemwhere you figure that [his] parents did something right.". . I got seven or eight dozen balls [signed by Hall of Fame players], we auctioned them, and we built them a home. That was enough. But the blue period lasted longer. Trans powerlifter JayCee Cooper wins discrimination suit against USA Powerlifting. No cause of death has been given. Tommy never ate. From 1965 to 1972, Lasorda's teamsin Pocatello, Ogden, Spokane, then Albuquerquefinished second, first, first, first, second, first, third and first. "There's that old saying that we all have something that's hurting us.". When he did, he was as elegant and debonair as ever: wide-brimmed hats, tailored suits. "It's just misplaced values. Well, I am. He's dead. Tommy Lasorda Death: In the loving memory of Tommy Lasorda, we are saddened to inform you that Tommy Lasorda, a beloved and loyal friend, has passed away. Lasorda never back-tracked from that support. No cause of death was given. The city has long been her home, and it is also where Lasorda became a baseball icon, leading the Dodgers to two World Series titles during his Hall of Fame career. arned about the death of Martse Malawi through a Social Media post. Tommy Lasordas Cause of Death: How Did Dodgers Legend Die? There was a plague, and it was gutting the arts world in my city, and it needed to be cured, and quickly. "Not too much surprises me in life anymore," Garvey says. Of the father. Where else would he go to get away from the grief? That Magic plays again.". Two of Burkes teammates, Davey Lopes and Dusty Baker, later said Burke was traded because he was gay. More locker-room enlightenment about gays in sports? Gambling problem? The closest Tommy came was when he bought himself a full page in Stuff magazine, in 1982, for a picture of himself that Eugene took. "If his father has to accept his son's death right now in that way, let him do it," she says. I wonder if he even listened. I couldn't help wondering what Tommy Sr. thought when heard about how Magic was so supportive of his son. Since then, a few more players, umpires and officials have come out. Garvey attended the memorial service for Alan Wiggins, his former teammate on the San Diego Padres, who died of an AIDS-related illness last year, after a seven-year career in the majors. But what if Tommy Sr., one of the most highly visible men in all of professional sports in those days, had simply acknowledged his son's sexuality and his cause of death? He could never be what his father wasTommy Lasorda's own inner orientation made that impossiblebut he could fantasize, couldn't he? Years later, at some charity event, not in an interview, Lasorda admitted that Tommy Jr was gay and had died of AIDS and he apologized for his homophobia, wrote veteran journalist and former editor Karen Ocamb, the winner of both GLAAD and NLGJA awards.