Larry consulted with me on how best to make it available to the ragtime community. The Ragtime Kid, published in 2006, was followed by two sequels, creating what is now commonly referred to as the "Ragtime Trilogy."īut the plot thickened when he inadvertently acquired the real-life Campbell's memorabilia, including previously unknown compositions. Something about the youthful relationship between Scott Joplin and Brun Campbell caught his attention as he pondered subjects for a mystery novel. In earlier years, Larry had been vaguely familiar with the music and story of ragtime, though he was an authoritative collector of antique music boxes. He died on October 11, 2016, six months after publication of his major documentary work, Brun Campbell: The Original Ragtime Kid. Imagine – a retired doctor who made a second career of fictionalizing, researching, documenting, and presenting ragtime history! That was Larry Karp of Seattle, Washington, a mild-mannered gentleman who set aside a noteworthy career to pursue his passion for writing. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival or the West Coast Ragtime Society. He is survived by Myra, his wife of fifty-four years his son Casey and daughter Erin daughter-in-law Maggie and son-in-law Peter and grandson, Simon.Ī private memorial will be held at a later date. Faced with a setback, his response was always "Onward." He wasted little time on circumstances he couldn't control, preferring to devote his energy to what he could affect and his vision of what should be. Larry's enthusiasm and optimism carried over into the rest of his life as well. Later, he applied the same optimism to the Mets and Mariners, following his teams in-season and off, always ready to believe that "next year" had arrived. Larry was a regular attendee of both the Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival and the West Coast Ragtime Festival.Īn avid baseball fan, Larry attributed much of his optimistic approach to life to having seen the 1951 New York Giants incredible run to the pennant. His musical tastes ranged from opera, through Gilbert and Sullivan and folk, to blues, but his deepest musical passion was ragtime. He liked complicated gadgets and loved music, a combination of traits which developed into an interest in antique music boxes and phonographs. Larry enjoyed playing with language, not just in his writing, but in making puns, creating nonsense words, and writing limericks. He produced nine popular mystery novels and a variety of non-fiction, including a genetics textbook and a highly-regarded biography of ragtime musician Brun Campbell. Larry retired from medicine in 1994 to write full-time. He was proud to have delivered the first baby in the Pacific Northwest conceived through in vitro fertilization. He practiced perinatal medicine for two and a half decades, and his patients remember him as the epitome of the caring physician, one who took as much time as needed to answer questions and explain procedures. Despite living in Seattle for forty-six years, he always considered himself a New Yorker at heart. Larry Karp passed away October 11, 2016, after a ten year battle against cancer. Thank you, Larry, for taking us on your journey. It's hardly a stretch to imagine you walking the boardwalks of Sedalia, following Brun Campell and meeting Scott Joplin. You lived the ragtime life, and that of a time-traveler. We miss you Larry, your gentle soul, kindness, passion and love of ragtime.
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