Om Marky Om

I have been meaning to write something on this web site, but it's been hard to do. A friend finally fussed at me, and said there should be more information about Mark. There will be!

The first time I saw Mark he had come to Chapel Hill with Jim Wann in something called "The Country Cabaret" I think. It was a kind of predecessor of Pump Boys and Dinettes. I thought Mark looked like a genius -- like young Franz Schubert -- with his curly dark hair and little glasses. Make that Franz Schubert crossed with Jerry Lee Lewis, because although Mark could play Chopin, Ravel, and Rachmoninoff, he could rock too. "Come on, Mark," Gary Bristol used to tell him, "play the piano with your feet!" And he just about would.

Before too long Mark and I became best friends and partners and that relationship lasted for over eight years. I even picked up and left Chapel Hill and moved to New York because life was just more fun with Marky and I didn't want to waste a minute of it. We sure had a great time (and also somehow managed to write two shows together: "Oil City Symphony", and "Radio Gals".)

Louis Mark Hardwick was born in East Texas and graduated from Mirabeau Beauregard Lamar High School for the Performing Arts in Houston. He graduated from Southern Methodist University and IMMEDIATELY went to New York City where he became a musician, actor, writer composer and all around personality! He composed the incidental music for the the 1975 Broadway production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, starring James Earl Jones. He was crowned one of the "New Faces" of the NYC theatrical world in the early 80's. He developed, starred in and performed on Broadway in "Pump Boys and Dinettes", along with Jim Wann, Cass Morgan, Debra Monk, John Foley and John Schimmel. Mark had roles in Woody Allen's "Broadway Danny Rose" -- Mark played the "Blind Accordion Player", and also the Paul Brickman film "Men Don't Leave" (1990) with Jessica Lange, Joan Cusack, Kathy Bates and Chris O'Donnell. Mark was the best and most versatile pop piano player I have ever heard, bar none. Long-time Broadway music contractor John Miller said that Mark was "legendary"! He was also the funniest and most mugging-est stage piano player I'd ever seen, kind of a walking talking singing dancing Don Martin cartoon come to life. Mark was drawn by the late Al Hirschfeld, not once, but twice. Pretty good for a kid from Hughes Springs, Texas. I'll have more in here as soon as I can. I promise! So check back!! -- Mike