Title : Remembering the legendary Cozy Morley on the 5th anniversary of his death
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Remembering the legendary Cozy Morley on the 5th anniversary of his death
Today, we are proud to present a guest column by Chris Morris about his friend - the great Wildwood entertainer Cozy Morley, on the 5th anniversary of his passing.
On Sunday, September 2 at Keenan's Irish Pub, Morris will perform the last of three shows this summer entitled "A Cozy Night with Chris: Tribute to Cozy Morley & Old School Comedy."
Additional info on show is available below...
Cozy Morley: A Man Who Gave Me A Dream - Memories of my idol on the 5th anniversary of his passing
By Chris Morris
It was the summer of 1987 and like any other eight-year-old child, I loved summertime because it meant no school, swimming at a swim club named Keenan's Valley View Inn and a vacation down the Jersey Shore. The end of August was always our vacation time because my dad, who is Philly basketball coaching legend and my personal hero, Speedy Morris, at the time was coaching La Salle University, and always had camps and speaking engagements.
So, at the end of August, we would pack the car up with bags and head down to Avalon, New Jersey for the week. It was always a great time and every night we would hit a differant shore point. One night we would be shopping in Cape May, the next we would be having dinner with friends in Stone Harbor. But my favorite was always Wildwood.
Again, like any child, I loved the boardwalk. The minute we would park the car, I could smell the Johnson's Popcorn, hear people screaming on the roller coaster, and hear the eerie organ music coming from Castle Dracula. It was always my favorite night!
One particular Thursday evening, I remember my dad saying that we were heading back over to Wildwood. I was so excited because we were at the boardwalk the night before and I thought we were heading there again. My dad told me that we weren't heading to the boards:
"Tonight, we are going to see a friend."
I didn't know what to expect. We pulled up to this dingy looking club and my parents led me by the hand inside. We walked in and I saw many "old people" sitting at tables, talking. I looked over and saw a light shining on a stage. The stage had a lot of props on it and a microphone. My dad sat me at a table and ordered me a root beer, some chips and pretzels. Just then, this man walked out of the kitchen - he had white slicked back hair and worse a red sport coat, and when he smiled, his teeth were white as snow.
He came over to my parents and said "Hell, Speedy and Mimi!" My dad said "Chris, this is Cozy Morley." I shook his hand and then he took the stage. For three hours, I sat there mezmorized. Cozy hosted this vaudeville show the likes of which I had never seen. The show started off with a magician, then a female comedian who was larger then life hit the stage named Julia Dijohn. Then a singer named Johnny Ray sang some ballads.
And then, it happened. The man who became my comedy idol took the stage and headlined the show. He told jokes, sang songs and played every instrument. As an eight-year-old boy, I didn't get all of the jokes, but I looked around and saw people having the time of their lives. I watched as Cozy commanded the room with his unparalleled charm and wit. At that moment, at that young age, I said I want to do exactly what this guy does.
Year after year, we would take this vacation. But after that particular year, I really didn't care much for the boardwalk. I only cared about when we were going to go see Cozy. One year he had a duo act named Lou Marks (who later became a dear friend) and Dave Michaels open up. That year we went back twice because I couldn't get enough of the show. I would go home and put on shows in my room, pretending to be Cozy. I had VHS tapes, cassette tapes, and CD's and I memorized everyone of them.
While most kids my age wanted to be like Michael Jordan, I wanted to he like Cozy Morley. In the winters, Cozy would close up shop in Wildwood and play shows all over Philadelphia and New Jersey. My dear friend, the late great Billy Keenan, owned a restaraunt called Keenan's Valley View Inn (yes, it was also the swim club I mentioned earlier) in my home town of Roxborough, Philadelpha. Cozy would play there every December and I would be there every show.
Cozy quickly became a dear friend of mine and would always say to me from the stage, "Chris, you want to come up here and do my act... this kid knows my whole act!"
I remember when I was in high school, Cozy was performing in the lounge at the Trump Castle in Atlantic City. That summer, while vacationing at the shore, I asked if we could go see him. My parents said yes and we went over. I was under age and couldn't get in the lounge, but Cozy saw this and offered to let me sell his merchandise just to get me in. He was a great, great friend.
As I got older, I started performing. We developed a show called the Chris & Dad Show where I would do impressions and my dad would do jokes. Cozy would often give me advice and I can remember him saying, "Chris, I wish you were around when I was coming up in this business, because there was so much more work." I didn't know what he meant by that until now. The style I grew up watching, Cozy's Style, is gone and I now had to adapt to a style of comedy that has changed - and not for the better, in my opinion.
I liked to do the songs and jokes, but that style was dying off with the comedy club boom. I realize now that I was and always will be an old soul. Cozy Morely was a huge part of my childhood, he is what I grew up watching and he knew how much I loved him and his act. Offstage, he always treated me like a son he never had. One time while vacationing in Ocean City with my great friends the Swider family, I saw that Cozy was performing at the Music Pier on the boardwalk. I was a senior in high school that year and tried to get tickets, but it was sold out.
That night, we all sat outside on the deck of the hotel. It was my buddy Jeff Swider's birthday - Jeff loves entertainment too and is now an amazing Elvis Tribute Artist. I took Jeff up to the boardwalk to see if we could catch Cozy leaving. As we were getting closer, I could hear laughter. I look up to see a man in a tux carrying a banjo to his car, making people laugh along the way. It was Cozy. I run up to him and he smiles that smile that only he could. I tell him that it's my buddy Jeff's birthday and he not only wishes him a happy birthday but he came back to the hotel and sat on the deck with us and the entire Swider family, and told jokes.
On the way back, he had Jeff and I laughing by dancing on the boardwalk and going up to girls saying "Have you met my nephews?" When we got back to his car, Cozy turned to me and said "Hey Chris, are you ok, do you need some spending money?" and he pulled out cash. I thanked him and said no thanks pal, he looked at me and said "OK Chrissy, I love ya," gave me a big hug, got in his car and pulled away.
That was Cozy Morley.
When Cozy Passed away on this date in 2013, all of those memories came rushing back. I sat in my room and cried when I heard the news. To me, not only did a dear friend and mentor die, but so did a piece of my childhood. I went to his viewing and hugged his lovely and amazing wife, Bobbi. I stood there and stared at him, this man who brought so much joy to so many was called home to God, and I missed him already.
I had a show not too long after and I did a little tribute to him where I did a medly of his jokes and songs. My brother Keith saw it, and I turn this into a full show. From that moment on, "A Cozy Night With Chris: A Tribute To Cozy Morley & Old School Comedy" was born. In the show, I am backed up by an amazing keyboardist named Chuck Butler and I do Cozy's jokes and songs, as well as my act, and some singing impressions. We have been doing the show for four years now and have an amazing crew, like sound man Joey Roccia and comedian/Producer/director Vince Valentine.
This show is basically my tribute to the man who gave me a dream, and showed me what it was like to entertain people with class and humility. My dream was to do the show in Wildwood and we have done just that. This Summer, we landed three shows at Keenan's in North Wildwood. The first two shows were received very well. We had great crowds and the shows were filled with lots of memories and laughter.
We have one show left which we will perform on Sunday night, September 2nd. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at Keenan's. Doors open at 4 PM, with dinner 5 PM. Show time is 6:30 PM.
In closing, if I may, I would like to talk directly to my idol...
Cozy on this, the fifth anniversary of your passing, I want to say what I say in my show: I created this show not to be another Cozy Morley, because there never will be another Cozy Morley, but I created it to pay tribute and homage to a dear friend and to a man who gave me a dream.
You are that man, Cozy, I love you and thank you for all you have done for me. I will never forget you, my friend, and until we meet again I hope I am making you proud.
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