Chris Pastras

PASTRAS, DUNN, ZIMMERMAN, TAHMASEBI

Posted By: Ruth Maring - Volunteer (email)
Date: 9/28/2006 at 14:48:25

The Clinton Herald
Published: September 28, 2006 01:48 pm

Chris Pastras

Chris Pastras, celebrated pianist, stage actor and Las Vegas performer, passed away recently in Los Angeles after a 15-year struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and neural damage to the brain stem and immune system. Cause of death was attributed to heart and respiratory failure. He was 65.

The eldest of two sons born to Peter & Mary Pastras of Clinton, Iowa, Chris’s unusual musical talents became obvious at the early age of four and Mom & Dad quickly got him enrolled in music class. After just four years of piano lessons and some extraordinarily unusual musical development, Chris’s piano teacher entered him into a local talent contest that catapulted him on through state and regional competitions and finally an appearance on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in New York.

He developed so quickly with his musical abilities that by the age of 10, he was recognized as a child prodigy and a widely acclaimed musical virtuoso. He was showcased in his concert debut presenting the 103-page Rachmaninoff Duet Concerto in D-minor - which he performed flawlessly & completely from memory. By the age of twelve, he was accepted for advanced studies at the University of Iowa Music Workshop and the University of Chicago School of Music for gifted students.

Teaming together with his younger brother, Ted, who had also demonstrated unusual early musical talent as a singer and pianist, the two boys created a musical act that established them quickly as teenage celebrity sensations. Both brothers went on to the University of Iowa, and although a couple of years apart, found that they were in great demand for their pop musical talents all through college.

Completing his undergraduate studies, Chris transferred to the Masters Program at the University of Chicago, earning an M.A. degree and was preparing to enroll at the Julliard School of Music in New York when a car accident (involving his brother) changed the direction of his classical music career. Being the head of the family and realizing the extensive medical bills and strain to the family’s financial position, Chris sacrificed his golden opportunity of going to Julliard and returned to Iowa to help sustain his family during the crisis period.

Two years later, the brothers moved to Chicago where they eventually began working on a full-time musical, acting and nightclub career. It wasn’t long before they became the toast of the Chicago nightclub scene and regulars on the local television and theater circuits. The big “break-out” showcase for the Pastras Brothers occurred in 1977 when they were booked to open for Steve Allen at Mill Run Theater in Chicago. That was quickly followed by bookings with David Brenner and Lanie Kazan, and a year of touring performances with Della Reese, Don Rickles, Phyllis Diller, Buddy Hackett and Rip Taylor.

The Pastras Brothers relocated their base of business operations to Las Vegas & Los Angeles where they continued to expand and develop their show business careers beyond the cabaret circuit - with each brother scoring steady work with TV commercials and voice-overs; cameo parts in several daytime soaps and night-time features like the “The Young & the Restless,” “General Hospital,” “Santa Barbara,” “NYPD” and “The Golden Girls;” and numerous cameo appearances in film such as “Money to Burn,” “The Presidio,” “Dream of Kings” and “Astoria.” They also worked individually and in tandem on numerous occasion as musical directors / performers and producers on such stage hits as “The Fantastiks,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Zorba the Greek,” “Music Man,” “A Chorus Line,” “A View form the Bridge,” and “Illya Darling.” The brothers were the original creators, design specialists, producers and directors of the highly acclaimed L A GREEK FEST in Los Angeles.

Their love of cabaret performing, however, kept the Pastras Brothers working mostly in Las Vegas as an opening act for headliners such as Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Richard Pryor, Alan King, and Julio Iglesias. In a strange twist of fate and not long after the passing of their mother in1991, a recording contract developed for the brothers, along with a scheduled tour with Julio Iglesias, when Chris suffered his first major setback with M.S. The massive stroke-like attack thrust him into a deep coma with extensive but confined damage to the cortex area of the brain, substantial paralysis and little hope of survival. However, after nearly 5 1/2 months in the hospital, he somehow miraculously emerged from the coma - but was unable to speak, move or eat - and was given only a 1% chance of recovery.

Determined to regain his life, and after little less than two years of extensive rehab and conditioning supervised with the care and management of his brother and sister-in-law, Chris was eventually able to get back to a limited but fairly normal and useful existence living alternately in L.A. and in Iowa, his official residence. He was a long-time member of Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral and a devout practitioner of his faith.

Chris is survived by his brother, Ted, and sister-in-law Jan; three very dear godchildren, Tina Dunn, Margaret Zimmerman and Anousha Tahmasebi; and his beloved cats, Koukla, Princess, Squirt, Scampi and Blackie. Funeral services will be held Saturday, 11:00 am at Saint Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles. The body will be flown back to Clinton, Iowa for final services and internment at Clinton Lawn Cemetery, Tuesday at 3 pm. May his memory be eternal.

Chris Pastras

Los Angeles, California

September 24, 2006