The one with the Sultan of Oman and Bob Hope

Today is Father’s Day in the U.S., so I’m sharing a story about my father, Larry. Actually, this post contains two stories. A twofer! The first story is about a gig Larry did for the Sultan of Oman. The second story is about one of about a dozen USO shows Dad did with Bob Hope. Both stories are linked by a rare gift and a joke that took nearly a decade to payoff, which is why Dad loved to tell these stories together.

While you may not have known Larry, you’ve almost certainly heard his work. During his career, Larry did the sound for the Academy Awards, the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the U.S. Presidential Debates, the Olympics, U.S. Papal visits, Liberty Weekend, and the inaugurations of Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Most of those shows can be found on YouTube, I think. But you can also hear Larry’s work whenever an NFL referee speaks to the crowd (it was Larry’s idea to put wireless mics on refs), or when you visit Disneyland and watch The Main Street Electrical Parade (Larry’s sound design).

Larry Estrin working on the Opening Ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics

Toward the end of Dad’s life, he talked about writing a book, but he never got around to putting pen to paper. Larry was never one to sit still. He loved being in the center of the action. In that way, his dream gig was always same—whatever show the whole world was watching was the show he wanted to do.

I’m different from my father in that way. I don’t want the entire world to be my audience. I prefer smaller, more intimate rooms, like a book or a newsletter. For that reason, my Larry stories live behind a paywall. They’re too personal to share with everyone, and too special, to me anyway, to open up to the noise of the World Wide Web.

But I don’t want to keep anyone who want to from hearing a Larry story. If you can’t afford a subscription, just email me at michael.j.estrin@gmail.com. I’ll give you a backstage pass, no questions asked. Seriously, I’m happy to do this!

Most Situation Normal posts are free, but lots of people pay to support my work. As a gift, paying subscribers receive exclusive stories, including Larry stories. To get the full Situation Normal experience, please consider becoming paid subscriber👇

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