I found out last night that an old friend, Kirk Torigoe, had died. No details that we know of yet except that he passed away earlier in the week. I hadn't seen or talked to Kirk in a couple of years but I always remember him fondly. Please indulge me as I share some fun rememberances from when we did a show together and how he possibly saved my life.
I first met Kirk in 1999. We both got cast in The King and I at the Carousel Dinner Theater in Akron, Ohio. (All pictures are from that time period). The production company put the cast up in local housing while we were performing for 3-4 months. Kirk and Pio were my roomies. Since Kirk and I were both non-union at the time, we got paired into sharing a room.
It was one of those rare casts where almost everyone got along. Probably having so many of us Asians in the cast helped! Kirk and I immediately hit it off. Pio and I were a bit older (maybe 7 years?) than he but I adopted him like a little brother. I used to tease him for always being on the phone. I have so many pictures of him doing that! See?
Of course, it was just a good natured ribbing and he always took it that way. That was the thing about Kirk. He always just rolled with it. I honestly don't ever remember him getting upset about anything or arguing with anyone. Sure, there may have been a few times here and there but nothing monumental. Always the voice of reason. And he was funny! Now, you know I think I'm hilarious but Kirk had some zingers in him as well. We both loved our roomie, Pio. But we would tease him for magically finding the "All Golden Girls, All the time" channel. Seriously, it seemed like any time we walked in the door, it was on!
One of the funniest moments was opening night. We all partied at the theater and then came back to the apartment complex to drink and party. We all kept going from apartment to apartment. Some of us ended up in our unit. I had the lights down, candles lit and music blasting. It was a dance party! At one point, I was dancing with a few of the girls in the living room and I looked over and saw a shadowy figure sitting in the kitchen. It was Kirk. He was just sitting there. Eating cereal. And enjoying the fact that we were all having fun. We locked eyes and started cracking up. That was one of our running jokes for a long time. Me dancing and him eating cereal in the dark!
The above picture is a sexy photo shoot some of the cast did for a charity event for Equity Fights AIDS. It was a variety show and we all contributed. Kirk choreographed one of the numbers and was in most of them. We used to laugh at how serious and sexy we were trying to be in that picture!
And, the boy flat out saved my life. If you know me, then you know I'm sociable and like to go out. The cast did often to stave off the boredom. And, you know I can get my drink on and hold my liquor. On very rare occasions, I go overboard and my body reminds me. I don't remember what I drank one night but I do know that I was shattered. Completely drunk. Smashed. I'm sure it was Kirk who put me in my bed and I promptly passed out.
Next day, I wake up and notice an odor. Yep. I got sick in the night as I slept. Instead of waking me up, Kirk got out of bed, turned me on my side so I wouldn't choke and cleaned me up. I slept right through it. And to show just what a humble guy he was, he didn't even tell me. Someone else in the cast did. When I saw him later, I had to ask him what happened and then he told me. I apologized profusely and he just smiled and we laughed about what a drunken idiot I was that night. He never got upset about it even though he had every right. Amazing friend. I've never forgotten that.
As mentioned, I haven't spoken to or seen him in a couple of years. Lives in New York City move around so much and I've been out of the acting biz for some time. We were just doing different things. But any time his name was brought up, it was always a happy memory. Still, even though we hadn't spoken in awhile, this has really affected me. That happens when a good person is taken out of your life. I'm just...terribly saddened. He was a young guy in his 30's with a beautiful young daughter named Meana. My heart goes out to her and his family.
We are saddened when a celebrity we admire passes away. Some people find that silly, but people touch our lives in different ways. And when a person you know in real life is gone, the heart sinks that much more. So much more. It makes your own mortality real. We always say we wish we could have spent more time with someone after they're gone. But it's true. I wish we had stayed in touch over the past couple of years. Even though we didn't, I'll still miss him.
Farewell, my friend. We'll dance together again in that "Small House of Uncle Thomas" in the sky. I'll bring the cereal.
