A Life in Music and Law
With great sadness we announce the passing of Robert J. Vars, the son of the great Polish composer of film and symphonic music, Henryk Wars. Born on March 10, 1934, in Warsaw as Robert Józef Warszawski, he celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this year and died in Los Angeles after a brief illness on November 5. 2024.
Surrounded by music from his earliest days in Warsaw, Robert felt very close to his father even when tragic historical events separated his family. After the outbreak of World War II, Robert and his sister Danuta remained in Warsaw with their mother, Carola. Evicted by the Nazis from their apartment and forcibly moved to the Warsaw Ghetto, they were miraculously rescued from the Holocaust almost two years later by Wars who, after touring Soviet Russia with his Tea-Jazz orchestra, had made some high-level connections in Moscow’s film industry and obtained Soviet passports for his family. As Robert recalled when he left the Ghetto with his mother and sister, a Nazi guard who inspected their papers just smirked and barked, “See you soon in Moscow” as they finally emerged free on the Aryan side of a downtown Warsaw street.
Thus began Robert’s long journey across the Soviet Union leading to the reunion in Tashkent with his father, and followed by a harrowing trip on a rusty Soviet freighter across the Caspian Sea to Persia. When his father reassembled his orchestra and began giving concerts in Tehran and elsewhere throughout the Middle East, Robert often joined his dad’s musicians on stage as a drummer. Sporting a child’s military uniform, he instantly became a beloved mascot of the Polish Parade ensemble, which accompanied General Anders and his Second Corps for the remainder of World War II.
Once they arrived in Palestine, Robert recalled playing soccer on a Tel-Aviv beach and swimming in the Mediterranean with his father. Since the Polish Parade constantly toured the Middle East with concerts, Robert was enrolled at the Tel Litvinsky Educational Institute, a boarding school near Tel-Aviv. Later he was sent to another boarding school, this time in Nahariya, a German-Jewish colony in northern Israel. There, in late December 1945, Robert and his classmates helped save many European Jewish refugees who arrived on the ship Hannah Senesh that was beached in the area.
Robert’s mother, Carola, who settled in Tel-Aviv, wanted to leave for the United States in 1946 but her initial attempt was unsuccessful. In the meantime, Robert’s chronic ear infection—first diagnosed in Warsaw— kept getting worse despite several surgical interventions, first in Warsaw and later in Tehran. Doctors in Tel-Aviv pressured Carola to consent to a risky brain surgery to eliminate Robert’s alarmingly frequent fainting spells and seizures. Fortunately, with the help of his father who by that time had settled in Hollywood, Robert was brought to the U.S. in 1950 on a medical visa. He was treated at UCLA by a world-famous ear surgeon who specialized in children’s hearing problems and pioneered installing cochlear implants.
Ambitious and intelligent, fluent in Hebrew and Polish as well as a few other languages he picked up on his travels, Robert had no English skills when he began attending Hollywood High. Soon however, with diligent tutoring by his father, Robert quickly overcame this challenge and graduated in 1956. His entrepreneurial spirit and highly independent nature then drove him to work as a cab and truck driver for Capitol Records, park cars for various Hollywood cinemas, and even briefly become a free agent selling insurance. Robert first graduated with an associate arts degree from Los Angeles City College and then completed law studies at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles in 1961. When he passed the California Bar Exam on his first try, a feat accomplished by only a few applicants and his name appeared in the Los Angeles Times, none other than John Wayne telephoned Robert’s father to congratulate him on his son’s momentous accomplishment.
Robert J. Vars (right) with his father, Henryk Wars (left) in 1956
Robert’s spectacularly successful career as a defense attorney spanned several decades and he specialized in civil cases often involving complex issues related to advertising, pornography, and indemnification. His effective courtroom cross-examination techniques were admiringly witnessed by Henryk Wars who was invited to observe his son’s fine legal skills on a few occasions. Another great example of Robert’s public speaking gift was on display at his father’s funeral in Los Angeles in 1977, when his stirring and eloquent oratory deeply moved the assembled family and friends.
Fond of music, Robert was also an accomplished amateur pianist. Absorbing everything by ear (his lifelong partial hearing loss notwithstanding), Robert was always able to sit down to a piano and play some of Henryk Wars’s most popular Polish and American songs at countless gatherings for his family and friends. One of his showpieces was his father’s Gypsy Czardas, a wartime composition that hasn’t survived on paper but continues to live in the memories of those who had a chance to hear Robert’s lively rendition of this unforgettable tune on his father’s Steinway grand at many soirees.
Just like his father, throughout his life, Robert loved word games, crossword puzzles and, during the last few years, enjoyed recording all sorts of autobiographical observations in verse on his mobile phone. Also an accomplished chef and a gourmand with a sophisticated taste for Continental cuisine and fine wines, Robert prepared and served countless elegant meals at a beautifully set table in his Sherman Oaks residence. During these magical culinary feasts, he would entertain his family and friends with lively conversations that invariably veered into politics. Eager to discuss current affairs with anyone anytime, Robert was a passionate believer in the American system of governance and its laws that made his adopted homeland a place like no other in this world.
Robert J. Vars and Danuta (Diana) Mitchell with their father, Henryk Wars in 1964
A lifelong liberal Democrat and an avowed agnostic, Robert was deeply passionate about social welfare as well as equality and justice for all residents of America, regardless of their race, origin, religious denomination or social station. He was actually much more spiritual than many of his friends may have realized. Although he resented organized religion, Robert always believed it was quite possible that something bigger and more spectacular than anyone could comprehend actually existed in this universe.
Danuta (Diana) Mitchell & Robert Vars at USC in 2005
He was deeply devoted to his mother, Carola, who eventually managed to leave Tel-Aviv and settle in Los Angeles, and to his stepmother, Elizabeth, whom he often invited to lunches and dinners and dutifully ferried every week on shopping expeditions to a Brentwood supermarket.
On a purely personal note, Robert’s extraordinarily caring attitude was on full display when, decades ago after getting his phone number from his stepmother, I finally summoned up the courage to call him. He cut my opening greeting and explanations almost instantly by saying, “What can I do to help you?” This was Robert, and that’s how I shall always remember him, a person of pure heart, of noble intentions and of deeply felt human empathy. Thanks to him I was gradually introduced to everyone in his family and throughout the years was treated like a long lost relative, participating in almost all of Robert’s annual family holidays and gatherings. On such occasions, his fine and sometimes cynical humor was always employed to deflate pompous behavior displayed by anyone around him, be it family or friends. Robert’s passion for animals (he had several dogs) and love for the good life (luxurious Las Vegas retreats, boat trips on his yacht around the Channel Islands, an occasional cigar and brandy) were at once inspiring and profoundly touching. Here was a real mensch, a person of sterling integrity and honor, and a survivor of very dark times in world history who always sought to enjoy life to the fullest. Whether riding a motorcycle or driving a Maserati in disregard of relatives and friends who asked how many rental units he owned, Robert always smiled and breezily replied that he preferred just to savor the moment. Undoubtedly because of his childhood in Poland and wartime experiences in Russia and the Middle East, Robert instinctively knew and keenly felt the precious and fleeting sense of happiness that had to be harnessed on the spot and at all costs. His sonorous voice and jovial nature accompanied him almost to the very end. Faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis, Robert invited me to dinner at his house just a few weeks ago, and everything seemed normal, as it always was before—his heartfelt hospitality, passionate political discourse, great food and wine, and splendid company throughout the evening. As soon as I got home that Sunday night in early October, there was a text message from Robert on my phone, “Make it more frequent,” accompanied by a thumbs-up emoji. The news of Robert’s passing made me reflect on our longstanding friendship and on his exceptional generosity to another Polish émigré. I shall miss him very much.
Robert Vars leaves his sister, Danuta (Diana Mitchell) as well as his first wife, Joyce Sassano (married in 1956, divorced in 1968) and their two children, Jeffrey and Dina with their families. Memorial service arrangements are not final at this time and will be announced later.
[MZ]
All photos are from Vars Family album collection, used by permission.
Source:https://polishmusic.usc.edu/
