Julliard-educated composer & performer Terry Hammond talks about what Judy Garland once told him, the legendary Marlin Beach Hotel, and how he’s poised for the next chapter of his life 

Where did you grow up?  I’m from New Hampshire, but we moved to New York City when I was very young.  My parents saw that I had talent, so we moved there.  I majored in piano at Julliard.  How long have you lived in South Florida?  Since 1979.  Why did you move here?  Before moving here, I was working in TV and Broadway in New York.  I had a two-year stint in Europe, and a friend suggested that we swing by Fort Lauderdale.  I was enchanted with here.  I decided to move here because the notion of having my own home was appealing, and I had friends here.  Also, I believed that my writing skills were of primary importance, and I felt that I could do that anywhere.  Besides, the guys are hotter here than in New York.  What part of South Florida do you live in?  I live in Coral Ridge neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale, which is by the intercostal highway.  What do you like most about living here?  There are three things that I like most about living here—the weather, the weather, and the weather.  What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone?  The Marlin Beach Hotel.  It had everything, and that was the very first place that I performed at when I moved here.  Does anyone still remember it?  Where do you hang out in South Florida now?  In my lovely home, which is filled with everything that inspires me and that I love.  But when I need a break, I hop over to Le Boy.

What’s your claim–to–fame?  Right now, it remains as a performer.  However, performing was always a means-to-an-end for me.  That end being worldwide recognition as a composer, playwright and screenwriter.  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  Amazon.  I love to shop.  What’s the best place that you’ve visited?  The Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.  What is your current state-of-mind?  Ultimate gratitude… for everything.  What were you doing before we spoke?  I was composing my opera, The Forbidden City, which is a sequel to Puccini’s Turandot.  How do you most enjoy spending your time?  Fully engaged.  What celebrity would you like to sleep with?  Justin Bieber.  What two historical figures would be your ideal parents?  Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.  What’s your favorite quote?  It’s from Walt Disney—“Talent is what you’re born with.  Genius is what you do with it.”  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be, and why?  I would bring back Richard Wagner, because he is the greatest musical dramatist who has ever lived. Where would you go in a time machine, and why?  I’d go forward a hundred years, because by then, people will be able to live forever.

What would your last meal be?  A New York strip steak, with the bone-in.  What do you worry about?  Failing to fully realize my mission on earth before I die.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be, and why?  I’d be a symphony orchestra.  Without question, the symphony is man’s greatest achievement—bar none—because it expresses the full gamut of human emotion without one word being spoken.  Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A wolf… but in sheep’s clothing.  Who depends on you?  Tweety, my lovebird.  He depends on me for everything.  Who are you closest with?  My art, my friends and Tweety.  But I’m open to meeting a new significant other.  What would your autobiography be called?  It would be called That’s the Wrong Bridge, Buster!  That’s what Judy Garland said to me when I played the wrong bridge to one of her songs.  Do you ever put music on when you’re upset?  I never play musical externally.  I hear it all the time internally.  What’s your greatest regret in life?  I don’t have any… yet.  Tell me something that you’ve never told anyone else.  I’ve always hated doing interviews… until now.  Where can we see you?  In your dreams.  But also on my upcoming YouTube channel.