Saturday night (Jan. 28) in Las Vegas, the curtain call came for Gary Bautista, member of the famous 25-year-old Society of Seven (SOS) which had its start in Hawaii before it conquered Mainland USA. Sadly, the curtain fell not at the end but in the middle of a performance in which, as usual and as expected, Gary was giving his best, always and forever touching the heart of his audience.
The occasion was the wedding anniversary of the owners of Goldilocks in Las Vegas and the event was being celebrated at a country club with, aside from the SOS, Martin Nievera and Lani Misalucha as the other performers.
The night started on a light note. After Lani and Martin performed separately and to humor the celebrator-couple, the SOS put on an act, with Gary dressed as the bride and a co-member as the groom, singing the Bee Gees’ How Deep Is Your Love in such an exaggerated style that kept everybody in stitches.
If you recall, Gary was a singing-comedian back home before he joined the SOS in 1980 to replace Bert Nievera (Martin’s father) who quit after 10 years with the group.
After that rib-tickling bride-and-groom act, Gary and the other SOS guy rushed backstage and changed to their usual uniform and, soon, joined Lani and the five other SOS members onstage for a rendition of Luther Vandross’ Always and Forever, prompting the enthusiastic audience to break into a heart-rending applause.
And then it happened.
Seated not far from the stage, Martin noticed that Gary seemed to be holding a fellow SOS member’s shoulder with his left hand for support, his right hand holding a microphone, while singing.
"He was slowly collapsing to the floor," recalled Martin during a phone conversation with Funfare yesterday afternoon. "At first, I thought he was joking, as he often always did during a performance. The audience thought that it was all part of another funny act and didn’t mind Gary."
But when Gary continued collapsing to the floor, still clutching the microphone and singing, Martin knew that something terribly wrong, something very serious was happening to Gary. So Martin jumped onto the stage and cuddled Gary in his arms to stop Gary’s fall. All the while, Gary was clutching the microphone and singing.
"I noticed that Gary was having a hard time moving his left leg and his left face putting on a strange expression," added Martin. "So, I cried, ‘Call 911! Is there a doctor in the house? Is there a doctor in the house?’ I knew something terribly bad was happening to Gary."
While the whole house was in panic, and perhaps living true to the dictum that the show must go on no matter, come what, the rest of the SOS, along with Lani, went on singing.
Three doctors answered Martin’s frantic call and rushed to the stage to assist Gary who, by this time, was resting in Martin’s arms, still clutching the microphone and singing, while Gary’s panicking wife Rose was on the back of Martin who, after taking off Gary’s shoes and belt and loosening his necktie, was trying to keep Gary alert by cracking jokes and talking to him.
In-between his singing, Gary struggled to smile and whisper to Martin, "You’re the best, Martin! Thank you for not making me fall."
The doctors began talking to Gary who, still clutching the microphone and singing while the now stunned audience listened with mixed emotion, seemed coherent.
What is your name?, the doctors asked.
"Gary Bautista," answered Gary.
How old are you?, the doctors asked?
"Fifty-five," answered Gary.
Before long, an ambulance arrived and whisked Gary off to the nearest hospital 15 minutes away. As he was being loaded into the ambulance on a stretcher, Gary smiled at Martin, flashing a thumb-up sign, and said, "You’re the best!" Martin asked Gary, "You sure you’re okay?" Gary nodded.
It turned out that Gary had a massive stroke. Although born with a congenital enlarged heart, he didn’t have a history of hypertension although he was taking Lipitor to check his cholesterol.
Earlier that evening backstage, Gary said that he was having a "funny" feeling that he couldn’t quite understand.
Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Gary slipped into a coma. During Funfare’s conversation with Martin, he said that Gary was declared "brain dead" by three doctors. According to California law, a comatose patient declared "brain dead" by three doctors is considered, well, that’s it. As you read this, the ventilator attached to Gary should have been removed.
"He’s the most generous, most humble and one of the most talented entertainers I’ve ever known," said Martin who has known Gary for years, starting when Martin was a little boy growing up in Hawaii. "Always and forever, he wanted to touch people’s lives not just with his singing but in many other ways."
While Gary lay comatose, a 24-year-old man, badly injured in a car accident, was admitted into the hospital. He needed a liver transplant. A check on Gary’s driver’s license showed that Gary is an organ donor, so his liver will probably be donated to the guy.
"Gary was generous in life," said Martin, "and he was generous even in the most critical moment of his life."
Though he couldn’t do it to his own, Gary for sure would help prolong somebody else’s life.
Gary is survived by his two children with his first wife (sister of a sexy actress who died of cancer a few years ago). He didn’t have children with his second wife. His remains will be buried in Las Vegas where he spent the best years of his life as an entertainer, singing to his heart’s content and to his audience’s delight until his very last conscious moment.
Because it was the last song Gary ever sang, I’m printing in full the lyrics of Luther Vandross’ Always and Forever:
Always and forever
Each moment with you
Is just like a dream to me
That somehow came true, yeah…
And I know tomorrow
Will still be the same
Cuz we got a life of love
That won’t ever change and
Everyday love me your own special way
Melt all my heart away with a smile
Take time to tell me you really care
And we’ll share tomorrow together
Ooh baby, I’ll always love you forever
Ever, ever, ever
There’ll always be sunshine
When I look at you
It’s something I can’t explain
Just the things that you do
If you get lonely
Call me and take
A second to give to me
That magic you make and