Howard Bulson, the longtime, iconic piano player at the former Sorry Charlies in Lower Queen Anne, died last weekend of pancreatic cancer at a neighborhood nursing home. He was 72.
Bulson had lately been playing a Monday night gig at the Dexter & Hayes pub, but he also played for a time at the Mirabeau Room, which opened in the former Sorry Charlies space, following that up with engagements at Julia's on Broadway.
But Bulson - who started working as a musician when he was still a teenager - is best known for his time at Sorry Charlies, where he played backup piano for countless regular singers who varied from musical-theater professionals to opera singers to amateurs who could belt out tunes with the best of them.
At one point, English folksinger Donovan also sat in with Bulson, who seemed to know every song ever written before 1950 and could convincingly fake the ones he didn't.
Bulson's popularity at Sorry Charlies waxed and waned over the years. At times he was a campy hit with a hip younger crowd, but his older regulars stayed loyal no matter what.
Bulson had been feeling poorly for the past six months but refused to go to a doctor until just three months ago, when he found out he had cancer, a friend said.[[In-content Ad]]
