ROBERT S HART was born on April 20th, 1945, to Mae Conner Hart and Sidney Hart thirteen years after their first son, Richard Hart.
They lived in an apartment on Fordham Road in the Bronx and he attended P.S. 39. His lineage was quite impressive on both sides incorporating both Teddy and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as well as John Wilkes Booth. The family joke (although not funny) was we are the only family who both put them in and took them out of office. Heinreich Heine, the famous German poet, literary critic and essayist, was also a relative. Lorenz Hart, the most prolific lyricist in the history of Broadway and partner of Richard Rodgers, was a close and much revered relative. The songs for which he penned the lyrics live on still today and are classics such as "MY FUNNY VALENTINE" , "THE LADY IS A TRAMP", WHERE OR WHEN", "BLUE MOON" and "BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED" just to name a very few. Lorenz's brother, Teddy Hart, was an actor on Broadway.
When Bobby was 16 he ventured into Manhattan into the shop of famed jeweler, Arthur King, who invented free form gold. Arthur and Louise King took him under their wing and from there he learned to fly. It was there that he became Arthur's only jewelry protege making one of a kind pieces and mixing with not only the upper crust of Manhattan but clients from all over the world.
He also had friends in the music business where he met Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Band, Neil Diamond and too many to name.
In the early 1970's he left all that to move to Miami to help his brother Dick, and his best friend, Mickey, as an employee for TERMINAL FABRICS where he worked for ten years.
On November 30th, 1975, he married Rose Marie Fruciano in a lovely ceremony in their garden surrounded by family and friends. They spent their honeymoon at best friend Mickey Saewitz's house in Blowing Rock, N.C. where they continued to visit several times a year especially during the change of seasons. They rode through the mountains every day and made friends with the locals while collecting antiques and patchwork.
After that Bobby and his wife went on to do many business ventures together such as creating, importing/manufacturing SALAD FINGERS, selling Antique Crate Label Art with their company CALIFORNIA DREAMIN', selling vintage French Art Posters, buying/selling real estate, becoming landlords for their different properties. Bobby also owned a gun store and shooting range in Ft. Lauderdale with his brother.
On July 2nd, 1986, Lauren Louise Hart was born. They were thrilled. She was named after Lorenz Hart and Rose's father Louis. They delighted in watching Lauren push #13 on their Rock-Ola juke box and dance to Louis Armstrong. She was brought up as a totally natural earth child with pure food from the garden, only natural remedies, no t.v. only Shirley Temple movies or musicals and plenty of love from parents, family and friends. Bob and Rose centered their lives around their daughter, home, business and always their pack of dogs.
After he and Rose divorced he bought an Italian Restaurant in Cutler Ridge that he had for 15 years. It had the best garlic rolls and pizza ever.
He then moved just outside of Gainesville and together with his friend Rick Taylor, he started a food truck business called BLACK BEARD'S BBQ which was just becoming famous in the Gainesville food truck industry.
He died suddenly on Friday, October 24th, 2014, at his home in Keystone Heights. His unexpected death left behind a devastated daughter, Lauren Louise and former wife, Rose, as well as grieving neices Jane and Lulu, nephews John and Leo and sisters-in-law Buffy and Concetta. His many friends know that they will never find another friend like Bobby Hart. The world has lost a creative genius and a good man.
---Rose Hart