Larry Cervi Obituary

Larry Cervi, a mentor to generations of young performers, died Thursday after a yearlong battle with bladder cancer.

He was 90, passing just two days after his birthday.

A longtime resident of Churchill, Cervi spent more than six decades shaping students not only for the stage, but for life.

Born and raised in Aliquippa, a steel mill town, Cervi often spoke about how unlikely his journey into the arts once seemed.

In a 2022 interview with Pitt Magazine, he recalled assuming he would follow his family into mill work until a drum scholarship to the

University of Pittsburgh—offered after a band director noticed his baton-twirling talent—changed the trajectory of his life.

After graduating from Pitt, Cervi taught English, speech, and drama across the region, including a 21-year tenure at Churchill Area High

School, now Woodland Hills, where he founded the school’s first drama program in 1963. He later became a prolific director of high school

musicals, earning multiple Gene Kelly Award nominations during more than two decades at Gateway High School.

His final production there came in 2022, when he was 86.

Cervi’s broader impact came through the institutions he founded: the Larry Cervi School of Performing Arts in 1986 and East End Kids in 1990.

A professional teen song-and-dance ensemble known for performing in nursing homes and retirement communities.

“It’s not just about showing off what you can do,” Cervi told TribLive in 2024. “It’s about the way you make people feel and about giving back.”

Cervi is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Donna; four children; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.