Leslie Laci, Les L. Hudec

Funeral services will be held in Slovakia, Leslie’s homeland. His ashes will lay in peace, there, along with those of his beloved mother, whom he had cherished his entire life.

Leslie was born in Banska Stiavnica, Czechoslovakia (in today’s Slovakia) on January 12, 1922. He graduated from the State Conservatory of Music in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. After WWII, he immigrated to New York, and later moved to Florida. He also attended the University of Miami as a pre-Med. student, but his love of music and his flare for entertaining won him over.

Leslie was a piano artist and entertainer. His vast repertoire of musical programs would change with ease from one diverse style to another. He appealed to a wide audience, those who enjoyed sounds of today’s up-tempo rock to the mellow tunes of yesterday, and years gone by. He was extremely proud to have accompanied many legends including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Liza Minelli, Tony Bennett, and others. His piano recordings, posted on youtube, keep his memory alive, help share his talent with the rest of us, and inspire us all.

He is survived be his daughter, Susan Halkides, his son-in-law, Dr. Mihalis Halkides, and two granddaughters Lysistrati “Lysi” Halkides (World Class Swimmer and college student) and Ilona Athena Halkides (who is following in her grandfather’s footsteps as a pianist and is a Music Major in college), his distant "cousin" and friend Eleonora Strkulova, and his former wives—Madge O. Blake and Elizabeth Szomy Darvas.