Foreword by James Magruder | Introduction by Bernie Ardia

Prepare to Feast on Life!

Robert (Raub) Karr and his best friend, Walter, planned a relaxing cruise from Seattle to Mexico. Little did they know that their vacation would be upended when they met the author and creator of Auntie Mame, Patrick Dennis, on board the ship. Dennis was traveling under an assumed name. And much like his character Mame, Patrick Dennis brought a whirlwind of mayhem, fun, and chaos into the lives of those onboard the ship.

Raub, Walter, and Patrick became fast friends, with Patrick attracting a collection of eccentrics and oddball characters wherever he went. What was supposed to be a simple cruise turns into a full-blown adventure when Patrick and Walter jump ship and disappear into Mexico. Later, Raub comes to their rescue. Wealthy widows, art connoisseurs, masked midget wrestlers, ladies of the night, and hunting rats are just part of the trio’s comical escapades.

The story behind At Sea with Patrick Dennis: My Madcap Mexican Adventure with the Author of Auntie Mame is as fascinating as the memoir itself. When Raub Karr passed away in 2017, his memoir languished unpublished and was doomed to be lost forever. Fortunately, theatrical hair designer, Bernie Ardia, rescued the manuscript from obscurity. Ardia instinctively knew this story needed to be shared with the world.

So, don your best jewelry, fix yourself a cocktail, and prepare to laugh as you come on a madcap Mexican adventure with Patrick Dennis, Raub, and Walter. To quote Patrick Dennis’s most famous character, Mame, “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving.”

Patrick Dennis, Raub, and Walter pile their plates high and feast from the banquet of life.

A Book with a History as Fascinating as the Story Itself!

The story behind the memoir’s manuscript is as intriguing as the adventures of Robert Karr, his friend Walter, and the great author Patrick Dennis himself. Robert Karr passed away in 2017. The unpublished manuscript languished in a box destined for the unknown. However, fate intervened. A dear friend of Karr’s showed the unpublished work to Bernie Ardia, who recognized its importance and knew it had to be published.

Praise for At Sea with Patrick Dennis

“Only real life can produce theatrical characters that belong onstage. Patrick Dennis brought us the treasured Auntie Mame, and now through Robert Karr’s memoir At Sea with Patrick Dennis-we have a few more of these characters, including Patrick himself. A fine rescue from Bernie Ardia.” —Chita Rivera, ‘Triple threat theatrical icon’

“Robert Karr’s delightfully madcap memoir of his time spent with the fascinating Patrick Dennis is a wonderful addition to the growing literature of this important and elusive cultural figure.” —Charles Busch, Actor, Playwright, Cabaret Performer, and Drag Legend

“For decades, those of us who’ve loved Auntie Mame, Little Me and Tony have lamented that we’d never hear another word from its author. But here is the madcap eccentric writer brought back to us in At Sea with Patrick Dennis. Indeed, that was the experience Robert Karr had while sailing with his good buddy Walter Healy. As it turned out, Dennis and Healy were two peas in a pod-and being on the same nautical pod for knots at a time got them into some knotty situations. The result will be some Dennisian experiences of wondrous excess for you, dear reader. Bless Bernie Ardia from rescuing this long languishing but delicious manuscript and bringing to those at sea, land, or air.” —Peter Filichia, Broadway Radio