Longtime Clarence Brown Theatre musical director loses battle with cancer, leaves legacy

James "Jimmy" Brimer lost his 10-month battle with lung cancer Monday morning, leaving Knoxville's musical theater community heartbroken. 

Brimer graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1963 and served as the musical director for the Clarence Brown Theatre (CBT) at its start in 1970 until about 2007. Brimer also musically directed in the Carousel Theatre, at the Hunter Hills Theatre and UT's summer theater in the mountains of Gatlinburg. 

One of Brimer's closest friends, CBT Managing Director Tom Cervone, started his time at UT in 1989 for graduate school. 

“I met Jimmy very early in my tenure here," Cervone said. "Just because when you’re in a graduate program like the one we had, which was kind of baptism by immersion, I just was in the theater all the time and so was Jimmy and we got to know each other and then we became great friends.”

The friendship soon blossomed into family with Brimer and his longtime partner, James Newburn, joining Cervone and his wife, Susan, for holiday meals. 

In 1995, Cervone accepted the job of CBT managing director. One of his early projects in the early 2000s aimed to improve and update CBT's front of the house staff and services. Brimer, who had never held a full-time job with benefits, finally got his chance when he became house manager and held his post at the front of the theater. 

“We were able to work a little magic here and put Jimmy, officially, on the payroll, and he was really our first full-time house manager and he did that for almost 10 years, until his retirement in 2010," Cervone said.

As a play on "The Twilight Zone," Cervone and the CBT staff honored Brimer at the time of his retirement by recognizing his usual post as house manager with a placard reading "The Brimer Zone." 

"We laughed because Jimmy had all kinds of, as you might imagine, peculiar encounters in the lobby with patrons and so it just became kind of a joke," Cervone said. "We wanted to commemorate his long-standing career with us and as well his work as house manager so we’ve created this little area.”

In addition to his time at the CBT, Brimer worked in the community and played organ in churches. Brimer served as an adjunct professor at UT, although his musical theater class did not meet every semester. Cervone studied under Brimer's musical theater class one of his first semesters at UT. 

“I’m not sure that, even prior to when we created this class, that it was offered for credit. I think that it was Jimmy gathering a bunch of students in the lab theater who wanted to sing and dance. He would do whatever he needed to do to help students sharpen their skills," Cervone said. 

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Arguably one of Brimer's most memorable contributions to the musical theater community stemmed from his work with founder of the Clarence Brown Company Ralph Allen. 

Allen, a recognized writer, director and producer, wrote and workshopped "The New Majestic Follies and Lyceum Gardens Revue" before it was picked up on Broadway as "Sugar Babies" in 1979. Brimer was the show's first musical director and although he never made it to Broadway as the musical director, the show served as Mickey Rooney's debut and also starred Ann Miller. The show ran for 1,208 productions. 

“That’s not small change. That particular musical made a pretty big impression on the Broadway crowd and it started right here and Jimmy was the first musical director," Cervone said. "Ralph Allen, who was a very experienced producer and director and writer in his own world, felt confident in Jimmy’s terrific musical ability to have him put this particular piece together.”

Brimer was known not only for his love of musical theater, but also his love for animals. His cat, Jasper, was ill at the same time as Brimer and when Brimer died, the cat did as well. 

“The sort of irony of all ironies, Jimmy and Jasper were so close, that when Jimmy left, I think Jasper decided it was time for him to leave as well," Cervone said. "The world and the universe moves in very peculiar but interesting ways.”

Brimer died peacefully at home hand and hand with Newburn. Cervone said the blessing that lifted him from his pain overwhelms the heartache felt by his loss. 

“It’s kind of like that adage ‘addition by … subtraction’ that honestly always seemed peculiar to me. Now I comprehend completely," Cervone said. "Jimmy may not be here right here right now, which is where the subtraction enters the picture, but oh my goodness, the addition goes on and on and on and on, and we, all of us, are the beneficiaries.”

In lieu of flowers, Newburn asks that donations be made to the James Brimer Musical Theater Scholarship Fund that was started at the time as his retirement. The service will be held on Friday at 6 p.m. at St. John's Cathedral downtown. 

“Here’s a line directly from my remarks and I think this will sum it up," Cervone said. "Jimmy Brimer equals love. Unconditional, absolute and honest love.”