[pianotech] Killer Diller

[paulmulik at yahoo.com]

Yesterday I watched a somewhat obscure movie called Killer Diller (made in 2004 and available from Netflix  -- Not to be confused with a 1948 film with the same title.)  It's about a group of young adults at a halfway house who have reluctantly formed a gospel band (at the insistence of the man who runs the house, played by Fred Willard), and a young autistic man from the community named Vernon, who is a piano savant.
 
In the film, Vernon (Lucas Black) carries a tuning lever with him and every time he comes to a piano, he insists on tuning one note before he plays.  I didn't check, but I think it was the same note every time. As one who deals with autism on a daily basis, I found this interesting.

I can't think of very many movies in which someone is seen tuning a piano. Tuners are mentioned (but not seen) in Mary Poppins and The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Whoopi Goldberg's character attempts to tune a piano in the second Sister Act film. Anybody know of others?

Paul Mulik     


  

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