THAT’S COMING UP IN A MOMENT. ALL RIGHT MARGARET. THANK YOU THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HAS LOST A LEGEND BLAINE KERN ALSO KNOWN AS MR. MARDI GRAS HAS DIED WDSU’S GINA SWANSON LOOKS BACK ON HIS LIFE AND HIS INFLUENCE ON CREATING THE CARNIVAL THAT WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE. HE IS. MR. MARDI GRAS THE MONARCH OF MODERN MERRIMENT IN NEW ORLEANS WHO HAS REIGNED FOR DECADES KNOWN FOR HIS ARTISTRY. HE BUILT AN UNLIKELY EMPIRE. THAT IS UNIQUELY NEW ORLEANS BLAINE KERN CHANGE THE FACE OF CARNIVAL. HIS LEGACY CAN BE SEEN AS LONG AS THE GOOD TIMES ARE ROLLING, ESPECIALLY ON FAT TUESDAY BLAINE. KERN WAS BORN IN ALGIERS POINT NOT FAR FROM THE BUILDINGS THAT NOW BEAR HIS NAME. HIS FATHER BOY WASN’T WEST AND WORKED AS A SIGN PAINTER AT THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS HIS MOTHER WAS ILL AND AS A WAY TO PAY HER MEDICAL BILLS BLAINE AND HIS FATHER PAINTED A HOSPITAL MURAL THE DOCTOR WAS SO IMPRESSED. HE INVITED THEM TO BUILD MODEL GRAS FLOATS FOR HIS CREW THAT WAS BACK IN 1932 FOR THE CREW OF ALLAH AND KERN STUDIOS WAS BORN KIND OF IT WOULD STILL BE MORE THAN A DECADE BEFORE CURRENT STUDIOS WAS OFFICIALLY FOUNDED AND ALLAH WAS HIS FIRST ANNUAL CLIENT HIS DESIGNS GOT BIGGER AND EVEN MORE LAVISH AND SO TOO DID HIS CLIENT LIST EVENTUALLY INKING DEALS WITH ALL THE MAJOR CRUISE AND CARNIVAL HIS CREATIONS EVEN CAUGHT THE EYE OF WALT DISNEY WHO OFFERED HIM A JOB, BUT SOME GOOD ADVICE KEPT HIM HOME TO GROW HIS OWN MARDI GRAS EMPIRE THEY COULD IMAGINE IT BLAINE. KERN WOULD BUILD IT FROM THE LIGHTING THE STUNNING DISPLAY OF ART THE DOUBLE-DECKER AND MULTI-UNIT FLOATS AND OF AS THE ANIMATRONICS THERE IS NO DETAIL THAT BLANK. AARON DID NOT CONSIDER BUT EVEN THE KING OF MERRIMENT WENT THROUGH A BITTER PUBLIC FAMILY FEUD NOT LONG AFTER HE MARRIED HIS FOURTH WIFE HOLLY WHO’S FORTY NINE YEARS YOUNGER AND 2015 BLAINE TRANSFERRED HIS MAJORITY STAKE IN KERN STUDIOS TO HIS SON BARRY PUTTING THE PUBLIC SPAT TO BID AND STARTING A NEW CHAPTER IN HIS LIFE THE FATHER OF FIVE HAS HAD SEVERAL HEALTH IN RECENT YEARS AND AT ME. THE NINE DECADES IT CERTAINLY WAS A LIFE. WELL LIVED BLAINE. KERN IS CREDITED WITH MAKING MONEY GRAS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE MASSES A MASTER FLOAT BUILDER AND ARTISAN THE GRAY AND VISIONARY BEHIND OUR MODERN-DAY CARNIVAL WITH HIS ECCENTRIC PERSONALITY AND EVER THE SHOWMAN BLANK EARN MADE THE MAGIC HAPPEN FOR GENERATIONS. LET’S SEE MY CHANNEL BECAUSE HE LIVED HE LIVED NINETY THREE INCREDIBLE YEARS ALL WAY TO THE END. AND TODAY WE’RE HEARING FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF BLAINE KERN. THEY SAID HE LIVED A FULL LIFE FILLED WITH SO MUCH LOVE WDSU REPORTER AUDREY KILLION PICKS UP OUR LIVE TEAM COVERAGE FROM ST. CHARLES AVENUE IN AUBREY. I KNOW YOU TALKED TO HIS SONS TODAY. WHAT DID THEY SAY? WILL TODAY CURRENTS SON SAID THEIR DAD BROUGHT PRICELESS MOMENTS OUT HERE TO THE PARADE ROUTE NOW ALSO THEY DID SAY WHAT THEY LEARNED FROM HIM WAS HOW TO HAVE A VISION AND ALSO HOW TO DREAM SO I’M SURE YOU’VE SEEN THE PARADE’S OF COURSE OUT HERE ON ST. CHARLES AVENUE AND SEEING HOW AMAZING THEY ARE WHEN IT COMES TO BLAINE KERN SO I MET HIS SON BRYAN KERN FOR AN INTERVIEW RIGHT WHERE THEIR FAMILY WITH MARDI GRAS GOT STARTED BLAINE KERN STARTED IN A SMALL WAREHOUSE ON THE WEST BANK. HE WORKED WITH SMALLER CREWS AND THEN EVENTUALLY THE SUPERCRUISE HIS SON AND THE PRESIDENT OF ENDYMION BOTH SAID THAT MARDI GRAS IT WOULD NOT BE WHERE IT IS TODAY WITHOUT HIM. THEY SAY THERE WILL NEVER BE ANYONE WITH AS MUCH ENERGY AND PASSION MARDI GRAS AS BLAINE CURRENT. I’VE GOT THE EMOTIONAL. YEAH, IT’S IT’S BEEN IT’S I MEAN, BUT HE LIVED A GOOD. LIFE HE MY DAD TRAVELED THE WORLD OVER. HE DID WHAT HE WANTED WHEN HE WANTED TO HE LOVED TO FISH. HE WASN’T ABLE TO FINISH THIS OFTEN AS HE USED TO BUT WHEN I WAS A KID, WE EVERY WEEKEND WE WERE OUT FISHING BARATARIA BAY CATCHING REDFISH TROUT FLOUNDER LIVING OFF THE LAND AND THERE AND I’D LIKE TO THINK THAT HE’S UP IN HEAVEN AND THAT’S PROBABLY WITH HIS HIS FATHER AND THEIR FISHING THAT AS LONG AS YOU’VE KNOWN THAT MAN OR AS LONG AS I’VE KNOWN HIM YOU JUST NEVER SOMETHING LIKE THAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. HE WAS LARGER THAN LIFE. HE HE NEVER MET A STRANGER, YOU KNOW, HE WALKED IN A ROOM AND HE JUST MADE IT MAGICAL AND I TELL PEOPLE ALL THE TIME WHAT WALT DISNEY WAS FOR DISNEYLAND AND DISNEY WORLD BLAINE. KERN WAS THE SAME THING FOR NEW ORLEANS AND MARDI GRAS. SO THAT WAS DAN KELLY WITH THE KREWE OF ENDYMION. HE ALSO TOLD ME A VERY INSPIRING AND PRETTY AMAZING STORY ABOUT HOW KERN DESIGNED ONE OF THEIR FLOATS. I’LL HAVE THAT STORY COMING UP ON WDSU NEWS AT 5:00 O’CLOCK REPORTING LIVE IN NEW ORLEANS. I’M AUBREY KILLION WDSU NEWS IVORY. THANK YOU. MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL TWEETED ABOUT CURRENTS IMPACTS HERE IN NEW ORLEANS. SHE SAID QUOTE GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TOUCHED BY THE MAGIC OF DE GRAS IMPOSSIBLE TO OVERSTATE HIS CONTRIBUTION TO OUR CARNIVAL TO OUR CULTURE AND TO OUR CITY. HE DID IT HIS OWN WAY UNTIL THE VERY END IN OUR CITY WAS BETTER BIGGER AND MORE BEAUTIFUL FOR HIS EFFORTS AND QUOTE. ALSO GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS SAID THIS TO SAY THAT BLAINE KERN REVOLUTIONIZED MARDI GRAS WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT BLAINE MAY LOUISIANA SYNONYMOUS WITH MARDI GRAS, AND HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBER