Robert Joseph Kline, a record store owner and classical music buff, died Thursday (Sept. 5, 1996) at Brooking Park nursing home in west St. Louis County after a stroke. He was 87 and lived in Clayton.
Mr. Kline was born in Cincinnati. His family owned Kline's Inc., which operated department stores in several cities in the Midwest.
He attended Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. A lifelong opera and classical music lover, Mr. Kline went to New York where he trained to become an opera singer under Estelle Liebling, the voice coach for the Metropolitan Opera.
In the 1940s, he moved to St. Louis, where his love of music motivated him to open a store with the latest classical and operatic releases. He opened The Record Bar in 1942 on Wydown Boulevard, subsequently moving to two other locations in Clayton. He closed the store in 1980.
He and his wife, Peggy, were friends of the late composer Leonard Bernstein, conductor of the New York Philharmonic, who frequently visited them in St. Louis. Mr. Kline was also a close friend of Thomas Sherman, a former music critic for the Post-Dispatch. Every Sunday for many years Kline and Sherman would meet at Sherman's house to listen to and critique the latest recordings.
Mr. Kline was an active and enthusiastic supporter of the St. Louis Symphony Society and an early supporter of the St. Louis Opera Guild, where he sang in the chorus. He once sang the role of the jailer in "Tosca."
A funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Lupton Chapel, 7233 Delmar Boulevard, University City. Burial will be private.
Among the survivors are his wife of nearly 52 years, Peggy Kirk Kline of St. Louis; a daughter, Kate May of Berkeley, Calif.; three sons, actor Kevin Kline of New York, Christopher Kline of St. Louis and Alex Kline of San Francisco; and nine grandchildren.
© (copyright) 1996, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Date of publication: 7 September 1996.
No copyright infringement is intended. This article is reprinted here for educational/informational purposes only, and this website makes no claim of copyright or ownership of this article.
Honor Kevin's father:
Support the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
(Click on the "Donate" link near top right of page.)
I'm adding this link to info on how to support the St. Louis Symphony since I thought some of Kevin's fans might like to contribute. For those who do, I suggest earmarking the donation "In memory of Robert J. Kline, from a fan of his son Kevin" - something like that.
Obituary for Peggy Kirk Kline, mother of Kevin
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