https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/mardi_gras/article_2eb82320-a5f3-11ea-978d-73b83d95df5d.html Blaine Kern Sr., the flamboyant New Orleans float builder and visionary who, as "Mr. Mardi Gras," propelled the modernization and expansion of Carnival, died Thursday, according to his wife. He was 93. Kern ushered in the era of the super-krewes and pioneered such parade razzle-dazzle as giant props, double-decker and multi-unit floats, splashy lighting and on-board animatronics. Kern Studios, which he founded, crafts more than a dozen prominent parades, including Endymion, Muses, Bacchus, Orpheus, Iris, Zulu, Hermes and Tucks. For nearly 70 years, through 2019, the company also created the Rex Organization’s floats. "It would not be an exaggeration to declare Blaine Kern as one of the most significant individuals in the entire history of the celebration of Mardi Gras,” said Arthur Hardy, publisher of the definitive “Mardi Gras Guide.” Likening Kern to legendary showman P.T. Barnum, Hardy said, “Everyone credits him, correctly, with the concept of super-krewes. But just as important was his creation of rental floats that allowed less affluent citizens to participate in Carnival by forming their own krewes. By making parades more affordable, he really opened Mardi Gras up." What Popeyes kingpin Al Copeland was to chicken, Kern was to Carnival: a brash, shameless character who came from nothing, launched an unconventional Big Easy empire, and lived unapologetically large and loud as a result. “Mardi Gras time was Blaine Kern time,” said Clarence Becknell Sr., historian emeritus of the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club. “You can’t mention ‘New Orleans’ without saying ‘Blaine Kern.’ He put your parade together.”
