Dr. Dám László (szerk.): Az Ilosvayak Nyíregyháza, 2004. (Jósa András Múzeum Kiadványai 56. Nyíregyháza, 2004)

Ifj. Ilosvay Gusztáv (Sydney): Egy kiállítás margójára

took away the stories he used to entertain us with. We would hang on to every word about Augustus, the knight; the gentle hippopotamus; Bumbo, the elephant and countless other characters popping out of his head. He also left here four lady friends, who in the strange twists of life got to know each other and spend time to recall their encounters, the good times spent with him. Still, the most important person in his life was my mother, who not only changed her name from Antalfy to Ilosvay when she married him, but she became an Ilosvay. She was a very clever or rather, wise wife, who survived everything and let my father to play and create till the very end. My father was a real bohemian. He was well known in the bars and nightclubs of Budapest, so much so, that even now, in 2004 there are people here in Sydney who still remember him. They remember their reserved tables at the bars he was playing in and also the good times spent in his company. Meeting him people always walked away with a deep impression. You could not ignore him. He had quite a few enemies, proving that the more talented you are the more enemies you collect. He read a lot and read fast. He retained all he read. Years later if you asked him the nose monologue from Cyrano, or what Ka, the giant snake said to Maugli under the palm tree, he could recite it word by word. And after all this if you ask me what kind of a man my father was, I could not say more than I already did. This is all what fit into my 15 years with him. The rest was provided by life, by acquaintances, friends, patients and fans who talked about him in a faraway look or tears of remembrance in their eyes. Life is like that. I know it now. You are born, create if you have the talent, live to the best of your knowledge and abilities - that is it. Future generations will finish what you started and maybe even remember you, if you are lucky. After reading this even you can't be indifferent towards him, can you? His similarities and his humanity caught your attention. HE IS JUST LIKE YOU. IMMORTAL!