By his own count, Theodore Bikel played Tevye the milkman in the enduring musical Fiddler on the Roof more than 2,000 times, more than any other stage performer. But unlike Zero Mostel, who originated the role on Broadway, the Vienna-born actor-activist-folk troubadour scrupulously avoided the Borscht Belt shtick that so frequently was attached to the character. “I’m so much … [Read more...]
Sundays: Remembering Marvin Mordes, art patron
When Marvin Mordes died Sept. 18, the 70-year-old neurologist was in Europe pursuing his great passion: Contemporary art. “Art was an extension of the way he liked to live his life,” said Mera Rubell, patron of the Rubell Family Collection in Miami. Mordes’s death of a stroke in Berlin deprived the visual art community of a tremendous art advocate on a local and … [Read more...]
Remembering Bacall: An interview with one tough cookie
I once worked for a newspaper in Washington, D.C. that spent extravagantly to say the least. It preferred to fly me to interview celebrities that I could talk to almost as productively, and certainly more cost-effectively, on the telephone. The thought is prompted by the death this week of the legendary Lauren Bacall, at 89, of stroke complications. Thirty years ago, I flew … [Read more...]
Remembering Corey Dwyer, gone before long strange trip was over
In early April, I received what I thought was a casual inquiry on Facebook that turned into a snowballing tragedy. Renee Solis, vocalist and guitarist for the progressive local band Equinox, asked if I knew how to get in touch with Corey Dwyer, the Boynton Beach-based musician who sang and played nearly every instrument, who was a longtime owner, operator and engineer at the … [Read more...]
Essay: Remembering six area musicians
As a musician, I've come to the conclusion that playing music in a live setting works best when it parallels, well, life. There will be some of the inherent up moments, like harmony among the vocals and the instruments, and conversations both with and without words, plus some of the downs like mistakes that you have to recover and learn from. But being a veteran musician … [Read more...]
Remembering Julie Harris (1925-2013)
It is usually a trivia stumper: Which actor has the most Tony Awards? The answer is Julie Harris, with six. Five were won competitively, from her star-making turn in 1952’s I Am A Camera to The Last of Mrs. Lincoln in 1972, plus a special lifetime achievement Tony in 2002 as a career capper. But the answer always surprised people, who would guess flashier, larger-than-life … [Read more...]
Appreciation: Remembering the volatile Arthur Laurents
When two-time Tony Award-winning writer-director Arthur Laurents died on Thursday, the theater and film world lost one of its great creative talents. And one of its most difficult. He died at his home in New York at 93, after a short illness. There will undoubtedly be an outpouring of praise for Laurents, particularly for his two most acclaimed musicals, West Side Story and … [Read more...]