Broadway To Vegas

Copyright: January 3, 2021
By: Laura Deni
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THE YOUTH OF OLD AGE HAS PRUNELLA SCALES AT HER SNARKY BEST

There are many reasons to enjoy the audio of The Youth of Old Age by award winning author Stuart Price who also directs the audio. It's funny. It also is extremely well written, not to forget that British humor can deliver totally politically incorrect phrases in such a clever way that, while they are offensive, the reaction is to laugh. Startling, perhaps, but not resonanting as hateful. The Youth of Old Age also has hidden messages about love, devotion and how to manipulate the ones you love. Oh, let's not forget the dog.

This zippy audio recording stars the famous British actress Prunella Scales, best known for her role as Basil Fawlty's wife Sybil in the BBC comedy Fawlty Towers and her BAFTA award-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth II in A Question of Attribution by Alan Bennett.

Currently 88-years-old she's been married to actor Timothy West since 1963. They are considered one of Britain's most loved acting couples. Unfortunately, Prunella suffers from Alzheimer's which has progressed to the point of robbing Prunella from performing as she once did and, according to published reports, even having a conversation with her husband. They have a live in housekeeper who helps care for Pru, as she is affectionally known. They have two sons and son Samuel is starring in the BBC production of All Creatures Great and Small soon to debut in America on PBS.

The Youth of Old Age is one of her last performances. She is nothing short of brilliant in this wicked, sassy and irreverent comedy.

The accomplished cast also includes Knight Mantell (who died in 2017 at age 72), Edward Harrison (who appeared in Wolf Hall on Broadway), Crystal Yu and Davd Beck.

The tinkling of a piano leads the listener into the play as well as various scenes.

Scales portrays Elizabeth, a barbed tongue dowager who owns two-thirds of the town and, thus, can do whatever she pleases. What seems to give her pleasure is eviscerating her grandson's girlfriends.

Within the first minute of the performance it is explained that during her grandson's last visit with a women he was dating, Elizabeth, referring to the woman, remarked that that she would "like to lift my skirt and lay a turd on the ungrateful . . . "

Elizabeth is expecting a visit from her grandson James (Edward Harrison) whom she rescued from an orphanage when he was 18-months-old. Although he possessed no birth certificate, he is Elizabeth's sole heir.

As matriarch, Elizabeth is determined her heir should not marry "out of sorts."

She is rude to everyone including her devoted butler Richard (Knight Mantell), who tends to give as good as he gets.

Grandson James, who is one test away from becoming a full fledged surgeon, acknowledges that his grandmother always had a way with words and inquires if she has calmed down. The butler's reply is: "I suppose there is a chance, just as there is a chance I'll get a blow job from Henry Winkler before I die - remote, but not out of the question."

Richard the Butler takes James' bags to his room. Butch the dog tags alone.

Elizabeth ran off the afore mentioned previoust girlfriend, a person she calls a "drug pusher" which James corrects to "a pharmacist."

When he tells her he is in love and going to marry, she drops the news that she was so appalled by the drug pusher(pharmacist!) that she has taken legal steps to require James to obtain her permission to marry, pointing out that she was able to accomplish that because, "I am a very wealthy lady and what is legal and illegal represents different prospects for the wealthy."

She refers to her attorney as "that bastard".

"Your solicitor is called Mr. Pendragon," corrects Richard.

Referring to James' new girlfriend Elizabeth inquires "which drug rehabilitation center are you going to steal this one from?" He tells his grandmother he met her at the hospital.

"Abortion or mental health?"

"A surgeon."

"Oh a butcher."

James loves and respects his grandmother for adopting him, and sincerely appreciates the vast opportunities she has given him. He is bothered that she seems to have no respect for his occupation as a surgeon and his desire to help others.

Butler Richard tells him that "you are a surgeon trainee while the rest of your college chums are on the stockmarket, happily reaping and pillaging the third world."

Elizabeth plots to keep her grandson at her place and break up the romance. She has a plan which requires help from the reluctant but never-the-less compliant Richard.

The expanding plot line has twists and surprises. One poignant line towards the end is when the butler explains to James how his grandmother feels love.

A pithy, laugh a minute play which could be revived. Meanwhile, don't miss listening to Prunella Scales starring in the audio release of The Youth of Old Age.

Available on several outlets including Wireless Theatre Company. Running time 1 hour and 4 minutes.

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This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

ART AND ABOUT

THE NATIONAL COMEDY CENTER AND LUCILLE BALL DESI ARNEZ MUSEUM in Jamestown, New York are open for visitors under strict covid-19 guidelines.

The National Comedy Center is the United States’ official cultural institution and museum dedicated to presenting the vital story of comedy and preserving its heritage for future generations, as formally designated by the U.S. Congress in 2019. Opened in August 2018 in Jamestown, New York, the museum complex offers an unprecedented visitor experience using state-of-the-art technology, interactivity and personalization to create the first true 21st Century museum environment.

Based on the vision of Jamestown native Lucille Ball for her hometown to become a destination for comedy, the National Comedy Center showcases comedy’s great minds and unique voices in ways that engage, inspire, educate and entertain. As a non-profit institution, the National Comedy Center was funded by a mix of federal, state and private philanthropic support, including partnerships with I LOVE NY, Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State’s Empire State Development.

Design for the National Comedy Center was led by the most prominent cultural and interactive design firms in the world, whose portfolios collectively include the award-winning 9/11 Memorial Museum, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, The College Football Hall of Fame, SNL: The Experience, and more.

The National Comedy Center has been embraced by the entertainment industry, with props, costumes and archival material provided by many of the most revered names in comedy. The Comedy Center recently announced a major initiative to preserve Carl Reiner’s personal Dick Van Dyke Show script archive and a Johnny Carson exhibit.

Exhibition partners include the Kelly Carlin and the George Carlin estate, George Shapiro and Jerry Seinfeld, Dan Aykroyd, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Joan Dangerfield, The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, The Harold Ramis Family, The Garry Shandling Estate, George Schlatter, Bill Marx and the Harpo Marx Family, the Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams estate, Desilu Too, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Corporate Archive, and many more.

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THE MUSIC GOES ROUND AND ROUND

STARRY is a concept recording with music and lyrics by Matt Dahan and book & lyrics by Kelly Lynne D'Angelo. Originally released in January 2020 the promising promotional effort was a victim of Covid 19. Recently the concept album was re-released on Broadway Records with three additional bonus tracts.

It deserves attention.

Many concept albums are created at the first opportunity, offering a shallow version of what the creatives intend, all in the hopes of attracting investors.

This concept album is different. It's rich, well thought out, twinkling like the "starry" night pictured on the cover.

Set to a modernized pop-rock score, Starry is a story about Dutch painter Vincent and his younger brother Theo van Gogh who was himself an art dealer and collector. It is based upon the multitude of letters the brothers exchanged.

Prologue, (don't sneeze or you'll miss it) is a tinkling piano offering a couple of bars then quickly meshing into Impress Me with a burst of music as the chorus challenges others to show something they haven't before seen.

This recording presents a score you rarely hear in a concept album - numbers which don't sound like one long song. Each has an arrangement, which emphasizes blending voices, fits into the story line and offers balance with soft/hard/ and energetic/slower offerings.

Beautifully constructed, A New Horizon is the first duet by Vincent (University of Michiga graduate Dylan Saunders) and his brother Theo (Chicago born Joe Viba) which explains the story line.

United in Distaste is a dramatic take from the artists and painters - Toulous-lautrec, Degas, Pissarro, Bernard, Morisot, Gauguin, and Vincent.

Enlightenment puts the spotlight on Mariah Rose Faith who is best known for playing Regina George in the first national tour of Mean Girls. The song Enlightenment explains Faith’s character, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, Theo’s wife.

The electric guitar in Where Are We Going? adds depth and interest but doesn't overpower in this, Gauguin's (Jim Blim who is considered to have a 3-octive vocal range) standout number where it is questioned "Where Do We Come From/Whee Are We Going."

Faith has a beautiful voice which can fill with emotional desperation in The Sower which closes with counterpoint melodies as other artists criticize Van Gogh as being "messy," "desperate" and "hasn't sold a thing." Vincent is determined in The Road singing about his inner torment and hoping he is finally walking away from the anguish.

Yellow House has Vincent telling his fellow artists that he had found a place where he can finally call home. Sunlight and Storms features newly wed Jo acknowledging to Theo that she and her new husband will face both sunlight and storms, but if you've married somebody you're truly comfortable with you might not always know the right way but you'll do your best and that will be good enough.

The Threshhold of Eternity is a number with Vincent, Theo and Jo commenting about Vincent's sanity and "drowning in his pain."

The Red Vineyard is a solo by Theo encouraging his brother to hold on.

One of Saunders’ standout vocal moments is the song The Starry Night when he asks God to let him live on through his brushstrokes.

Wheat Fields/Finale Ultimo is a powerful ending to the recording as Jo (Faith) offers a spoken narration about Vincent shooting himself in the wheat field and the meaning of life and death.

Technically there is too long of a break between the final number and the beginning of three demo numbers which are an addition to this recording. The overly long break will have some thinking that is the recording's end and miss the added bonus numbers.

The excellent booklet had interesting photos and graphics, song lyrics, and an explanation of the two acts.

Starry has numerous aspects which build towards a hit - a different concept to someone everyone knows about - Vincent Van Gogh - his famous painting Starry Nights a reproduction of which which everyone has seen - beautiful voices, a well written score with arrangements which add texture and purpose. Starry holds the listener's attention. Vincent Van Gogh was a tortured artist whose relationship with his brother is lovingly brought to life in this interesting musical.

Even though audiences are not known to warm to musicals with sad endings, (remember Mack and Mable) Starry deserves to be given a chance to sparkle. The biggest hurdle will be getting past Covid-19 aftermath as theatres eventually attempt to remount with a smaller audience which initially may contain substantially different demographics.

SPREADING THE WORD

PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE have released their first podcast through their multi-year deal with Spotify, saying they hope it brings “warmth, a smile and something to think about” to listeners at the end of a difficult year. The couple thanked first responders and essentials workers.

On the couple’s standalone special episode, hosts Harry and Meghan are joined by Stacey Abrams, Brené Brown, Sir Elton John, Deepak Chopra, James Corden OBE, producer and actor Tyler Perry, tennis champion Naomi Osaka who share personal anecdotes and inspirational stories.

Meghan also quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King telling listeners: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that".

The couple’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, even makes a surprise appearance and with a little coaching from his father wishes everyone a Happy New Year. It’s the first time royal fans have ever heard the 1-and-a-half year old publicly speak.

Meghan and Harry will be producing and presenting a range of podcasts for Spotify under their new production company Archewell Audio, with the first complete series set to launch in 2021.

The couple's first 33-minute show is part of the deal with the streaming giant worth an estimated $40million.

PROJECTIONS: DAVID BOWIE MUSIC VIDEOS AND FILMOGRAPHY is a paid on line course from The Freud Museum in London taught by Mary Wild taking place Friday and Saturday January 8-9, 2021

The passing of David Bowie in January 2016 left planet Earth decidedly blue. “It’s been five years, what a surprise." Dystopia, extraterrestrials, surrealism, and androgyny are some of the recurrent themes in Bowie’s avant-garde artistry that endeared him to mavericks and weirdos the world over.

In this 2-part online course, "we will turn to psychoanalytic theory to establish the interpretive framework of David Bowie’s music videos and filmography, with a focus on his personas, experience of childhood trauma, struggle with mental illness, addiction, isolation, resilience, and creative autonomy."

MINT THEATER COMPANY announced the line-up for their free Streaming Series 2021, featuring HD recordings of past productions: Days To Come by Lillian Hellman, directed by J.R. Sullivan will begin airing January 4th and continue through February 21st; Katie Roche by Teresa Deevy, directed by Jonathan Bank (2/1- 3/28); Women Without Men by Hazel Ellis, directed by Jenn Thompson (2/22 to 3/21); Yours Unfaithfully by Miles Malleson, directed by Jonathan Bank (3/22 to 5/16); A Picture of Autumn by N.C Hunter, directed by Gus Kaikkonen (3/29 to 5/23); and The Fatal Weakness by George Kelly, directed by Jesse Marchese (5/17 to 6/13), all at Mint’s virtual theater, MintTheater.org.

Mint has been investing in creating professionally shot and edited full length archival videos since 2013. No Zoom boxes or Computer-Generated Imagery, these are professional quality, hi-definition, three-camera recordings of live performances, captured in the theater with live audiences.

ZOWIE BOWIE'S outdoor New Year's Eve performance in from of the Crica Resort on the Las Vegas strip was both entertaining and heroic. The talented, personable performer braved strong, cold winds to entertain the live and television watching crowds. Zowie Bowie (Chris Phillips) and his 17-piece band covered songs made famous by Presley and Neil Diamond, to name only two. The winds were so intense that scantly clad showgirls had to keep one arm extended upwards to hang onto their headgear.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

FINANCIALLY REWARDED FOR SLAVERY the British government passed the Slave Trade Act in 1807 to abolish the trade in enslaved Africans. The Slave Compensation Commission was created which held detailed records of all the slaveowners that applied for benefits. In an effort to trace the development of British colonial slavery and understand its societal impacts on contemporary Britain, the University College London (UCL) began the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership project. The project revealed that £20m was paid out to approximately 46,000 slaveowners. Adjusted to today’s inflation rate, £20m in 1833 is worth £2bn today. The Act also awarded compensation to slaveowners for the ‘future loss of revenue’. UCL has made this information free and available to the public and it is easily searchable by location.

A class History of Slavery in the British Caribbean taught by Jelmer Vos, a lecturer in global history at the University of Glasgow who specializes in African history, Dr. Peggy Brunache a lecturer in the history of Atlantic slavery at the University of Glasgow who is also the Director of the university’s Beniba Centre for Slavery Studies, Dr. Christine Whyte a lecturer in global history at the University of Glasgow, Dr. Sally Tuckett a lecturer in dress and textile histories at the University of Glasgow, Dr. Zachary J.M. Beier a Lecturer in the Department of History and Archaeology and the Director of the Archaeology Laboratory at The University of the West Indies, in Kingston, Jamaica, Shani Roper, Historian and Curator of the University of the West Indies Museum, and Annalee Davis a visual artist, state: "while slaveowners were compensated, no enslaved African or their descendants received any benefit. More importantly, the government loan for compensation represented 40% of the national debt and was entirely funded by taxpayers.

"British taxpayers finished paying off the loan associated with the 1833 compensation in 2015.

"This also means that descendants of enslaved peoples who settled in the UK as permanent residents or as British citizens also paid while the descendants of slaveowners continued to benefit from the financial legacy of the compensation paid to their families."

THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS (OCA) in Atlanta, Georgia has announced the recipients for the 2020-2021 Contracts for Arts Services (CAS) awards. Each year, the CAS program provides general operating and project support to non-profit arts and community organizations, as well as project support to individual artists based and producing work in the City of Atlanta.

“The CAS awards celebrate the contributions and resiliency of the Atlanta cultural community—this year, even more so amidst economic challenges posed by COVID-19,” said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “Atlanta’s creative community has written our city’s story through their excellence and truths, and those are invaluable gifts that will benefit generations to come.”

The program, initiated in 1982 to support Atlanta’s thriving arts community, awards annual contracts related to the production, creation, presentation, exhibition, and managerial support of artistic and cultural services in the City of Atlanta.

During fiscal year 2021, the program will provide municipal support for the arts totaling more than $1,700,000 to 13 individual artists, 75 arts organizations, and 14 community and neighborhood organizations in the city of Atlanta.

In addition to the Contracts for Arts Services awards, the City of Atlanta through the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs has supported artists and the non-profit arts sector at this vital time through the following:

$159,800 – to 35 choreographers, 18 literary artists, 11 photographers, 25 musicians, and 32 visual artists

$127,000 – to 64 small mid-sized arts organizations through the second round of power2give/Atlanta crowdfunding campaigns

Since inception, power2give/Atlanta has generated more than $2.6 million for Atlanta’s arts community and has helped fund over 330 projects. With City funding constraints stemming from COVID-19, Fractured Atlas has made the decision to retire the power2give crowdfunding platform.

In spite of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the City’s finances, the City of Atlanta remains committed to supporting local artists and non-profit organizations as evidenced by the City’s continued financial support.

2020-2021 Contracts for Arts Services Grantees

Major Arts Organizations

Actor’s Express -Alliance Theatre - Atlanta Ballet - Atlanta Contemporary Art Center - Atlanta Jewish Film Society - Atlanta Music Project - Atlanta Shakespeare Company - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra - Center for Puppetry Arts, Inc. - Children’s Museum of Atlanta - Dad’s Garage Inc. - High Museum of Art - Horizon Theatre Company - Independent Media Artists of Georgia - Moving in the Spirit - Museum of Design Atlanta - National Black Arts Festival - Seven Stages, Inc.- Synchronicity Theatre - The Atlanta Opera - The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia - Theatrical Outfit - True Colors Theatre Company - Whole World Improv Theatre.



QUEEN ELIZABETH'S NEW YEAR'S HONORS FOR 2021 pertaining to entertainment include:

Two time Oscar winner Roger Deakins is knighted.

Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton who took his seventh title in November, has been knighted. Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who is based in California and is knighted in the overseas list.

Known for his work on Fargo, Skyfall, Sicario and No Country for Old Men, he has received 15 Oscar nominations over the course of his career, winning for the films Blade Runner 2049 and 1917.

Actress Sheila Hancock, is made a dame.

From the world of fashion, ground-breaking make-up artist Pat McGrath - dubbed the "most influential make-up artist in the world" by Vogue - becomes a dame for services to the fashion and beauty industry and to diversity.

Professor Jane Alison Glover, conductor and musicologist, receives a damehood for services to music.

Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville is made a CBE for services to drama and charity. Her screen credits include Phantom Thread, All or Nothing and Another Year. She will portray Princess Margaret in seasons five and six of the Netflix series The Crown.

Actor Toby Jones, who counts Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and the Harry Potter franchise among his many film credits, becomes an OBE for his services to drama.

Screenwriter and producer Jed Mercurio, who held the nation spellbound with TV hits including Line Of Duty and Bodyguard, is made an OBE.

Former EastEnders actress Nina Wadia, who rose to fame in sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, is made an OBE for her services to entertainment and charity.

Singer Craig David has been made an MBE as has Coronation Street stalwart Sally Dynevor, who has played Sally Webster on the soap since 1986.

CBEs
Professor Julian Anderson, composer
Anthony Edward Tudor Browne, children's author and illustrator
Ilse Catherine Crawford, interior and furniture designer
William Barry Douglas, concert pianist
Daniel John Harding, conductor
Michael Landy, artist
Nigel John Newton, founder of Bloomsbury Publishing

OBEs
Natalie Clein, cellist
Dr Stuart Gary Hopps, choreographer
Robert Lockyer-Nibbs (Bob Lockyer), dancer and broadcaster
Tracey Lynne Reed, director of historic properties, English Heritage
Professor Michael David Wood, historian and broadcaster

MBEs
Raymond Antrobus, poet
Humza Arshad, comedian and writer
Jonathan Sydney (Jonty) Claypole, director of BBC Arts
Denzil Forrester, artist
Olayinka Ilori, designer
John Michael Kirkpatrick, folk musician
Duncan Ferguson McDonald, Scottish traditional musician
Greta Mendez, director and choreographer
Andrew James Miller, arts consultant and broadcaster

E-Book

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E-Book

Soft back Book

This is not your typical, totally boring textbook.

In the pages of How To Earn A Living As A Freelance Writer (the first to be lied to and the last to be paid) you'll find sex, celebrities, violence, threats, unethical editors, scummy managers and lawyers, treacherous press agents, sex discrimination; as well as a how-to for earning money by writing down words.

FINAL OVATION

PRESS EMBLEM CAMPAIGN a press freedom nonprofit, reports that more than 500 journalists have died of the coronavirus in more than 57 countries. At least 30 of those journalists are American, and some were infected while reporting on the pandemic.

ARMANDO MANZANERO one of the world’s most prominent and acclaimed Latin music composers, widely considered the premier Mexican romantic composer of the postwar era died December 28, 2020 in Mexico City. from Covid-19. He tested positive for the disease on 17 December and was intubated on 22 December. He was 85.

He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in the United States in 2014.

Manzanero’s romantic crooner songs, sometimes translated into English, were performed by artists including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Perry Como, and he was awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2014. It’s Impossible, performed by Como, crossed over into the US charts in 1970.

Harvey Mason jr. Chair & Interim President/CEO Recording Academy and Gabriel Abaroa Jr. President/CEO The Latin Recording Academy issued the following statement: "Armando Manzanero needs no introduction. He began his career at the age of 15 with the first of what would be more than 400 original works composed over a span of more than seven decades. Transcending languages, genres and generations, Manzanero’s songs have been performed by many artists, from Perry Como, Elis Regina and Elvis Presley to Tania Libertad, Gal Costa and Eugenia León.

"Manzanero was a Latin Grammy friend and supporter of the Latin Academy. He will be greatly missed, but his melodies and larger-than-life personality will live on forever.

"His passing is a great loss for the world of music. Our hearts go out to the Manzanero family, to the Mexican Society of Songwriters, to his fans and to all of Mexico during this difficult time."

He is survived by his wife Laura Elena Villa and son Juan Pablo Manzanero.

DAWN WELLS a Nevada native who wascrowned Miss Nevada in the 1959 Miss America pageant who went on to star in the television sitcom Gillian's Island as Mary Ann died in Los Angeles on December 30, 2020 of covid-19. She was 82.

Throughout her career, she starred in over 150 television shows and seven motion pictures. She also appeared in more than 100 theatrical productions, spending the majority of the 1970s, and 1980s, touring in musical theater productions. She also had a one-woman show at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in 1985.

She was the daughter of former Nevada shipping cargo operator who became a Las Vegas hotel and race horse mogul. At one time was part owner and president of the Thunderbird Hotel (located next to the Sahara hotel) which had a horse race track behind the resort which had thoroughbred and quarter horse racing.

The 450-room Thunderbird Hotel, the fourth oldest on the Las Vegas strip, was built in 1948. It was purchased in 1961 by a group headed by Joe Wells, who owned the world famous Joe's Oyster Bar at the Thunderbird, and was instrumental in the addition of a horse track, Thunderbird Downs, built behind the casino in 1961.

Dawn noticed that her grandmother who had suffered a stroke and lived with Dawn's family while Dawn was in high school, had difficulty dressing herself. Inspired by theatrical costumes, Dawn created Wishing Wells Collection, launched in 1990, a line of mail order clothing, designed for the elderly or handicapped who had difficulty with zippers and buttons. She used a new product called Velcro.

Nursing homes immediately became interested in buying her products. The now discontinued line included "clothing that is reversible back-to-front with Velcro closures that provide not only a secure fit, but ease of use if dexterity is a problem."

Divorced, she is survived by her step-sister, Weslee Wells.

ROGER BERLIND a producer of more than 100 Broadway plays and musicals and the winner of 25 Tony Awards, died December 18, 2020 at his home in Manhattan from cardiopulmonary arrest. He was 90.

He was a board member of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. and Lehman Brothers Inc. He was one of the founders of Carter, Berlind, Potoma & Weill in 1960, a company that would later through Sandy Weill become Shearson Loeb Rhoades, which was eventually sold to American Express in 1981 for approximately $930 million in stock.

His theatrical producing career began in 1976. Since then, he has produced or co-produced more than forty plays and musicals on Broadway and many off-Broadway and regional theatre productions as well. His Broadway productions have won numerous Tony Awards. Among them are Amadeus, Nine, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Ain't Misbehavin', Guys and Dolls, Hamlet, Passion, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Copenhagen, Kiss Me, Kate, Proof, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics, the 2004 revival of Wonderful Town, Curtains, and Deuce. Other successes include Doubt; The History Boys, the 2012 revival of Death of a Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman and the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler.

In 1998, he donated $3.5 million to build the 350-seat Roger S. Berlind Theater as part of an expansion of Princeton’s McCarter Theater. In 2003, the Roger S. Berlind Theatre opened in the McCarter Theatre Center at Princeton University. Princeton's Roger S. Berlind Professorship in the Humanities, previously held by Joyce Carol Oates, is currently held by Tracy K. Smith. In 2009, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

The crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 on June 24, 1975 killed his wife, Helen Polk Clark, and three of his four children, Helen, 12; Peter, 9; and Clark, 6 — who were returning to New York from New Orleans after visiting Helen Berlind’s mother in Mississippi.

Survivors include his second wife Brooke Berlind whom he married in 1979 and his son William, who was 2, and at home in Manhattan with his nurse when the plane crash occurred. As he grew up, he had unresolved issues around what had happened, according to the NY Times. After a psychiatrist helped father and son reconnect. William became a former reporter at The New York Observer and writer for The New York Times Magazine, who followed his father to Broadway and collaborated with him on several shows. He is also survived by two granddaughters and a brother, Alan.

LEE WALLACE an American actor of film, stage, and television died December 20, 2020,in New York City. He was 90.

On Broadway, he appeared in A Teaspoon Every Four Hours, Unlikely Heroes, The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild, Molly, Zalmen or The Madness of God, Some of My Best Friends, Grind and The Cemetery Club.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn Cris, to whom he was married for 45 years; a son, Paul, and his family in Northern California.

PHYLLIS McGUIRE the lead singer and last remaining member of the famed McGuire Sisters died on Tuesday, December 30, 2020 in her Las Vegas home where she had lived since 1960. She was 89.

The sisters’ pop cover of the 1954 song Sincerely, originally recorded by The Moonglows, went on to top Billboard’s U.S. songs chart for six weeks in 1955. It was the first of their songs to top the chart, followed in 1958 by the sisters’ rendition of Sugartime.

The two No. 1 singles sold over a million copies, as did their 1956 song Picnic. Their rapid growth led the sisters to world wide fame. They performed for five Presidents of the United States (Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush), and for Queen Elizabeth II. In London they performed a set for the Royal Variety Performance of 1961.

Their popularity was tainted in the 1960s because of Phyllis' connections to the Mafia. Reports suggested she had been romantically involved with Chicago mobster Sam Giancana, though she insisted it to only be a platonic relationship. Later she admitted that it was a love affair.

Before a grand jury in 1965, McGuire testified that she knew Giancana to be a criminal, though she knew no specific details of his activities. Giancana testified otherwise.

In 1994, while they were still singing as a group, the McGuire Sisters were inducted into the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and in 2001 they were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. They also have been inducted into the Coca-Cola Hall of Fame and the Headliners' Hall of Fame. They were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2009.

In November 1952, Phyllis married Cornelius (Neal) Anthony Burke Van Ells. They divorced in 1956. She had no children. McGuire's sister Dorothy died in 2012 at the age of 84, while Christine died in 2018 at 92.

Next Column: January 10, 2021
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Laura Deni

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