This is one of my favorite posts every year. The stats are amazing and the information goes on and on and Award Season is a fun January Event.
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19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® "By
the Numbers"
LOS ANGELES (Jan 2013) — To create a dramatic
arrivals area, impressive stage and intimate dinner setting for the world’s
leading actors who are gathering on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, the SAG Awards®
staff must transform the Shrine Auditorium entrance and the adjoining
Exposition Center. The Shrine complex is a Los Angeles landmark built in 1920
in Spanish Colonial Revival style with Moorish detailing. It’s grandiose
and beautiful on the outside, but the inner space of the Shrine’s Exposition
Center, with its 34,000 square foot wooden floor, paint-trimmed overhangs and
bare columns, has to be redefined for each event.
This year’s SAG Awards stage and décor is a contemporary interpretation of
the streamline moderne style that emerged during the 1930s that pays homage to
old movies palaces of that era. Architectural details such as paneled molding
are highlighted by a color scheme of black, white and silver, which will be
transformed by the application of colored lighting appropriate to each segment
of the show. Among the design elements are a broken proscenium arch that is
echoed by the broken frame surrounding the oversized screen set against a field
of fiber-optic stars upstage, on which the nominated performances and
tributes will be projected. On either side, vertical steel tubing echoes the
organ pipes so often found in vintage movie theaters and 10-foot tall Actor® statues
sit on platinum pedestals in front of them. Actor® recipients will
move from the showroom floor to the stage via steps edged in aluminum and
silver, while presenters will make their entrances and exits through oversized
airy metal gates A black and white checkerboard floor complements the entire
look.
FOR THE STAR-STUDDED ARRIVALS AND TO TRANSFORM THE SHOWROOM
the SAG Awards will:
Lay 15,872 square feet of red carpet in the arrivals
area, edged by 585 lineal feet of hedges
Accommodate 300 fans in three-row six-foot high
bleachers placed along an 180’ section of the red carpet arrivals area
In the event of rain, protect the red carpet from the
elements by 23,530 square feet of tenting
Post five 10’ Actor® statues along the red
carpet and onstage
Lay 11,800 square feet of black carpet in the interior
Shrine entrance and the showroom
Drape the interior Shrine entrance with 4,575 square
feet of charcoal/silver shimmer fabric
Post three 10’ Actor® statues along the red
carpet
Cover the showroom walls with 15,000 square feet of
black drape to create a neutral background and block sunlight
On the stage, install 600 feet of silver aluminum pipe
connecting two monumental 16-foot high gates on which a ziggurat evolves
to a sunburst design. Each is capped by 10-foot fiberglass staff detail,
which is repeated at the base. The gates are surrounded by 100 feet of
over-scaled custom-cut case moldings, which are repeated downstage with
another 75 feet of custom molding to create a broken proscenium arch.
Float a 20’ wide “silver screen” framed by 100 feet of
custom crown molding in front of 200 running feet of 30’ high fiber-optic
star cloth
Line the stage floor with 300 4’x4’ sheets of black and
white checkerboard Formica
Above the stage hang a 5-foot crystal empire chandelier
that will be echoed by four chandeliers hung from the Expo Hall’s ornate
ceiling
TO SET THE DINNER TABLES, the SAG Awards will:
Create custom table coverings from 1,306 linear yards
of gunmetal crinkled organza, complemented by 1,200 silver satin matte
lined napkins
Place over 3,600 Optique champagne, wine and water
glasses, 2,400 pieces of Montecito silver flatware and 1,200 square white
china dinner plates, on 86 rectangular dinner tables and more than 2,400
glasses at two 16’ beverage bars and two wine tasting bars
Soften more than 1,200 Silver “Fanfare” Chameleon
Chairs with more than 1,200 silver seat cushions
Create a stunning visual setting through the use of
florals. This year's inspiration is a modern approach to “Classic
Hollywood” created with the use of a series of metallic silver containers
highlighted by white floral and accentuated with a variety of rich
textured foliage. The compositions incorporated the textures of thousands
of various foliage stems. The use of looped bear grass, magnolia
leaves, green dianthus, various sized ti leaves, ribbon foliage and
dramatic calathea leaves create the foundation for the arrangements.
Over 3,000 stems of white miniature calla lilies and white roses
compliment thousands of stems of orchids, both dendrobium and
phalaenopsis. Adding to the dramatic look is the addition of hundreds
of stems of arabicum lilies. The look and layers of textures create a
whirlwind of motion.
THE DINNER MENU
Guests will dine on antipasto plates conceived by James Beard
Award-winning chef Suzanne Goin, deliciously prepared and artfully arranged by
Lucques Catering, consisting of:
MAIN PLATE:
Roasted beets and blood oranges with feta and black
olives
Slow-roasted salmon with green rice, labneh, capers and
nasturiums
Beef tenderloin with fingerlings, arugula and
horseradish cream
VEGAN PLATE:
Roasted beets and blood oranges with mint and black
olives
Cauliflower couscous with pomegranate salsa
Farro with kale, young broccoli, currants and pine nuts
THE BEVERAGES
Two multi-generational family owned companies are the official SAG
Awards vintners. Champagne Taittinger is providing champagne for the SAG Awards
for the 13th consecutive year. New in 2013 is Gallo Signature Series,
which is providing still wine for the SAG Awards. Taittinger, Gallo and
second-year still water sponsor, FIJI® Water, are also
generous supporters of the SAG Foundation.
Champagne Taittinger is serving:
Fun fact: Each magnum contains 500 million
bubbles!
1 Magnum of Champagne Taittinger Brut La Française for
the Champagne Taittinger toast that opens the SAG Awards Red Carpet
160 Magnums of Champagne Taittinger Brut La Française
at the SAG Awards dinner
155 750 ml bottles of Champagne Taittinger Brut La
Française at the showroom bars
288 750 ml bottles of Champagne Taittinger Brut La
Française at the SAG Awards Gala
Champagne Taittinger is also providing Two Methuselah
(6 Liter) bottles of Champagne Taittinger Brut La Française to be signed
by Actor® recipients for the SAG Awards auction benefiting the
SAG Foundation
Gallo Signature Series is serving:
240 bottles each of Gallo Signature Series Napa Valley
Chardonnay and Gallo Signature Series Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir at
the SAG Awards dinner
36 bottles each of Bridlewood Estate Winery Blend 175,
Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay, Edna Valley Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc and
William Hill Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at the showroom tasting
bars
24 bottles each of William Hill Estate Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon Gallo Signature Series Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
and three cases of William Hill Estate Napa Valley Chardonnay in the Green
Room
FIJI® Water is serving:
3,264 liters of FIJI’s natural artesian water served in
the showroom and at the SAG Awards Gala
Another 12,600 third-liters served to staff, crew and
the more than 800 media and 300 fans in the bleachers as well as placed in
the Gala gift bags.
IT TAKES MORE THAN A VILLAGE!
By Sunday, January 27, more than 700 staff and crew will be hard at work to
make the SAG Awards a reality.
Sources:
Marybeth Bentwood, Director of Public Relations Kobrand Corporation
Nate Collier, Associate Marketing Manager, E&J Gallo Winery
Benn Fleishman, SAG Awards Executive in Charge of Production
Suzanne Goin, Chef & Jessica Goin, Catering Director, Lucques Catering
Keith Greco, Keith Greco Designs, SAG Awards Art Director
Chris Matsumoto, CJ Matsumoto & Sons, Florist
Mickey Moscynski, SAG Awards Arrivals Art Director
Lauren Murray, FIJI Water Public Relations Manager
Andrea Wyn Schall, A Wynning Event, SAG Awards Event Supervisor
John Shaffner & Joe Stewart, SAG Awards Production Designers
The 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, one of the awards season’s
premier events, will be simulcast live coast-to-coast on TNT and TBS on Sunday,
Jan. 27, 2013, at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT) from the Shrine Exposition Center in
Los Angeles. An encore primetime telecast will begin immediately following on
TNT at 10 p.m. (ET)/7 p.m. (PT). The ceremony will also be telecast
internationally, as well as to U.S. military installations overseas through the
American Forces Network Broadcast Center.
Recipients of the honors for Outstanding Action Performances by Film and
Television Stunt Ensembles announced at 6:15 p.m. (ET)/3:15 p.m. (PT) during
the red carpet pre-show webcast on tntdrama.com,
tbs.com and People.com
which begins at 6 p.m. (ET)/3 p.m. (PT)
The 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA
will be produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors
Guild Awards®, LLC. For more information about the SAG Awards,
SAG-AFTRA, TNT and TBS, visit sagawards.org/about,
“like” us at facebook.com/sagawardsofficialpage,
follow us at twitter.com/sagawards,
follow us SAG Awards on Google+ at google.com/+SAGawards,
on Instagram by following @sagawards, and on Tumblr at sagawards.tumblr.com.
A personal note to my fellow union members: Always remember Rule Number 1. Your compliance means the world the Baltimore-Washington, SAG-AFTRA Local.
Despite having a book by playwright Edward Albee and a score composed by Bob Merrill, Breakfast
at Tiffany’s—the musical—never actually opened on Broadway. Originally titled Holly Golightly, it closed
after just four previews.
The cast was directed by Joseph Anthony and included Mary Tyler Moore, Richard Chamberlain, Sally Kellerman, Larry Kert, and Priscilla Lopez. It was designed by Oliver Smith, choreographed by Michael Kidd with assistance from Tony Mordente, and produced by David Merrick.
Merrick
closed the show in previews, in his own words, "rather than subject the
drama critics and the public to an excruciatingly boring evening."
One of the original posters—with the word "smash" covered in yellow tape—hangs on The Flop Wall at the Theatre District eatery for Broadway-types, Joe Allen Restaurant in New York.
Patti LuPone at 54 Below, photo courtesy Karsten
Moran, New York Times
The new live album "Patti LuPoneFar Away Places," which was recorded during the two-time Tony winner's engagement at 54 Below last summer, was released Jan. 15 by Broadway Records. We received it yesterday.
My review is one word: PERFECTION!
Seven-time Grammy Award nominee Robert Sher (Gypsy, How to Succeed, Nice Work If You Can Get It) produced the album. LuPone earned acclaim for the concert evening that opened 54 Below in June. She returned for a second engagement in August and also played a special New Year's Eve performance there.
54 Below, Broadway's Nightclub, New York City
The live album also includes dialogue and stories that thread the evening together. The songs featured on the CD are:
"Gypsy In My Soul" (Clay A. Boland and Moe Jaffe) "Nightlife" (Willie Nelson) "Bilbao" (Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht) "Far Away Places" (Alex Kramer and Joan Whitney) "Black Market" (Frederick Hollander) "Come to the Supermarket in Old Peking" (Cole Porter) "I Wanna Be Around" (Johnny Mercer) "Ah, the Sea is Blue" (Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht) "I Cover the Waterfront" (Johnny Green and Edward Heyman) "Pirate Jenny" (Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht) "By the Sea" (Stephen Sondheim) "I Regret Everything" (Bill Burnett and Marguerite Sarlin) "Hymn to Love" (Edith Piaf and Marguerite Monnot) "Travelin' Light" (Jimmy Mundy and Trummy Young) "Nights on Broadway" (Bee Gees) "September Song" (Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson)
The New York Times wrote,
Ms.
LuPone was born to sing the louche songs of Brecht and Weill, and the
arrangements for a limber quintet — led by the pianist Joseph Thalken and
featuring an accordion, banjo, violin, and guitar — lent the music a pungent
Weimar flavor. Especially evocative were Mr. Thalken’s lilting 1930s hotel
orchestra-style jazz arrangements of “I Cover the Waterfront” and “Travelin’
Light,” which Ms. LuPone invested with a wistful, torchy sensuality.
The
show’s dramatic high point was a feral, scary interpretation of “Pirate Jenny,”
the murderous revenge fantasy from “The Threepenny Opera,” delivered with a
sneering glare that could turn you to stone. No one, save perhaps Maria Callas,
has expressed more fury through a curled lip and an evil eye than Ms. LuPone,
who can deploy the same features as easily for farce.
You can read The Times full review here. Know someone who loves Broadway or cabaret? Every song by Patti LuPone is a Valentine.
Please join us for a one hour LIVE STREAMED Q&A with Oscar Nominee
Jessica Chastain, currently starring in ZERO DARK THIRTY.
Tomorrow - Thursday, January 17th 4:00 PM EST / 1:00 PM PST
To watch the Q&A go to: http://www.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream
To watch the Q&A you DO NOT have to log into our website. Just go to http://www.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream. ZERO DARK THIRTY Stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke,
Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Edgar Ramirez and
James Gandolfini Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
From Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt
Locker"), "Zero Dark Thirty" is a chronicle of the decade-long
hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks, and
his death at the hands of the Navy SEAL Team 6 in May, 2011. For a decade, an
elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across
the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin
Laden. Zero Dark Thirty reunites the Oscar® winning team of director-producer
Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) for the story
of history's greatest manhunt for the world's most dangerous man.
Ordinarily, Mr. Waters is not everyone's cup of tea - but Polyester, which opens today at the National and other theaters, is not Mr.Waters' ordinary movie. It's a very funny one, with a hip, stylized humor that extends beyond the usual limitations of his outlook. This time, the comic vision is so controlled and steady that Mr. Waters need not rely so heavily on the grotesque touches that make his other films such perennial favorites on the weekend Midnight Movie circuit. Here's one that can just as well be shown in the daytime. John Waters' POLYESTER
The first Charles
Theatre screening of Polyester in more than 20 years! John Waters’
larger-budget “women’s picture” satire stars Divine as tormented housewife
Francine Fishpaw. Featuring Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, Mink Stole and many of
your friends and neighbors.
Saturday, January 19 11:30 AM; Monday, January 21 7 PM; Thursday, January 24 9 PM.
1981 Dir. John Waters
1.85. 86 Min. Color. TRAILER
The Players:
Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, David Samson, Mary Garlington, Ken King, Mink Stole, Joni Ruth White, Hans Kramm
and a credited cast of dozens
Stiv Bators, Cookie Mueller, Mary Vivian Pearce, Jean Hill, George Udell,Joan Erbe, Steve Yeager, George Figgs, Garey Lambert, Tom Diventi, Susan Lowe, Chuck Yeaton, Brook Yeaton, Stuart Rome, Paula Rome, Jay Leno, Rick Breitenfeld, Jim Hill, John Brothers, Derek Neal, Michael Watson, Sharon Niesp, Marina Melin, George Hulse, Tony Parkham, Paul Holland, Alberto Panella, Frank Tamburo, Nancy Morgan, Keats Smith, Gordon Kamka, David Klein, George Stover, Marv Egoff, John De La Vega, Mrs. Horner, Katie Casey, Gail Kondylas, Judith Klein, Alan Hauser, Lynda Lambert, Dorothy Braudy, Leo Braudy, Pat Figgs, Joan Insley, Sam Insley, Kitty Samson, Steve Waters, Treva Barnes, Sharon Waters, Anne Mallory, John Allen, Jay Allen, Tommy Allen, Hilary Aidus, Jay Bennett, Rocky Collins, Denny Dormody, Bernard Jay, Karl Otter, Charles Roggero.
The Charles Theatre 1711 N Charles Steet Baltimore (of course) 21201
Looking for a Lead Instructor to facilitate weekly Baltimore Speaks Out! Program, Wide Angle Youth Media is a non-profit organization that provides Baltimore youth with media education to tell their own stories and become engaged with their communities.
Every year Jacob and I plan far ahead to keep January weekends free to screen award-nominated movies. We look forward to the envelopes and packages stamped with the iconic message: For Your Consideration. As an active and voting member of Screen Actors Guild—celebrating 40 years—and a retired member of Directors Guild of America, the DVDs and screening invitations begin arriving each year just after the New Year.
My 'Les Miserables' package from Universal Pictures
Some studios send a DVD, some studios send top-shelf print material as a teaser and then the DVD, some studios provide eMoviePasses so you can screen their nominated movies with a typical audience, and others offer intimate screenings with industry peers.
This year Disney and DreamWorks Pictures sent me a handsome invitation to screen Lincoln at the Directors Guild Theatre in New York. (One of the great benefits of living in Baltimore is proximity.)
'Lincoln' - final shooting script
And, in their package, they included, at 127 pages, the final shooting script and additional digital teasers. I returned my eRSVP this afternoon.
DGA RSVP
The DGA Theatre is a small, jewel-box of a place on West 57th Street, a few steps from the Russian Tea Room and Carnegie Hall. As screening theatres go, it's intimate, yet outfitted with envy-inducing, state-of-the-art audio and projection equipment:
DGA Theatre, 110 W 57th Street, NYC
Specifications from Directors Guild:
Digital Projection
Barco DP-3000 D-Cinema DLP "2K" Projector
Dolby DSS-200 D-Cinema screen server
Dolby 3D and Real D 3D capabilities
Multi-standard video decks (Digital Betacam, Betacam SP, Blu-Ray and DVD)
DVI-D and SVGA Computer Graphics Capabilities (Powerpoint) from stage position
Sound
JBL three-way speaker system
Dolby CP-650 Digital Cinema Sound Processors
Dolby DMA8 Plus Digital Media Adaptor
Dolby Digital 7.1 discreet audio
Dolby SR-D, Dolby SR, Dolby E audio formats
QSC Basis Network Audio System, QSC Digital Power Amplifier System
Film
Dual Simplex XL 35mm Reel to Reel Capabilities
Control
Theatrical Stage Lighting
Mackie 16 Channel Audio Mixing Console
Shure Microphones
This private screening facility is designed to provide the ideal environment for industry professionals to screen their films, hold their special events, or their film premieres.
It is ideal for conferences, lectures and corporate presentations. The upper and lower lobby areas are ideal for pre and post-event receptions.
The DGA New York Theater Complex is recognized throughout the entertainment industry as one of the preeminent screening, private reception, and film premiere facilities in the city.
Simplicity in a print invitation: 'Lincoln'
You'll find Jacob and me at the Park Central Hotel, January 24 - 26. And, there's a pretty good chance that you'll find us at the Russian Tea Room, also.
After all of the travel arraingments to NYC to screen LINCOLN were made i looked out the window—we are living in an unusual, for winter, Baltimore cloud of fog today—and I saw this on top of the BGE building on Fayette and Liberity Streets. It seems appropriate.
Photo from the homestead, 218 N Charles Street, Baltimore
Now then. I'm off to bed. On Friday, at work, I was foolishly chatting everyone up about my having had a flu shot early and not having anything other that a mild cold this winter...
Flu 2013 - I have a head-splitting headache, every fiber of my body hurts, food is out of the question.
On Wednesday,
Nov. 14, at 8:15 pm, faculty artist Michael Formanek, jazz bass, will perform
as part of Towson University's Bill and Helen Murray Jazz Residency featuring
percussionist Matt Wilson.
Also performing will be saxophonist Jeff Lederer and
trumpeter Dave Ballou. The concert will take place in the Recital Hall at the
Towson University Center for the Arts. For tickets, visit events.towson.edu.
Vivre
Musicale will present Disturbia, a program of trauma-related music, on Friday,
Nov. 16, at 7:00 pm. Works by Stravinsky, Floyd, Copland, and Schubert will be
performed by soprano Hillary LaBonte (MM
'10, Voice), mezzo-soprano Megan Ihnen (MM '09, Voice), and baritone William
Schaller (MM '09, GPD '11,
Voice), among others, at Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 233 North
Charles Street. Then, on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 4:00 pm, Vivre Musicale will
present a recital by harpist Jacqueline Pollauf (BM '06, Harp; MM '07, Harp Pedagogy) at 834
On The Avenue, 834 West 36th Street. For tickets, visit vivremusicale.org.
Soprano
Rachel Grider and pianist Rayna Slavova, both Master of Music candidates, will
perform songs and arias by Glinka, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, and
Rachmaninoff on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 3:30 pm. The concert, which benefits the
National Federation of the Blind, will be held at Mount Calvary Church, 816
North Eutaw Street. To RSVP, email dotkid.nusbaum@gmail.com.
Baltimore's Charm City Baroque
On Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 pm, Charm City
Baroque will give a free concert at Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 233
Charles Street.
Last season’s critically acclaimed smash hit returns for a one-week limited engagement!
Cotton Club Parade is a celebration of Duke Ellington's years at the famed Harlem nightclub in the 1920s and '30s, when the joint was jumping with revues featuring big band swing and blues, dancers, singers, and novelty acts. Packed with hits from some of the greatest jazz composers of the time—including Harold Arlen, Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields, and Ellington himself—this production re-imagines a Cotton Club floor show right here on the City Center stage.
Starring Alexandria “Brinae Ali” Bradley, Andrew “Dr.Ew” Carter Kyra Da Costa, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Jared Grimes, La Tanya Hall, Jeremiah “Supaman” Haynes, Joshua Henry, Christopher Jackson, Monroe Kent III, Adriane Lenox, Karine Plantadit, T. Oliver Reid, Amber Riley and Britton Smith
Featuring Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars under the direction of Daryl Waters Music Director Wynton Marsalis Directed and Choreographed by Warren Carlyle
HANDEL CHOIR OF
BALTIMORE seeks Artistic Director and Conductor Handel Choir of Baltimore is a highly respected 52-member auditioned
community-based oratorio ensemble that presents baroque, classical and early
romantic works with period instrument orchestras as well as modern repertoire
and newly commissioned works. UMBC seeks
Design Professionals The successful candidate must be committed to excellence in teaching, research
and service.
The Peabody
Wind Ensemble welcomes C Street Brass back to Peabody this Wednesday, Oct. 10,
for a Free Fall Baltimore concert at 7:30 pm in Miriam A. Friedberg Concert
Hall.
Kyle Anderson, Trumpet, C Street Brass
Founded at Peabody and coached by faculty artist Joe Burgstaller, C
Street—trumpeters Kyle Anderson (MM
’11, Trumpet) and Scott Nadelson (BM ’11, Trumpet), hornist Eric Damashek (GPD ’12, Horn), trombonist
Gabriel Colby (BM ’10,
Trombone), and tubist Edwin Brown (GPD ’12, Tuba)—became the first Chamber
Ensemble in Residence at Carnegie Mellon University this fall.
Harlan D. Parker
will conduct the free concert, for which advance tickets are required. To
reserve tickets, call the Peabody Box Office at 410-234-4800.
It's going to be a wonderful concert. And, it's free.
Whenever you run across a company that supports Free Fall Baltimore, thank them, acknowledge their support of our community and the arts; ask companies that you patronize to do the same. It makes a big difference. I know because I work for a company that supports such things and it makes going to work a pleasure.
SAG-AFTRA MERGER IMPROVES ACTOR'S WORKING CONIDITIONS, SHIFTS HOLLYWOOD POWER STRUCTURE
More than 150,000 actors will benefit from the recent merger of SAG and Aftra ‒ and not only because bases dues for dual cardholders will decrease from $243 to $198 per year.
In the big picture, no longer will producers be able to leverage one union against the other during negotiations.
SAG President, Ken Howard
"That was the big problem ‒ the two unions being pitted against each other," says Jennifer Bailey, a SAG member since 1993 currently appreaing in the "Thanking our Teachers" Exxon mobile campaign. "And the kicker was a few years ago when Afra negotiated separately and undercut SAG on most of the TV shows."
With the merger, SAG has addressed its key deficiency: Its perceived powerlessness.
The merger means that members of Aftra are now SAG members ‒ one reason why many SAG members were apprehensive about the merger. "You have to do work to get into SAG", says Kim Kopf, an SAG member for 27 years. "But anyone can join Aftra, and then when the merger happened, they would automatically be an SAG member, so there was a little bit of hesitation about that. But as long as the union is stronger, and joining with Aftra makes it stronger moving forward, I'm all for it."
"I feel very good about the merger," says Sherry Locher, an Aftra member since 2007 who recently appeared in the indie film 8:46. "It's one union now, so there are no longer two different rates, and I think that'll make a huge difference during contract negotiations."
Although the health benefit plans have yet to be worked out, most actors we spoke with were optimistic there would be efficiencies found in greater numbers. "It's up to the trustees as to what is the best course of action," says Jennifer Bailey. "Not everything is 100-percent laid out as to what's going to happen, but as far as I'm concerned, as it is now, it's going from bad to worse, so we do need some kind of a change. But it's like when you have a company that has 10 people as opposed to a company that has 1,000 people ‒ the rates for health insurance should be better, and people will now only have to qualify in one plan."
Indeed, it should be easier for actors to get medical and dental coverage. Prior to the merger, actors might do four or five Aftra jobs, and four or five SAG jobs and fail to qualify for either health plan. Now, as they're combined, all work will count toward on health plan.
The first test of SAG-Aftra's post-merger power will be staged this fall, when commercial contracts will be renegotiated, during which, according to the Union, "management will be pushing us to implement a completely new system for payng principal performers in national commercials."
One casting director we spoke with believes the merger will have little bearing on the reality of what's going on right now in commercial work in L.A.
"It feels like sixty percent of commercial work is non-union," says Cathy Reinking, who has cast for Frazier and The Office, as well as for commercials. "So you don't have as many of those lucrative national commercials that everbody used to dream about. And I don't think the [SAG-Aftra] union will reduce that number. I think that producers more and more want to cut costs, and I think they're finding enough good people who aren't union ‒ although I'm skeptical of that, but they must be getting enough. The more I talk to commercial agents the more sense I get that non-union is dominating right now."
Still, the tenor among actors is one of optimism. "I wasn't thrilled witht he idea of joining Aftra to get work," says Bailey. "They seemed a bit disorganized. So I'm really glad they merged, because I think the accounting of the membership dues, pension credits, and health plans will be accurately accounted for. I know AFTRA had something of an honor system, and I just don't know how that can work."
This is how it will work.
Congrats to all of my fellow union members for helping to make One Union happen. Many of us have been working to make One Union a reality since 1975. That said, remember Rule No. One.
To celebrate the 150th
anniversary of Claude Debussy's birth, Artist Diploma candidate Ronaldo Rolim (BM
’10, Piano) will perform at An die Musik, 409 North Charles Street, on
Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 8:00 pm.
Ronaldo Rolim, Pianist
Sharing the stage with the pianist will be
violinist Lydia Chernicoff (BM ’10, MM ’12, Violin) and cellist Andrea
Casarrubios (BM ’11, Cello), fellow members of Trio Appassionata;
flutist Anastasia Petanova (BM ’06, AD ’10, Flute); and pianist
Wan-Chi Su (MM ’11, Piano), a Graduate Performance Diploma candidate.
For tickets, call 410-385-2638.
On Saturday, Oct. 6, at 9:00
pm, faculty artist Michael Formanek, double bass, will give the only Baltimore
concert of his CD release tour at the Windup Space, 12 West North Avenue. He
will perform, as he does on the new recording, Small Places, with alto
saxophonist Tim Berne, pianist Craig Taborn, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. For
tickets, visit thewindupspace.com.
Dariusz Skoraczewski (BM
’94, GPD ’96, Cello), appointed principal cellist of the Baltimore
Symphony Orchestra in 2011, will play George Crumb's Sonata for Solo Cello
on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 2:00 pm, as part of the Music in the Great Hall Series.
He will also perform works by Chopin, Schumann, and Franck with faculty member
Lura Johnson, artistic director of the series. The concert will take place at
Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Road. For tickets,
visit migh.org.
Elisa Koehler & students from Detmold Hochschule fuer Musik
Elisa Koehler (BM ’87,
Music Education, Trumpet; DMA ’96, Conducting) will be the trumpet soloist
for a performance of Jan Krtitel Jiri Neruda's Concerto in E-flat major
on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 4:00 pm. The free concert, part of the Bach Concert
Series, will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 701 South Charles Street.
Todd Simon (BM
’07, Jazz Piano), pianist and saxophonist for the United States Naval
Academy Band, will give a solo jazz piano performance at An die Musik, 409
North Charles Street, on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 5:00 pm. For tickets, call
410-385-2638.
We are casting
for episodes of America's Most Wanted. It's a Local AFTRA Cable
production on the Lifetime network. The roles are for actors who resemble
the victims and fugitives.
America's Most Wanted casting in Baltimore
The cases are Desi Woods and Karen King.
Please go to the casting Dropbox shared files to see the images and scripts (in
development):
The casting sessions will be held Monday, September 24 at 6247 Falls Road, Bldg E, Baltimore, MD 21209 from 8:30am-2:30pm with the director for the Desi Woods
episode and 2:30pm-6:00pm with the director for the Karen King episode.
Shoot Dates are 9/27, 9/28 and 9/29. You must be available
for all dates to audition.
Contact betsy@betsycasting.com
for a potential audition time. Put "AMW Role" in the subject
line of your email.
Good luck, all. And to my fellow union members, remember Rule One.
Join Our Labor Day Twitter Activities: Union Members Tweet in Support of Labor and SAG-AFTRA
What: This Labor Day, we can all do our part to help send a positive message about the value of unions – and we’re encouraging SAG-AFTRA members to do so through Twitter! There are two ways you can show your support for unions.
The first, "Work Connects Us All" is an awareness campaign of the AFL-CIO. The campaign is launching Aug. 28, and as a supportive partner, we will be posting and Tweeting special messages and information on how we are all connected by the work we do. Feel free to visit the “Work Connects Us All” site at workconnectsusall.org for more information.
The second way you can participate is in the third annual American Rights at Works' Labor Day Tweet-a-Thon. We encourage you to Tweet your solidarity and support for SAG-AFTRA and unions over the Labor Day weekend.
Simply send a Tweet over Labor Day weekend with the hash tags #unionmember to showcase the strength, solidarity and diversity of our unions. Use #workUdo to show your support for SAG-AFTRA, also include the hash tag #SAGAFTRAmember and #sagaftra.
Why: Labor Day is a celebration of the American worker and a day to honor our country’s rich history in the union movement. It's a day Americans can reflect on the work conditions that were hard-fought by unions over the decades: minimum wage, sick pay, child labor laws, paid vacations, the weekend, health and retirement benefits and much more.
And it’s a great time to remind the public that unions still play an important role in the work force today. And it’s an easy way to show you’re a proud union member. Your followers and supporters, and our allies in the entertainment industry, professional sports unions, and workers’ rights and union movement, and more will be re-Tweeting to maximize visibility of the effort.
When: Tweets can be sent today, Aug. 30 through the end of the Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3.
Who: “Work Connects Us All” has been organized by the AFL-CIO to recognize the importance to union work. This campaign demonstrates how unions are a collective of professionals of every area of work in this country, and how unions put values into motion, partner with communities, innovate, stand for public good, uphold ethical standards, help workers advance and collaborate to solve problems.
The Tweet-A-Thon is an event established by American Rights at Work. SAG-AFTRA members will also be joined by our colleagues at WGAE and AEA, as well as members of the Major League Baseball Players Association and National Football League Players Association in tweeting positive union messages. Feel free to send multiple tweets honoring all of your unions.
VEEP, shooting in Baltimore
How: We’ve made this easy. Here are sample suggested tweets to send through your Twitter account on Labor Day. All are under 140 characters. Of course personalize as you see fit.
Sample Tweets for American Rights at Work Tweet-a-Thon:
Please use #unionmember in each tweet so we know you’re participating! If you have room, feel free to include the short URL of the tweet-a-thon’s website, which is http://umem.us.
1. Want to make it big? Become a #unionmember #sagaftra 2. Best career advice: Become a #unionmember #sagaftramember 3. I’m a #sagaftramember #unionmember. Happy Labor Day http://umem.us 4. I am a #sagaftramember #unionmember Part of the American dream. 5. Happy Labor Day from a proud #sagaftramember #unionmember 6. Become a #unionmember like me. http://umem.us #sagaftramember 7. Oscar, Emmy, Peabody, Grammy, SAG Award Winners? #unionmember #sagaftramember 8. #sagaftramember #unionmember Stronger together. Happy Labor Day 9. Happy #LaborDay! #sagaftramember #unionmember for life. http://umem.us 10. Proud #sagaftramember #unionmember! Happy Labor Day http://umem.us/ 11. #sagaftramember Happy Labor Day, paid for by the labor movement. #unionmember 12. I’m a #unionmember because together we are more powerful than we are alone. 13. One for All and All for One: I’m a #unionmember and #sagaftramember 14. #LaborDay is a great day to support worker’s rights and being a #unionmember 15. Fun fact: I'm a #unionmember! Happy #LaborDay! 16. Being a #unionmember gets you a shot at the American Dream 17. Happy to be a #unionmember this Labor Day? Tweet about it! 18. One for All and All for One: I’m a #unionmember and #sagaftramember 19. Proud to be a #unionmember and #sagaftramember this #LaborDay!
Participating in a Labor Day event? Tweet your photos! There are numerous tools you can use to tweet about your Labor Day event and include photos in your tweets! iPhone users can use the official Twitter iPhone app from the App Store, as well as other platforms such as Instagram.
For Blackberry users, we suggest UberTwitter, download at http://www.ubertwitter.com. Android users should use the official Twitter Android App via the Android Market.
Thank you in advance for participating and have a happy and safe Labor Day
Tweets for “Work Connects Us All:”
Please use #workUdo in each tweet so we know you’re participating! Watch for Tweets from @SAGAFTRA and @SAGAFTRANews to re-Tweet as you see fit.
And, to all of my SAG-AFTRA members — Remember Rule One. At all times.
Stage and screen stars Bebe Neuwirth and Malcolm Gets will join forces Saturday, October 13 for BUCKS COUNTY CABARET, a one-night-only concert to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The evening of Broadway standards and other popular songs will be held at the newly renovated, historic Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA.
Malcom Gets, photo courtesy CelebLists, Inc
Neuwirth
is a two-time Emmy Award winner for her role as ‘Lilith’ on “Cheers” and a
two-time Tony Award winner for acclaimed performances in Sweet Charity and as
the unforgettable ‘Velma Kelly’ in Chicago.
Gets
is a Tony Award nominee for Amour, two-time Obie Award winner for Merrily We
Roll Along and The Two Gentlemen of Verona and audience favorite for his
stand-out performance in HBO’s Grey Gardens and on NBC’s hit comedy “Caroline
in the City.”
"Bucks
County has a history both as a home of exceptional theatre and as a community
offering compassionate support for those affected by HIV/AIDS," said Tom
Viola, executive director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. "For seven
years, the community has embraced BUCKS COUNTY CABARETand Broadway Cares is
honored to have the opportunity to join forces with our friends in Bucks County
on what promises to be a spectacularly entertaining evening."
Individual
tickets cost $75-$300, with exclusive sponsorship opportunities also available.
Tickets can be purchased at broadwaycares.org, by calling 212.840.0770, ext.
268, or at the Bucks County Playhouse box office, 70 South Main Street, New
Hope, PA 18938.
The
evening will begin with cocktails at 6 pm, followed by the 7 pm performance and
live auction inside the playhouse. An exclusive VIP reception with the artists
will be held following the performance at The Inn at Barley Sheaf Farm, 5281
York Road, Holicong, PA 18928.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading
industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By
drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre
community, since 1988 Broadway Cares has raised more than $195 million for
essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the
United States.
Broadway Cares awards
annual grants to more than 400 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide
and is the major supporter of the social service programs at The Actors Fund,
including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative
and the Al Hirschfeld Free Health Clinic.
Here's the press release from Screen Actors Guild Awards:
Dick Van Dyke Honored With 2012 SAG Life Achievement Award
LOS ANGELES (August 21, 2012) –Dick Van Dyke, beloved actor, singer, dancer, writer and comedian, will receive SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor – the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Van Dyke will be presented the performers union’s most prestigious accolade, given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” at the 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®, which premieres live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013, at 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT, 6 p.m. MT and 5 p.m. PT.
Dick Van Dyke, Publicity Still
In making today’s announcement, SAG-AFTRA Co-President Ken Howard said, “Dick is the consummate entertainer -- an enormously talented performer whose work has crossed nearly every major category of entertainment. From his career-changing Broadway turn in 'Bye Bye Birdie' and his deadpan humor in the Emmy® winning 'Dick Van Dyke Show,' to his unforgettable performance as Bert in 'Mary Poppins,” he sets a high bar for actors. Stage, big screen, small screen, literally everywhere he has worked he has inspired millions of fans and has had a tremendously positive impact on the industry and the world. He is so deserving of this honor and I congratulate him."
SAG-AFTRA Co-President Roberta Reardon said: "With Dick, it's so much more than the proverbial 'triple threat.' He started his career as a radio announcer, game show host and comedian and was a spokesman for Kodak, among numerous other roles over his nearly 60-year career. His contributions to the success of the business and to his fellow performers is legendary as is his work with a number of the leading ladies of our times, including Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore — both previous Life Achievement Award recipients. His infectious laugh has warmed audiences for decades and is an unforgettable facet of his fabulous personality."
Holder of five Emmys®, a Tony® Award and a Grammy®, Van Dyke at 86 still possesses the zest for life that first propelled him into the limelight more than a half-century ago with the Broadway and film versions of “Bye Bye Birdie,” the seminal ‘60s situation comedy “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and the film classic “Mary Poppins."
Bye Bye Birdie Playbill
He was born Richard Wayne Van Dyke in West Plains, Missouri, on December 13, 1925, and raised in Danville, Illinois, hometown as well to Donald O’Connor, Gene Hackman and Bobby Short. As a youngster he taught himself music, magic and pantomime. By 16, he was appearing in school plays, running track, serving as junior class president and working part time as an announcer on a local radio station. Enlisting in the Air Force at 18, he soon was performing for the troops and hosting a radio show called “Flight Time.” After one year of duty he was back in Danville, giving advertising a try, but it was not a fit. With another Danville local, Phil Erickson, he hit the road in a record-pantomime act called “The Merry Mutes,” a perfect showcase for his physical comedy gifts. While appearing in Los Angeles, he sent for his high school sweetheart, Marjorie Willet. The two were married on “Bride and Groom,” a network radio program offering gifts and a honeymoon to newlyweds.
After a run hosting a daytime talk show in Atlanta and a morning show in New Orleans, CBS put him under contract. Van Dyke moved to New York where in 1954 he began hosting “The Morning Show” (which featured up and coming newscaster Walter Cronkite). Other hosting jobs preceded his 1957 television-acting debut on an episode of “The Phil Silvers Show.” and his Broadway debut in 1959 with Bert Lahr in the comedy revue “The Boys Against the Girls.” The following year his career soared when he was cast by director/choreographer Gower Champion opposite Chita Rivera in “Bye Bye Birdie.” His performance as rock star Conrad Birdie’s songwriter/manager Albert Peterson earned Van Dyke a Tony® Award and brought him to the attention of Sheldon Leonard and Carl Reiner, who signed him for a pilot opposite newcomer Mary Tyler Moore. The now eponymous “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” starring Van Dyke and Moore as Rob and Laura Petrie, premiered in 1961 and ran for five seasons. With a perfect ensemble cast including Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam, the wittily written series was a showcase for Van Dyke’s genius for physical comedy, earning him three lead actor Emmy® Awards.
Dick Van Dyke Album with Ray Charles Singers and Enoch Light
The tireless Van Dyke spent his series’ hiatus shooting the film version of “Bye Bye Birdie” in 1963 followed by “What a Way to Go” and Disney’s 1964 musical classic “Mary Poppins,” It won five Academy Awards® including one for star Julie Andrews (SAG’s 2006 Life Achievement Award recipient) and earned Van Dyke a Golden Globe® nomination and, with Andrews, a Grammy®. A run of films followed including “Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN,” (1966), “Divorce American Style” (1967), “Fitzwilly” (1967), the musical “Chitty Chitty Bang-Bang” (1968), Garson Kanin’s satire on conformity “Some Kind of a Nut” (1969) and Norman Lear’s anti-smoking “Cold Turkey” (1970). Van Dyke, who had delivered the eulogies for his comedy idols Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton, explored the role of a fictional silent movie star in 1969’s “The Comic,” He would return to the big screen again in Stanley Kramer’s “The Runner Stumbles” (1978), Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy” (1990) and more recently the Ben Stiller comedy “Night at the Museum” (2006).
After a year of filming “Chitty Chitty Bang-Bang” in England, Van Dyke moved with his family to their ranch in Carefree, Arizona where “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” was produced for CBS for three seasons. In 1974, his stunning portrayal of an alcoholic family man in David Wolper’s groundbreaking ABC Television movie “The Morning After” earned Van Dyke an Emmy nomination. A guest-star turn as a homicidal photographer opposite Peter Falk’s “Columbo” followed.
It was back to song, dance and comedy in NBC’s variety series “Van Dyke and Company,” earning him a fourth Emmy® (this time shared with his fellow producers,) followed by a national tour in “The Music Man,” which brought Van Dyke back to Broadway and a national tour in “Damn Yankees.” The 1980s brought a run of television movies including the Showtime production of “The Country Girl” opposite Faye Dunaway, ”Drop-Out Father," opposite Mariette Hartley, “Found Money” opposite Sid Caesar, “Breakfast with Les and Bess” opposite Cloris Leachman for PBS’s “American Playhouse” and the miniseries “Strong Medicine.”
In 1982, Van Dyke earned his fifth Emmy for his vocal performance as the Father in the CBS Library special “Wrong Way Kid.” His voice over talents were employed most recently in the 2006 animated feature “Curious George” and the 2010 short “The Caretaker 3D,” a tribute to the Hollywood Sign.
Van Dyke’s crime solving physician, Dr. Mark Sloan, was introduced in a 1991 episode of “Jake and the Fat Man” and became the central character in three TV movies before evolving into the CBS series “Diagnosis: Murder.” It ran from 1993 to 2001, followed by two Dr. Sloan television movies in 2002. “Diagnosis: Murder” co-starred Van Dyke’s son Barry as a police detective and during its run provided guest-star opportunities for Van Dyke’s daughter Stacy, grandchildren Carey, Shane, Wes and Taryn and brother Jerry Van Dyke. From 2006 to 2008, the father-son team reunited for a series of four Hallmark Channel “Murder 101” movies, casting Barry as a private investigator opposite Dick’s absent-minded but brilliant criminology professor, Dr. Jonathan Maxwell.
In 2003, Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore re-teamed to portray lonely seniors in D.L. Coburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “The Gin Game” on “PBS Hollywood Presents” and the following year recreated husband and wife Rob and Laura Petrie for Carl Reiner’s CBS telefilm “The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited.” They were notably reunited this past January when Van Dyke presented Moore with SAG’s 48th Life Achievement Award on the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Dick Van Dyke's Memoir, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business
Van Dyke, whose 2011 memoir “My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business” made the New York Times Best Sellers list, admits that his retirement plans have yet to work out. In 2006 he returned to Broadway receiving standing ovations in his “Bye Bye Birdie” leading lady’s “Chita Rivera: The Dancers Life.” In addition to his memoir, Van Dyke is the author of “Faith, Hope and Hilarity: The Child’s Eye View of Religion” (1970) and “Those Funny Kids” (1975), a collection of classroom humor.
Music, Van Dyke’s spiritual nourishment, became richer when he teamed twelve years ago with Eric Bradley, Bryan Chadima and Mike Mendyke to form The Vantastix. Their first major public appearance was at the Society of Singers Ella Awards honoring his “Mary Poppins” leading lady Julie Andrews. They’ve since performed the National Anthem at L.A. Lakers playoffs, mounted a musical memoir at L.A.’s Geffen Theatre, appeared at the Hollywood Bowl, Disney Hall and at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. with the President and First Lady in the front row and released an album of children’s song: “Put on A Happy Face.”
For nearly twenty years Van Dyke has been tirelessly committed to his volunteer work at The Midnight Mission, Los Angeles’ century-old downtown shelter for the troubled and homeless.
Midnight Mission, Los Angeles
He helped raise millions for their new building program and is there without fail every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and times in between offering comfort and cheer, often with the Vantastix and members of his own family. He is passionate about raising funds for music and art programs for public schools and has performed at countless fundraisers. He became a spokesperson for the National Reye’s Syndrome Foundation in 1967 after losing a granddaughter to that disease and in 2010 was named the first spokesperson for the Cell Therapy Foundation.
Van Dyke has four children from his marriage to the late Marjorie Willet Van Dyke -- sons Christian and Barry, and daughters Stacey and Carrie Beth -- and seven grandchildren.
On February 29, 2012, he married make-up artist Arlene Silver (whom he met at the 2007 SAG Awards) and whose vocal talents now occasionally blend with those of Dick and The Vantastix. They live in Malibu, California.
'Aside from it sounding like a fun time, I think it's a great opportunity to interact with the theatre community in a unique and fascinating way.' —Rober Attenweiler, playwright
The Drama Book Shop logo, New York City
Write Out Front: A Playwright Happening!
(August 13th - September 1st, 2012) NYC
Watch award-winning and emerging playwrights, book writers and lyricists create new work right in front of your eyes.
During two hour time slots, a writer or writer's team will write a new play in the storefront window of the Drama Book Shop, founded in 1917, with a screen shot of their computer visible to the street.
See writers create new worlds, find inspiration and try to avoid Facebook (or not). Come see playwrights from shows coming up or currently playing at venues around town including the NY International Fringe Festival.
Support and engage the writers via Twitter and FB , follow their careers, see the play and someday, when you're watching the Tonys, Lilys or Academy Awards, you can say you were there.
The award-winning and emerging playwrights are:
Rob Askins, Robert Attenweiler, Ian August, Micheline Auger, Hilary Bettis, J.Stephen Brantley, Chloe Brown Carter, Rubem Carbajal, Jon Caren, David Caudle, Cecilia Copeland, Carl Cota-Robles, Jamie Cowperthwait, Cusi Cram, Stacy Davidowitz, Lawrence Dial, Nathan Dame, David Davila, Haydn Diaz, Bixby Elliot, Lynne Elson, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Diane Exavier, Gina Femia, Darcy Fowler, Nick Gandiello, Charles Gershman, Sheri Graubert, Stephen Adley Guirgis, Paul Hagen, Laurel Haines, Chris Harcum, Jerron Hermon, Timothy Huang, Dean Imperial, Kait Kerrigan, Jeffrey James Keyes, Alessandro King, Krista Knight, Felice Kuan, Larry Kunofsky, Judith Leora, Lisa Lewis, Jerry Lieblich, Danielle Eliska Lyle, Dan McCabe, Erin Moughan, Kate Mulley, Lindsay Joy Murphy, Mel Nieves, Dan O’Neil, Dael Orlandersmith, Nicole Pandolfo, Kristina Poe, Chana Porter, Tyler Rivenbark, Rob Rosiello, Alex Rubin, Sarah Shaefer, Erika Sheffer, Crystal Skillman, Tommy Smith, Diana Stahl, Roland Tec, Michael Gabriel Torres, Chris Van Strander, Richard Vetere, Josh Wilder, Natalie Wilson, Joseph Samuel Wright, Nathan Yungerberg.
WRITE OUT FRONT was created to bring awareness to the time, space, resources and support that playwrights need to work and grow. It celebrates the tenacity that playwrights possess in the face of challenging economic times which has accompanied the closing of many off-off Broadway theaters and performance spaces, traditionally the fertile ground where theater artists developed their craft.
The installation runs three weeks, Monday through Saturday, 11am – 7pm (8pm Thursdays) The Drama Book Shop is located at 250 W. 40th Street, across the street from the NYTimes Building August 13th - September 1st, 2012.
A BrockelNote: Granted, this is not going to be like peeking through a window and seeing Ernest Hemingway writing in Ketchum, Idaho. And, I'm guessing, it will be much more fun, also.
SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contract Webinar Meeting to be Held in Advance of the Start of Commercials Negotiations Preparation, September 5
This meeting will provide the members the opportunity to hear a report titled Commercial Trends Every Performer Needs to Know About, and you will also receive an update on the Gross Ratings Points (GRP) Study and other important topics related to the Commercials Contract. A group discussion will follow the presentation, affording staff the opportunity to hear membership’s response to these findings. We look forward to your participation as your input is vital to our negotiation preparation.
Please note that this webinar meeting is being held in preparation and advance of our Wages & Working Conditions process and will in no way replace the process by which we develop proposals. The W&W meetings will occur in September/October after members have had a chance to learn about these important topics.
"Little Mikey" - Life Cereal Commercial 1972 When: Wednesday, September 5 4-6 p.m. ET or 7-9 p.m. ET
RSVP: Anne Rosenblatt at anne.rosenblatt@sagaftra.org. Please specify which time you will be attending. Space is very limited.
Parking: Onsite parking is available Monday-Friday in the parking garage beside the building. We do not validate parking. Metered parking is also available on Fairmont Avenue and surrounding streets. There are also municipal metered garages located on Cordell Avenue, Old Georgetown Road, Woodmont Avenue, and Del Ray Avenue, which are all within walking distance of our building.
If you need ADA accommodations, please let us know by contacting us at diversity@sagaftra.org or (323) 549-6644.
All paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing are urged to attend this important membership webinar meeting. This meeting is only open to paid-up SAG-AFTRA members in good standing, no guests are allowed. Parents/guardians of performers under 18 years old are welcome. SAG-AFTRA members please bring your membership card for admittance.
Clark Gable and the Duesenberg he shared with Carole Lombard
Clark Gable owned this rare Duesenberg Model JN convertible coupe until his wife, Carole Lombard, died in 1942. According to The Duesenberg Registry, he left the vehicle in Canada when his wife died. Gable instructed that the car never be seen in California while he was still alive.
Highlights:
420 CID DOHC Inline 8-Cylinder Engine
Single Downdraft Carburetor
265 HP at 4,200 RPM
3-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Live-Axle Suspension with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs and Double-Acting Hydraulic-Lever Shock Absorbers
Clark Gable's Duesenberg photo courtesy Gooding & Co.
For all its visual splendor and technological excellence, the Model J could not have been introduced in more difficult times. While Duesenberg intended an initial run of 500 chassis for 1929, the Great Depression changed the face of the luxury car market overnight. The few individuals who possessed the means and confidence to purchase the phenomenally expensive Model J were of a rarified breed.
Just three years after the Model J was unveiled, Duesenberg began offering variants of the standard chassis with the hope of buoying sales. The supercharged SJ appeared in 1932 and proved popular with 36 examples built. Yet not all buyers were interested strictly in performance. By the mid-1930s, Duesenberg was offering a pricey car that didn’t even look particularly up-to-date. Other high-end manufacturers such as Cadillac, Packard and even Pierce-Arrow were adopting the latest streamlined styling, and the Model J was beginning to look obsolete.
In 1935, Duesenberg came up with the JN. In an attempt to imbue the new JN series with a clean, modern image and restore integrity to the marque’s refined aesthetic sensibilities, Duesenberg commissioned Rollston of New York City to fashion a line of tasteful body styles.
As one of Duesenberg’s longest-standing and most trusted collaborators, Rollston succeeded in combining streamlined contours with the elegant, classical restraint of the original Model J. In total, just three body styles were offered: convertible coupes and convertible sedans were available on the standard-length chassis, while sport sedans were produced strictly for the long-wheelbase chassis.
Signature styling cues included soft, sweeping curves, smaller 17" disc wheels, skirted front fenders, small dual taillights in place of the classic Duesenberg “stop” light and elegant carriage-body sills that brought the bottom of the doors very close to the running boards. On all JN body styles, the roofline, beltline and side molding were carefully arranged and integrated to introduce a long, sloping rear deck and thus, a graceful profile.
It is believed that only 10 JNs were built, of which four examples were bodied as convertible coupes, style number 434. All of Rollston’s JN body styles were delivered to Duesenberg “in the white,” ready for paint and trim to customer preference.
Today, these extremely rare Model JNs are fixtures in the finest classic car collections and are considered among the most attractive of the late-production Duesenbergs.
CLARK GABLE AND HIS MOTORCARS
Clark Gable, known during his heyday as “The King of Hollywood,” gained extraordinary fame for his legendary silver screen roles and projected the very essence of masculinity. In an industry characterized by its capriciousness, Gable maintained the affection of moviegoers longer than most stars of the era. As one of the top-ten box office attractions for two decades, marquees throughout the country would simply announce, “This week: Clark Gable.”
Offscreen, Gable was an avid sportsman who enjoyed duck shooting, fishing and the finest automobiles. Not only did Gable’s wealth and celebrity status grant him access to the most glamorous motorcars, he also had a genuine hands-on passion and appreciation for them.
In Long Live the King: A Biography of Clark Gable, Lyn Tornabene writes: “Whenever he’s needed on the set, and not in sight, somebody is sent for him under all the parked cars, and usually he’s under one...tinkering. His former secretary, Jean Garceau...says that whenever she needs him she calls all the service stations on Ventura Boulevard until she finds him. He would have made a first-class mechanic or chauffeur. He’s got so much axle grease in the pores of his hands, no amount of scrubbing will remove it.”
Over the years, Gable developed into one of Hollywood’s first great car enthusiasts and owned an impressive array of automobiles, including top-of- the-line Packard Roadsters, Model J Duesenbergs and the rarest and most exclusive one-off Fords. Even after WWII, he continued to indulge in his passion and acquired the latest European sports cars, from a Jaguar XK120 to a Mercedes-Benz 300 Sc Cabriolet and 300 SL Gullwing.
Of all the cars Clark Gable owned, none possesses the remarkable history and romance of the sensational automobile presented here.
A HOLLYWOOD ROMANCE
The last of four JN Convertible Coupes built, this striking open Duesenberg was originally delivered to the factory’s Los Angeles, California, branch in December 1935. Following the New Year, the handsome Rollston-bodied Duesenberg, chassis 2585, engine J-560, was sold to its first owner, Clark Gable.
On January 25th, Gable drove his brand-new Duesenberg Model JN to the White Mayfair Ball in Beverly Hills. It was on this fateful night that a casual friendship between Clark Gable and Carole Lombard began to blossom into Hollywood’s most poignant romance.
Four years earlier, they had co-starred in No Man of Her Own, a comedy about a card shark who weds a small-town beauty on a bet. At that time, Gable had yet to achieve great recognition and Lombard was happily married to debonair actor William Powell.
By January 1936, both Gable and Lombard were household names and the circumstances of their personal lives had each taken a dramatic turn.
Lombard divorced Powell in 1934 and became one of the highest-paid actresses in America, earning over $450,000 in one year for three movies and a series of popular radio shows. Gable – the 35-year-old heartthrob and star of It Happened One Night and San Francisco – had established himself as a successful leading man but felt trapped in a doomed marriage with Ria Langham, an oil heiress seven years his senior.
At the Mayfair Ball, Gable and Lombard spent a great deal of time together, shared dances and eventually slipped away to take a spin in the new Duesenberg. When Gable stopped in front of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where he was then living, he asked Lombard if she wanted to come up to his suite.
“Who do you think you are?” Lombard exclaimed, “Clark Gable?”
Undeterred, Gable returned with Lombard to the party and asked her out on a proper date. A few days later, Lombard acquiesced.
Less than a week after the chance meeting in Beverly Hills, Gable arrived at Lombard’s house in the middle of a Winter downpour. According to Lombard, the splashy Duesenberg Convertible was “leaking like toilet paper,” a situation that she found quite amusing and he found deeply embarrassing.
In no time at all, Gable approached his preferred coachbuilder, Bohman & Schwartz of Pasadena, to have his Duesenberg dramatically updated. Not only was the Convertible Coupe in need of weatherproofing, Gable felt that the subtle Rollston design was far too conventional for his needs. After all, a Hollywood leading man needed to stand out in a crowd.
To realize his automotive fantasies, Gable worked in cooperation with legendary designer Wellington Everett Miller. Widely regarded as one of the most talented and influential automotive stylists of the 1930s, Miller worked as the head designer for two of the most respected American coachbuilding firms, Locke and Murphy, and helped Packard create a series of elegant production bodies. An early adopter of Art Deco-inspired streamlined features, Miller successfully updated many Duesenbergs and his designs for Bohman & Schwartz represent the very best of mid-1930s automobile styling.
As this car was to be for his personal use, Gable envisioned the JN Convertible Coupe as a sporting two-seat roadster that was as theatrical as its owner. Throughout the design process, Gable was intimately involved and worked in tandem with Miller to create the highly individualized coachwork. The result is one of the most successful collaborations between an owner and a coachbuilder. Gable had a preternatural instinct for automobiles and his wonderfully stylized Duesenberg JN Convertible Coupe is a splendid exaggeration of the classic American roadster – sporting, sassy and absolutely grand in every sense.
Contributing to the overall impression of length is a dramatically raked windscreen, rear-fender spats and a full-length hood that stretches past the firewall, terminating at the trailing edge of the cowl. This marvelous lengthening effect is further accentuated by the use of “continental-style” dual rear spares, each enclosed in a metal cover, the effect of which is dramatic and unique to this car.
Gable also requested rectangular mesh hood sides, scooped and V’d hood ventilators, elegant single-bar bumpers and distinctive sun visors with a unique articulating hinge that allows for clean, uninterrupted storage. Other noteworthy additions include external exhaust pipes, painted radiator shell and headlights and a reworked convertible mechanism that gives the car a sleek, integrated look even when the top is raised.
Finished in a light, monochromatic color scheme and equipped with whitewall tires, Gable’s Convertible Coupe has a clean, modern appearance that is entirely unique.
As his Duesenberg was nearing completion, Gable was told to arrive at the Bohman & Schwartz workshop on a Friday to collect his freshly styled car. When he and Lombard arrived in the morning, they were informed that the car was not quite ready and that they could pick it up after lunch. Rather than dine on their own, the couple felt the circumstance warranted a celebration and returned to the coachbuilder with sandwiches and champagne for everyone. As the atmosphere became increasingly jovial and champagne was consumed steadily, it was soon clear that the car was not going to be completed by the end of the working day.
Gable assured them that this was not a problem and asked that the car be delivered to him at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. At this point Chris Bohman, then a student in college, volunteered to deliver the car to Gable, as his formal dance was being held at the hotel’s ballroom the following evening. On his way to Beverly Hills, Bohman collected his date in the one-off Duesenberg and upon his arrival at the Beverly Wilshire, Gable and Lombard came down to see the finished creation.
A few hours later, while Chris Bohman and his date were seated in the ballroom, the door opened and the whole room fell silent. Gable walked up to the young Bohman, thanked him for delivering the car and asked if he could join their table for dessert. Gable was particularly pleased, as Lombard had enjoyed the restyled Duesenberg as much as he did. After dessert had been served, the band started up and everyone returned to the dance floor. In classic style, Gable asked Bohman if he could have the first dance with his date and then proceeded to dance with every girl in the room.
Throughout the following year, Gable and Lombard enjoyed a romantic courtship and by 1937, the duo was so inseparable that they were cited in a Photoplay article as one of “Hollywood’s Unmarried Husbands and Wives.” The situation was increasingly problematic for Gable, who was then competing for the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind and did not need the additional notoriety. With the encouragement of MGM head Louis B. Mayer, Gable filed for divorce from Ria Langham.
Around this time, Gable’s Duesenberg was becoming a star in its own right. Featured in the Hal Roach comedy Merrily We Live, starring Brian Aherne and Constance Bennett, the striking JN Convertible Coupe was refinished in a darker color and further updated with bullet headlights for its big screen debut.
On March 29, 1939, as soon as he had a break from the production of Gone with the Wind, Gable and Lombard drove to Kingman, Arizona, and were married. The only other person in attendance was Otto Winkler, Gable’s press agent. Considered one of the happiest couples in movie land, they settled in an elaborately restored farmhouse in then-rural Encino, California, where they led a quiet, idyllic life.
Photo courtesy Selznick International Publicity
In 1941, Gable and Lombard drove the Duesenberg up the West Coast to Vancouver, British Columbia, where they vacationed in the unspoiled scenery and watched the thoroughbreds run at Lansdowne racetrack. When their stay was finished, Gable left the Duesenberg in a garage at the track and he and Lombard returned to Los Angeles by train. Their plan was to return the following year, take the train up the coast, collect the car and return home. Sadly, this was not to be.
On January 16, 1942, Carole Lombard, along with her mother and Otto Winkler, boarded a TWA DC-3 to return to California following a successful war bond rally; 23 minutes after taking off from Las Vegas, Nevada, their plane crashed into Potosi Mountain, killing all 22 passengers aboard.
Gable and Lombard’s six-year romance – perhaps the greatest Tinseltown love story – ended in misery. No Hollywood writer would ever imagine such a tragic ending.
SUBSEQUENT HISTORY
Following Lombard’s death, Gable was inconsolable and fell into a deep depression. On August 12, 1942, he joined the US Army Air Corps and trained to serve in aerial gunnery. During the war, he flew five combat missions, including one over Germany as an observer gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress. According to legend, Gable was Hitler’s favorite actor; the leader of Germany offered a substantial reward to any person who could bring the star to him unscathed.
Even after his return to American soil, Gable remained deeply saddened by the loss of his wife. According to his friend David E. Jordan, Gable said that he could never bring himself to ride in the Duesenberg again without Lombard. It was the car that they had their first date in and it held too many painful memories for him to own it any longer.
Instructed by Gable to sell the car, Mr. Jordan travelled to Vancouver and had the track manager get the Duesenberg out of the garage. Freed after years of static storage, the car was tuned by a local mechanic and driven south to Los Angeles, where it was consigned to a local dealer – either Bob Roberts or Peter Satori – with orders to sell the car to someone outside California.
By the late 1940s, Gable’s Duesenberg ended up in the hands of Donald Ballard, a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, whose parents led the popular “I AM” religious movement in Los Angeles. During this period, Mr. Ballard owned another open Duesenberg – a Murphy Roadster equipped with a similarly raked windscreen. After some time, Mr. Ballard sold both Duesenbergs to S.P. Motors of Albuquerque, New Mexico, operated by Alta and Earl Sanders and James Palmer.
S.P. Motors specialized in Duesenberg motorcars and acquired at least seven Model Js throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this period, Sanders installed engine J-521 in the Gable Duesenberg, although the original, highly visible bell-housing number, J-560, has always remained intact.
In August 1951, G.W. Cleven of Albuquerque offered the Duesenberg for sale, asking $3,750. The car was eventually sold to professional wrestler Robert “Hans” Hermann, who paid $2,500 for the aging classic. Hermann, who was half of the successful and essentially unbeatable tag team with “Killer Kowalski,” won the NWA Pacific Coast Tag title in 1951.
From there, the Duesenberg was sold to Richard S. Luntz of Indianapolis, Indiana, who consigned it with Chicago, Illinois, Rolls-Royce and Duesenberg dealer “Honest John” Troka. In October 1953, Troka sold the Gable Duesenberg to Paul V. Colianni of Arlington, Illinois, who paid a record price of $4,500. By this time, the Duesenberg had been refinished in maroon and equipped with a single rear spare.
Although Mr. Colianni owned a lovely home, his single-car garage could not accommodate the imposing Duesenberg and it was instead displayed at Troka’s showroom before relocating to Joseph Kaufmann’s shop in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
In late 1973, Charles H. Johnson, Jr., a Ford dealer and Duesenberg collector, acquired the Gable Duesenberg after chasing it for many years. “It was a dirty old rusty brown,” Johnson recalled, “The front was off, the hood was off. But I want to tell you she was still gorgeous! I paid $75,000 for the car. It was a very fair price.”
Mr. Johnson treated the Duesenberg to its first comprehensive restoration and displayed it with great success, earning a string of ACD, AACA and CCCA awards throughout the late 1970s. For three months in 1979, the famed Duesenberg JN was exhibited at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg (ACD) Museum in Auburn, Indiana.
In May 1980, Jerome Sauls of Pennsylvania acquired the Duesenberg, only to sell it to P.A. Parviz of London, England, two years later. In January 1983, Tom W. Barrett, III discovered the Duesenberg in a Beverly Hills garage and bought the car from Mr. Parviz. From there, the Model JN joined the famed Behring Collection and was displayed as part of the Blackhawk Collection in Danville, California. In 1995, Chairman Lee purchased the Duesenberg and it continued to remain a fixture at Blackhawk for the next decade.
In 2006, the current caretaker acquired the Gable Duesenberg and immediately set about returning the car to its original splendor. To conduct the restoration of this important automobile, the owner enlisted the services of Stone Barn Automobile Restorations in Vienna, New Jersey, a leading restorer specializing in the great coachbuilt American classics.
When it was unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2007, the magnificently restored JN Convertible Coupe justifiably earned a prestigious special award: the Gwenn Graham Most Elegant Convertible Trophy. A remarkable testament to the quality and accuracy of the restoration work, as well as the inherent significance of this car, the Gable Duesenberg has since taken Best of Show honors at two of the most prestigious concours venues – Amelia Island and Meadowbrook. Having been treated to attentive care in one of the world’s great classic car collections, the Duesenberg remains in show-quality condition inside and out.
Commissioned by the most recognizable actor of the 1930s, this one-of-a-kind JN Convertible Coupe possesses the unmistakable imprimatur of its original owner. Not only is the photo of Clark Gable posing with his stylish custom-built JN Convertible Coupe one of the most iconic images of a classic automobile, it is also integral to the fabric of popular culture.
The legacy of this car has powerful, lasting connections to the Golden Age of the American film industry, the art of custom coachbuilding and the pioneering years of car collecting. In its inspired origins and glamorous early history, it scales the heights of automotive folklore. Unique, dramatic and instantly recognizable, this legendary Duesenberg is arguably the most iconic example of all.
An exceptionally beautiful and important automobile, Clark Gable’s Duesenberg is to many the holy grail of American classics and possesses each and every quality that connoisseurs demand of a collectible object: impeccable presentation, extraordinary pedigree and the magnetic, show-stopping personality that defines a true Hollywood star.
