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Jack Gelber
Jack Gelber (April 12, 1932 – May 9, 2003) was an American playwright best known for his 1959 drama '' The Connection'', depicting the life of drug-addicted jazz musicians. The first great success of the Living Theatre, the play was translated into five languages and produced in ten nations. Gelber continued to work and write in New York, where he also taught writing, directing and drama as a professor, chiefly at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, where he created the MFA program in playwriting. In 1999 he received the Edward Albee Last Frontier Playwright Award in recognition of his lifetime of achievements in theatre. Early life and education Jack Gelber was born April 12, 1932 in Chicago, the first of three sons of Molly (Singer) and Harold Gelber, a Jewish American couple of Russian and Romanian descent. Harold was a sheet metal worker, a trade the younger Gelber would briefly adopt to finance his education at the University of Illinois. While at the un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Connection (play)
''The Connection'' is a 1959 play by Jack Gelber. It was first produced by the Living Theatre, directed by Living Theatre co-founder Judith Malina, and designed by co-founder Julian Beck. The play has a play-within-a-play format, with characters Jim Dunn as the "producer" and Jaybird as the "writer" attempting to stage a production about the underbelly of society using "real" addicts. Some of the addicts are jazz musicians. They all (except for the "producer", "writer", and two "photographers") have one thing in common: they are waiting for their drug dealer, their "connection". The dialogue of the characters is interspersed with jazz music. The music for the original production was composed by jazz pianist Freddie Redd. Original cast *Jim Dunn – Leonard Hicks *Jaybird – Ira Lewis *Leach – Warren Finnerty *Solly – Jerome Raphel *Sam – John McCurry *Ernie – Garry Goodrow *1st Musician – Freddie Redd (composer, piano) *4th Musician – Michael Mattos (bass) *First Pho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Mailer
Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least one in each of the seven decades after World War II—more than any other post-war American writer. His novel ''The Naked and the Dead'' was published in 1948 and brought him early renown. His 1968 nonfiction novel '' Armies of the Night'' won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction as well as the National Book Award. Among his best-known works is ''The Executioner's Song'', the 1979 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Mailer is considered an innovator of "creative non-fiction" or "New Journalism", along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe, a genre which uses the style and devices of literary fiction in factual journalism. He was a cultural commentator and critic, expre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre De Lys
The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse at 121 Christopher Street in Manhattan's West Village. It was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse. The interior is largely unchanged to this day. In the early 1950s, the site was converted to an off-Broadway theater as , opening on June 9, 1953, with a production of ''Maya'', a play by Simon Gantillon starring Kay Medford, Vivian Matalon, and Susan Strasberg. It closed after seven performances. Much more successful was ''The Threepenny Opera'' which opened March 10, 1954, with a cast that included Bea Arthur, John Astin, Lotte Lenya, Leon Lishner, Scott Merrill, Gerald Price, Charlotte Rae and Jo Sullivan. Because of an incoming booking, it was forced to close after 96 performances. Re-opening September 20, 1955, with largely the same cast, ''The Threepenny Opera'' this time played until December 17, 1961, a then record-setting run for a musical in New York City. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
City College Of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City College was the first free public institution of higher education in the United States. It is the oldest of CUNY's 25 institutions of higher learning, and is considered its flagship college. Located in Hamilton Heights overlooking Harlem in Manhattan, City College's 35-acre (14 ha) Collegiate Gothic campus spans Convent Avenue from 130th to 141st Streets. It was initially designed by renowned architect George B. Post, and many of its buildings have achieved landmark status. The college has graduated ten Nobel Prize winners, one Fields Medalist, one Turing Award winner, three Pulitzer Prize winners, and three Rhodes Scholars. Among these alumni, the latest is a Bronx native, John O'Keefe (2014 Nobel Prize in Medicine). City College' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation issues awards in each of two separate competitions: * One open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States and Canada. * The other to citizens and permanent residents of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Latin America and Caribbean competition is currently suspended "while we examine the workings and efficacy of the program. The U.S. and Canadian competition is unaffected by this suspension." The performing arts are excluded, although composers, film directors, and choreographers are eligible. The fellowships are not open to students, only to "advanced professionals in mid-career" such as published authors. The fellows may spend the money as they see fit, as the purpose is to give fellows "b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...s to professionals who have demonstrated exceptional ability by publishing a significant body of work in the fields of natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the creative arts, excluding the performing arts. References External linksJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirley Clarke
Shirley Clarke (née Brimberg; October 2, 1919 – September 23, 1997) was an American filmmaker. Life Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, she was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother was the daughter of a multimillionaire Jewish manufacturer and inventor. The eldest of three daughters, her sister was the writer Elaine Dundy. Her interest in dance began at an early age, but met with the disapproval of her father, a violent bully.Philip PurseObituary of Clarke's sister, Elaine Dundy ''The Guardian'', 8 May 2008. Clarke attended Stephens College, Johns Hopkins University, Bennington College, and University of North Carolina. As a result of dance lessons at each of these schools, she trained under the Martha Graham technique, the Humphrey-Weidman technique, and the Hanya Holm method of modern dance. She married Bert Clarke to escape her father's control, so she could study dance under the masters in New York City. Their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Connection (1961 Film)
''The Connection'' is a 1961 found footage feature film directed by the American experimental filmmaker Shirley Clarke. The film was Clarke's first feature; she had made several short films over the previous decade. Jack Gelber wrote the screenplay, adapting his play of the same name. The film was the subject of significant court cases regarding censorship. It is the first known movie shot in the found footage format and beginning with a found footage title card. Plot A title card announces that the film is a result of found footage assembled by cameraman J.J. Burden (Roscoe Lee Browne) working for the acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jim Dunn ( William Redfield), who has disappeared. Leach (Warren Finnerty) a heroin addict, introduces the audience to his apartment where other heroin addicts, a mix of current and former jazz musicians, are waiting for Cowboy ( Carl Lee), their drug connection, to appear. As the men grow increasingly nervous, waiting for their fix, some of them st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drama Desk
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Following the 1964 renaming as the Drama Desk Awards, Broadway productions were included beginning with the 1968–69 award season. The awards are considered a significant American theater distinction. History The Drama Desk organization was formed in 1949 by a group of New York theater critics, editors, reporters and publishers, in order to make the public aware of the vital issues concerning the theatrical industry. They debuted the presentations of the ''Vernon Rice Awards''. The name honors the ''New York Post'' critic Vernon Rice, who had pioneered Off-Broadway coverage in the New York press. The name was changed for the 1963–1964 awards season to the ''Drama Desk Awards''. In 1974, the Drama Desk became incorporated as a not-for-pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warren Finnerty
Warren Finnerty (April 9, 1925 – December 22, 1974) was an American actor best known for his Obie award-winning performance as the character "Leach" in the stage production ''The Connection'' (1959) and its film version. Career After making his film debut in ''Murder, Inc.'' (1960), and in the Off-Off Broadway production of ''The Brig'' in the 1960s, he made a few television appearances before starring in ''The Connection'' (1961), the film adaption of the play in which he reprised his stage role. He continued to work steadily in the 1960s and early 1970s, making appearances on television in ''Bonanza'' and '' Banacek'', and in films such as ''The Pawnbroker'' (1964), ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Easy Rider'' (1969) in which Finnerty plays a rancher whose lifestyle draws the admiration of Wyatt aka "Captain America," the character played by Peter Fonda, ''The Panic in Needle Park'' (1971), '' Kid Blue'' (1973) and ''Cockfighter'' (1974). Finnerty died in 1974 in New Yo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creative community of New York City. It ceased publication in 2017, although its online archives remained accessible. After an ownership change, the ''Voice'' reappeared in print as a quarterly in April 2021. Over its 63 years of publication, ''The Village Voice'' received three Pulitzer Prizes, the National Press Foundation Award, and the George Polk Award. ''The Village Voice'' hosted a variety of writers and artists, including writer Ezra Pound, cartoonist Lynda Barry, artist Greg Tate, and film critics Andrew Sarris, Jonas Mekas and J. Hoberman. In October 2015, ''The Village Voice'' changed ownership and severed all ties with former parent company Voice Media Group (VMG). The ''Voice'' announced on August 22, 2017, that it would cease pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
