Category: people

“For much of his career, Mr. Crowley was overshadowed by gay playwrights such as Larry Kramer … and Tony Kushner. … But his 1968 examination of gay identity, repression and self-loathing was a milestone for artists and other theatergoers who recognized themselves as one of The Boys in the Band, even if some of the play’s acid-tongued dialogue would come to seem dated.” – The Washington Post

Widely hailed as one of the finest actors of his generation, Mr. von Sydow became an elder pop culture star in his later years, appearing in a “Star Wars” movie in 2015 as well as in the sixth season of the HBO fantasy-adventure series “Game of Thrones.”He even lent his deep, rich voice to “The Simpsons.” – The New York Times

Indeed, cartoonist Chris Riddell thinks younger artists should follow their passion by “bunking off” school, if necessary, to get their true arts education. – The Observer (UK)

Cathal McNaughton was returning to Delhi after winning a Pulitzer Prize for his photography of desperate Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar. “Without explanation, the Indian authorities escorted him back to the plane he’d flown in on and marched him down the aisle to his seat. Before he was fully aware of it, he found himself flying back to Toronto. His job, his apartment, his friends, his possessions: all were left behind in Delhi. McNaughton’s life, as he had known it up until then, had disintegrated.” Now he doesn’t even own a camera. – The Irish Times

Turner drew on surrealism, abstract expressionism, and much more for his works. “In recent years, spurred by cardboard shelters in the homeless encampments along the Tiber River that he saw on his frequent trips to Rome, he developed a ‘Box House’ series, mostly in graphite, that explored not only those but all sorts of boxes that harbor all sorts of things.” – The New York Times

Even by physicists’ standards, Dyson’s thinking was strikingly unconstrained by the here and now. One moment, he was delving into the esoterica of quantum theory, and, the next, he was speculating about the logistics of alien civilizations. In the nineteen-fifties, he led the team developing a new type of nuclear reactor, which included several novel safety features; soon after, he was designing an interstellar spacecraft propelled by nuclear bombs. – The New Yorker

Hollywood became synonymous with increased income and long absences from home. The manna from Faulkner’s work on screenplays and the movie options on his novels was very welcome indeed, but it did not come without cost to his marriage. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer offered six weeks at $500 a week in May 1932, the couple was significantly overdrawn and without credit. Faulkner literally spent his last few dollars wiring MGM that he would accept their offer. He then asked his uncle for a five-dollar loan. John Falkner instead offered a $500 loan to cover his nephew’s overdraft, but Faulkner declined and held out for a studio advance. – Los Angeles Review of Books

Mr. Tyner’s manner was modest, but his sound was rich, percussive and serious, his lyrical improvisations centered by powerful left-hand chords marking the first beat of the bar and the tonal center of the music. – The New York Times

“During the germinal days of television, … [she] became famous as ‘The Girl With the Glasses,’ for un-self-consciously wearing her signature eyeglasses on camera as she delivered live, on-air advertising pitches for products like Crisco and Duncan Hines cake mixes.” Her voice was heard in many a dubbed foreign film and countless radio announcements — and whenever you called a number that was “no longer in service.” – The New York Times

Smiley, who was fired in 2017 amid sexual misconduct allegations, sued PBS contending he was dropped from the network as a result of racial bias and that he was wrongly terminated. Smiley was the only solo black host of a show on the broadcasting organization’s airwaves. Though he admitted that he had engaged in sexual relationships with employees, he insisted they were consensual. He sued for $1 million. – NPR