In the days since New Jersey philanthropist Herbert Axelrod fled to Cuba to avoid indictment on tax evasion charges, details have begun to emerge about the man who had been called New Jersey’s greatest arts benefactor. “It has become clear that myth and reality were always hard to separate in the life of Herbert Axelrod, whether the subject be tropical fish, charity or musical instruments… A review of lawsuits, public documents and interviews with those who were once close to Axelrod suggest he was never quite what people thought. Court papers filed in a pending lawsuit against him depict him as a liar and a womanizer who funneled cash in the form of author’s payments to a woman with whom he had a years-long affair.”
Tag: 04.25.04
Does Oakland Need A Ballet?
As the Oakland Ballet struggles to reestablish itself financially, an old Oakland refrain is rearing its head: why does Oakland need a ballet/symphony/arts scene, anyway, with San Francisco’s glittering cultural landscape just across the bay? Such talk has always been a thorn in the side of East Bay artists, and the Ballet is at a crossroads that Oakland’s symphony and theater professionals have seen before.
Filmmaker Jose Giovanni Dead at Age 80
“The Corsican-born director, author and screenwriter was well-known in France for his crime movies. He began his career as a scriptwriter in the late 1950s and began directing movies such as The Hitman in the 1970s. Giovanni also won several awards in France for his crime novels. He died of a brain haemorrhage at a clinic in his adopted homeland of Switzerland.”