Tidbits: Radu Lupu

I was very sorry to hear that pianist Radu Lupu died yesterday. He's long been a favorite. His recording of the Schubert Sonata in A Minor (D.959) is still the best in my view. 

His Brahms is great, too, but it was the Schubert D.959 recording that first brought him to my attention. Years ago, I had the unexpected privilege of being invited to dine with with Kyung-wha Chung and her entourage after a concert in Ueno, in Tokyo (another story altogether). For some reason we got on the subject of Radu Lupu. They recorded Franck and Debussy sonatas together.  I remember her calling him "a crazy man." It was something about putting his fist through a glass door—which seems a very odd thing for a pianist to do. I don't know. He may have been crazy, but he will always remain among my favorites. I heard him in recital in Tokyo sometime around 1988. He was wonderful. I was surprised, however, by his virtual baldness even then. His photos on recordings were always of him as a younger man and with more hair. Funny the things you remember...

Tidbits—RIP: Mary Tyler Moore (January 25. 2017)

I was saddened to see that Mary Tyler Moore died today. She gets a lot of credit for the role model she became as Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but I'll alway remember her as Laura Petrie.

Tidbits—RIP: Gene Cernan

I just saw that Gene Cernan died during the past week, apparently on January 16. The last man to have walked on the moon. I believe 12 people walked on the moon. I wonder how many are still alive?

Tidbits--RIP: Oliver Sachs

I was sorry to hear about the death of Oliver Sachs today. He appears to have died a couple of days ago. I'm surprised there hasn't been more about him in the news. I enjoyed many of his books, particularly Uncle Tungsten and remember a couple of pieces about him and by him in The New York Review of Books over the years. Always an interesting writer.

Miscellaneous: Blues Legend B.B. King: RIP

It was in November of 1997 that B. B. King released his 35th studio album Deuces Wild, a collection of duets with the likes of Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Dionne Warwick, The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, and Willie Nelson. Tokyo-based blues writer Allan Murphy, a friend, had been given a one-hour interview slot with Mr. King while the musician and his band were on tour in the city just after Deuces Wild had been released. At that time, Allan had been helping my brother, Ian Talcroft, and me produce And This Is Maxwell St., a three-CD set containing music recorded for the soundtrack of Mike Shea's 1964 film And This Is Free. I went along to the interview as the photographer.

Mr. King impressed me immediately as a soft-spoken, intelligent, thoughtful, and gentlemanly man. He was dressed in a suit, wearing glasses, and carrying one of his guitars--guitars that were always named "Lucille." He set the guitar aside as we began to talk. The interview started with the usual courtesies and questions about Deuces Wild, but quickly ranged widely with much talk about Mr. King's early career and what it had been like growing up in the south in the early part of the 20th century. It finished with some talk about the Maxwell St. Market area in Chicago--the subject of Shea's film. We got Mr. King to wear a "Save Maxwell Street" button for us (at the time, the old market area was slated for redevelopment). At the very end of the talk, I asked if he'd stand up with the guitar for me so I could get a few photographs. He politely asked if it would be all right to do the photos sitting with the guitar--as he was "getting old." One of my shots is shown above.

Allan mentioned while preparing to leave that his second daughter had been born that morning and that he'd be rushing off to the hospital to join his wife and the new baby. Hearing that, Mr. King quietly removed his wallet, pulled out a crisp $100 bill, and picked up a black marker that had been sitting on the table in front of us. He signed the bill "B. B. King" and then added "For the little one" and the date (February 28, 1998). He handed the bill to Allan as a souvenir.

Allan's daughter's middle name is Lucille. One classy man. It was a privilege to have spent an hour with him. RIP.

Tidbits: RIP Leonard Nimoy (February 27, 2015)

Leonard Nimoy died today. Sorry to hear this news. Like most, I knew him mainly as Spock in the original Star Trek series and the original series has always been the real Star Trek to me--the one I remember watching in real time as a child. Thursday nights at 6:00, but memory is a tricky thing.

My father worked with Nimoy in the late 1940s at the Pasadena Playhouse. I remember him saying he respected Nimoy for his diligence--that Nimoy would accept almost any role offered him and work hard to do his best at it, often roles that other young actors would look down on. His diligence appears to have served him well over a long career.  RIP.

Tidbits--RIP: Gael Reed

Sad news over the weekend--news of the death of Gael Reed, long-time kindergarten teacher at Spring Creek Elementary School, in Santa Rosa, CA. Grateful that my child had her as a teacher. Grateful to have been able to call her a friend. Few teachers are as imaginative and giving, few teachers as filled with the kind of inner strength and beauty she had. Grateful to have known her. Heartbroken that she's gone, taken too soon, a victim of cancer. She is mourned and will be long remembered by the many who loved her.

Tidbits--RIP: Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall

I was sorry to hear yesterday that Robin Williams had committed suicide. A sad surprise--but what a shock to hear now that Lauren Bacall died today. One of the all-time greats. To Have and Have Not is the greatly entertaining film that it is in large part because of Bacall (and Bogart and Hoagy Carmichael). What a shame. They say celebrity deaths come in threes. Perhaps the recent death of another Hollywood star, James Garner, makes this the third already.

Tidbits: RIP--Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine (December 15, 2013)

I was very sorry to hear of the death of Peter O'Toole today. I'm sure I'm not the only person who will always think of him in his role as T. E. Lawrence in the film that made him an international star--although he did so much else.... It's been interesting to see how much attention the event has been getting. I read later in the day that actress Joan Fontaine died today as well. It's a shame she's not being remembered as widely. Her death appears to have been overshadowed by that of O'Toole.

Tidbits: RIP--Nelson Mandela (December 5, 2013)

Just to note that Nelson Mandela died today. I vividly remember the day he was released from prison after--what was it, 27 years? I happened to be in London on the day and had gone to Trafalgar Square for some reason. I remember standing in front of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, looking out over the square. It was full of cheering people. Many had climbed up on statues and walls and lampposts. I must have come up out of the underground, not knowing what was going on. It was a bizarre scene. It made sense only after someone told me what had happened, what the excitement was about. Nelson Mandela. RIP.

Tidbits: RIP--Lou Reed (October 26, 2013)

I heard that Lou Reed died yesterday. I know very little about the man, but I remember the day back in the early 70s that I first heard his voice on the radio. He was singing "Walk on the Wild Side." A new sound, something different. Reed somehow managed to sing without singing. What he sang made little sense to me, but I liked it anyway.