Tuesday, December 27, 2011

R.I.P. 2011

top, l to r: Pete Postlethwaite, Peter Falk, Vaclev Havel, Susannah York.
Harry Morgan, Elisabeth Sladen, Anna Massey, Romulus Linney, Ellen
Stewart, Lanford Wilson.

Among those the international world of theatre lost in 2011 were: Czech playwright and author Vaclev Havel (who later got a day job as the first president of the Czech Republic,) and American playwrights Lanford Wilson and Romulus Linney. 

Also American playwright and dramaturg Max Wilks, British playwright N.F. Simpson. Ellen Stewart (founder of La Mama), Arthur Laurents (playwright, screenwriter, director,) Irene Gilbert (actor and teacher), and Gilbert Cates (founder of the UCLA School of Theatre, Film & Television.)

These days actors are known primarily for film and television. Particularly in the UK but also to some extent in the U.S., the participation of these actors in live theatre is important. So among those lost to UK theatre are Pete Postlethwaite, Susannah York, Anna Massey, Dulcie Gray, Roy Skelton, Donald Hewett, Dulcie Gray, Shelagh Delaney, Elisabeth Sladen. American actors Peter Falk, Paul Michael, Harry Morgan, Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Wynter, Michael Sarrazin, Cliff Roberson, Jackie Cooper.  American actor and critic Leonard Harris, choreographer and actor Tony Stevens, choreographer Roland Petit. May their work be remembered, and may they rest in peace.

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