
Jazz Starts Here: Celebrating Charlie Parker at 100
When Charlie Parker, the prodigiously talented alto saxophonist, passed away, his obituary in The New York Times listed his age as “about 53.” In reality, Parker was only 34. What created this egregious error? New York Times’ obits are usually spot-on. The story of Parker’s death is as tragic as much of the rest of his life. As […]
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“Best Years of Our Lives” is Still Relevant for Veterans in 2020
Question: who is the only actor to win two Academy Awards for the same performance? The answer is Harold Russell for his role as Homer Parrish in the William Wyler production of The Best Years of Our Lives. The movie was recently shown on Turner Classics over the Memorial Day weekend. Best Years has not […]
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Grammy Winner Lynn Harrell Overcame Tragic Deaths Through His Music
Tragic death was no stranger to Lynn Harrell. The legendary, Grammy winning cellist was 15 when his father died of cancer. Just over two years later, his mother was killed in an automobile accident. By the age of 18, he was on his own. “It took a long time to come to terms with it,” […]
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How Meeting George Gershwin Changed Roger Horchow’s Life
Roger Horchow was 61 years old in 1988 when Neiman Marcus bought his luxury mail order catalogue operation for more than $100 million. His first reaction: “Suddenly I was out of work. I had to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up.” That wry response is a peek into the personality […]
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