Lawrence Holofcener

Lawrence Holofcener
Born February 23, 1926
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Died March 4, 2017 (aged 91)
Nationality American and British
Known for Sculpture
Spouse(s) Carol Holofcener (divorced)
Julia Cornforth
Website http://www.holofcener.com

Lawrence Holofcener (February 23, 1926 – March 4, 2017) was an American-British sculptor, poet, lyricist, playwright, novelist, actor and director. He held British and American dual nationality.[1] As a singer and songwriter he was better known as Larry Holofcener. He died in March 2017 at the age of 91.[2] As a tribute to his transatlantic love affair with England, his obituary was also published by UK's The Daily Telegraph.[3]

Songwriter and musical writer

Holofcener attended University of Maryland and the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he met and performed with Jerry Bock.[4] They went on to write songs for Big as Life and Your Show of Shows, starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner.[4] They wrote the Broadway stage scores for Mr. Wonderful and Catch a Star.[4][5] He joined ASCAP in 1956, his other popular-song compositions include "Without You I'm Nothing", "Raining, It's Raining", "Too Close for Comfort"[6] and "The Story of Alice" which was recorded by the Chad Mitchell Trio. His play Before You Go[7] began on Broadway and has been produced in regional theaters in the United Kingdom, Paris, Sweden, and Mexico City.[8] His musical play I Don't Live There Anymore, written with composer Gerard Kenny, received its American premiere at the 1993 Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC.

Actor

His acting career began in a nightclub revue in New York at the Upstairs at the Downstairs. His first theater job was in Stop the World – I Want to Get Off on Broadway. Next, in 1964, he played Cornelius in Hello, Dolly!, first with Carol Channing, then Ginger Rogers. His film work includes Mr. Reckler in the 1981 TV Movie Thin Ice [9] starring Kate Jackson, as well as Walking and Talking [10] which was written and directed by his daughter, Nicole Holofcener.

Writer

He also pursued a literary career. In 1960, he compiled and edited A Practical Dictionary of Rhymes for Crown Publishers.[11] He wrote Day of Change in 1976.[12] Britishisms, his British-English dictionary was first published in 1981.[13]

Sculptor

Allies (1995), portraying Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, New Bond Street, London

Lawrence Holofcener's first exhibition was in 1979 at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina. It was followed by many shows, awards and commissions. During his exhibition at AT&T's Education Center in Princeton, New Jersey, Lawrence produced The Box, a piece which was added to their collection.[14]

In 1985 at the Chichester Festival Theatre, Laurence Olivier unveiled Holofcener's portrait, "Faces of Olivier", and ten years later to the day on Bond Street in London, Princess Margaret unveiled his portraits of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt.[15] "Allies" has fast become one of London's tourist attractions.[16] Commissions include Queen Victoria for the Isle of Wight's Museum of Island History and Coburg, Germany, as well as a life-size bronze of Thomas Paine at Bordentown, New Jersey.[17][18][19]

Other life-size portraits of Thomas Chatterton, William Tyndale and William Penn are in Bristol, England.[1] In 1998, Holofcener embarked on a major series celebrating the contributions made by 20th Century icons, among them Albert Einstein, John F Kennedy, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Frank Sinatra, Muhammad Ali, Mahatma Gandhi, Anne Frank, Eleanor Roosevelt, Leonard Bernstein, Albert Schweitzer, the Three Tenors and John Lennon.[20][21]

Personal life

Holofcener has been married twice. His first wife was Carol (remarried to Charles H. Joffe); they had two daughters, Suzanne Holofcener and director Nicole Holofcener (born 1960), before divorcing[22] in 1961.[22] His second wife was Julia Cornforth.[23]

References

  1. 1 2 "Penn, Tyndale and Chatterton by Lawrence Holofcener". at-bristol.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  2. ↑ Sutherland, Gill (9 March 2017). "Young Will sculptor dies - Stratford Herald". Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "Lawrence Holofcener, actor, lyricist and sculptor – obituary". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Berkvist, Robert (November 3, 2010). "Jerry Bock, 'Fiddler on the Roof' Composer, Dies at 81". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Bordman, Gerald; Hischak, Thomas, eds. (2004). The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. p. 696. ISBN 0-19-516986-7. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  6. ↑ Harvey, Adam, ed. (2007). The Soundtracks of Woody Allen: A Complete Guide to the Songs and Music in Every Film, 1969-2005. McFarland. p. 228. ISBN 0-7864-2968-2. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  7. ↑ "Theater: Before You Go". Time. January 19, 1968. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  8. ↑ Holofcener, Lawrence, ed. (1968). Before You Go. Samuel French, Inc. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "Internet Movie Database".
  10. ↑ "Internet Movie Database".
  11. ↑ "librarything". Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  12. ↑ "dayofchange". Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  13. ↑ "wightonline". Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  14. ↑ "Lawrence Holofcener". Mary Penley.com. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  15. ↑ Baker, Margaret, ed. (2008). Discovering London Statues and Monuments. Shire. p. 128. ISBN 0-7478-0495-8. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  16. ↑ "london travel tips". Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  17. ↑ "mindspring". Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  18. ↑ Westergaard, Barbara, ed. (2006). New Jersey: A Guide to the State. Rutgers University Press. p. 446. ISBN 0-8135-3685-5. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  19. ↑ "Lasting Monuments to Paine's Life and Accomplishments". ThomasPaineFriends.org. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  20. ↑ Manis, Debbie (4 October 2010). "Art Stroll ends with sculpture unveiling". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  21. ↑ "ASCAP". 23 November 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  22. 1 2 Rochlin, Margy (June 23, 2002). "FILM; Just Like Her Family: Complicated". New York Times.
  23. ↑ "Mr Lawrence Holofcener - Former Cowes and Ventnor resident — actor, lyricist and sculptor, Lawrence Holofcener, died on March 4, aged 91". Isle of Wight County Press. April 7, 2017.
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