Tony Musante (1936-2013)

I saw him several times in this play -- both at the Buffalo tryout & on Broadway. also opposite Meryl Streep in "27 Wagonsful of Cotton." it was while I was waiting for the Tennessee Williams play to begin that Musante's wife -- the writer Jane Sparkes -- informd me of the death of Sal Mineo.

Musante made his acting debut at Oberlin College  -- a few miles from where I was living -- & earlier this year donated his papers there.

a splash of Liz

years ago for some holiday I got Mom a bottle of Elizabeth Taylor's Passion perfume.  she kept it on these shelves in the bathroom with various oddities:

I cdn't pitch it so brought it back.  it's new home is between Dad's shaving brush & my Joe Brainard gauche in my bathroom nicho:

old stuff

unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of Mom's desk as it was when she left 429. by the time I rememberd things were askew & messy. but some of this reflects her:

what I found amazing is that it suddenly came back to me that that little file card case (butterscotch top & plaid bottom) was the one I had on my desk in Stopher Hall when I was an undergrad & which miraculously is documentd in this rare snapshot of my dorm room.  

between us Mom & I had that object for abt a half century. & as I write this UPS is delivering it to me in Santa Fe.

goodbye to an address

during the summer Mom fell & broke her hip. from hospital she went to Life Care Center of Elyria for rehab. she has since gone into assistd living.

I returnd last nite from one of several recent trips there. the purpose of this one was to ready the house Dad built in 1950 for sale. a huge event in Mom's life & mine. I was terrified of how she'd react but was surprisd that she completely understands the inevitable & was supportive of my packing up her belongings. 

I tried to share just the right things with people important to her. & even tho I don't know where I'll put them several boxes will be coming to Santa Fe.

some people have housewarmings. I decided to have a house wake. unfortunately the weather in northern Ohio turnd nasty so some poets & artists from the Cleveland area who hoped to make didn't. but enuf did to temporarily take away some of the hurt I was feeling. here are Diane Borsenik of NightBallet Press & Tom Mahl of Trick Pitch Press.

yesterday morning -- exhaustd from sending off or boxing so many memories -- I took one last shower in the family house. even tho I knew it was eco-unfriendly it probably was the longest shower of my life. I simply didn't want to get out.  but I did & then took this final photo in that house. probably the only picture in existence of the odd plastic tile Dad put in 63 years ago.

my cousin Sal arr'd. then I shut the front door of 429 Winckles St for the last time.

JFK

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

"Keith Haring: Languages"

Marvin Taylor -- who I met back in my curator days -- announced this exhibition on Facebook.
it makes me think of my mother's autograph collection.  altho it's at Kent State she gave me the Haring card before making her gift & it's beside me on my desk as I write this.

Gettysburg address

many years ago when I was a staff writer for Kent State University News Service the library acquired what I seem to remember was the first printing of Lincoln's speech.  what surprisd me & what I wrote in the news release was that the printing included in parentheses when the audience applauded. I had recalld from folklore that the speech was considerd a failure when it was given because no one applauded the president.

George Reinholt (1939-2013)

odd that I just wrote abt the summer theater in Canal Fulton. back when I went there regularly Reinholt was a resident actor.  I remember him appearing opposite Sal Mineo in "End as a Man" & George Nader in "Mr. Roberts."  later I saw him perform at Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park & on Broadway in "Cabaret."

he only made one film but was popular on t-v soaps.  & I remember him playing piano & singing at a party at Jean-Claude van Itallie's.

Mark Thomsen (1952-1996)

reading online abt Carousel Dinner Theater brought back memories. it was startd by the producer of another northern Ohio dinner theater at Canal Fulton. I knew the place more when it was in Ravenna. after its move to Akron I rarely went.

Mark was the pre-show host. 

I was sitting on the back portal

in the last sun of a cold day. Kiddo was on my lap pretending to sleep. suddenly he got up   left my lap for the green & white stripes of the lounge chair. he made a circle & returnd to my lap   resuming the exact position he had left.  that was a poem.  his poem.  a cat's poem.

I told him that.  out loud. & stroked his gray fur while I told myself that poems are everywhere. I find them in newspapers & movies & cookbooks.  sometimes the ones under stones or in blood gushing from a wound are harder to transcribe.

for something like 60 years I have written thousands of poems.  early on I was told what a poem shd be so that's what my poems were. for years I read the great poets & honord each by imitating what they wrote. but as I lived & wrote I came to trust what was mine.  I cd look at the change in my pocket or the stain of sex on a sheet & see a poem. 

I tried to tell Kiddo some of this. but he had already written his poem & had no need to hear me. his ears twitched not at sound of my voice but at flutter of bird wings.  he was off my lap & ready for an adventure. so I went inside to assemble a sonnet of baby kale & raw garlic.

Barton's place

I've been to every state except North Dakota.  there was never anything there I wantd to see. starting today there is.

at Albuquerque biopark

photos by Jim Fusco

Donna Walker (1939-2013)

word has come from Kent of Donna's death.  we were part of a community which gatherd for meals & parties & musicales & university events.

this is one of my favorite photos of some of that group.  it was taken in 1985.

back row: David Meredith / Bonnie Hawk / me / Donna
front row: Buzz Davis / Alfred Cavaretta / Henry Walker / P. Craig Russell

Marvin Paige (1927-2013)

I believe the first time I met the famous casting director was at the Brown Derby on Vine in 1981.  I was having lunch with silent screen stars May McAvoy & Lois Wilson.  Marvin stoppd by the table to say hello & to tell me I was the luckiest man in Hollywood to be sharing lunch with these legends.

over the years I saw him often at events in both Hollywood & Palm Springs.  here's a picture I took of him with Rhonda Fleming at the film noir festival a few years ago:

he began his career as an actor -- appearing on the early tv series "The Goldbergs."

Lila Lee (1901-1973)

hard to believe that she died 40 years ago. it was 5 years after she came to dinner at Winckles St.

Leo Damore (1929-1995)

as we near the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination there are endless print stories & tv programs abt the enduring mystery of that event.  I've already begun gorging on them.  & along the way I rememberd Leo Damore who exactly 20 years ago told me he was writing a book abt the murder of one of the president's lovers -- Mary Pinchot Meyer -- & its connection to the assassination conspiracy.

Leo killd himself before the book was finishd but apparently others have used his notes for their writings.  & some even claim Leo's suicide was just another murder of someone who knew too much.

before his death Leo left his papers to Kent State.  (they don't include his research on the Meyer murder which was sold by his estate.) here we are in the Special Collections reading room two decades ago.

Christo?

no.  just preparing table for winter.

James Broughton (1913-1999)

happy birthday James

dessert bordello

there aren't many firsts left for me.  but I do believe this is the first time I ever went to a pie-athon. of course over the decades there have been many charity events which profferd orgies of confections. but I can't recall another which was limitd to pie.

Holiday Pie Mania brought the best chefs of Santa Fe to a local store (conviently next door to my gym) to bake pies. & they were auctiond off to raise funds for Food Depot. but they also gave out samples.  & this little oinker tried apple & key lime & chocolate & pear & pumpkin. the mile or so walk home was necessary but I did feel blissful.

Duane Hartzell (1943-1998)

just found his high school graduation picture.  this is what Duane wd have lookd like for that week we roomd together in Stopher Hall.

Duane's film career was primarily as an editor (including Katharine Hepburn's tv movie "One Christmas") but also includes his work as sound editor on the classic "Christine."

today's hike

Add caption

Top of the Park

another gay landmark is closing. this spot has been popular in San Diego for decades.  here I am at the place some years ago with the Eadie brothers.

Jack Mitchell (1925-2013)

I think the first Mitchell photograph I ever saw was the famous one of Alvin Ailey's "Revelations." years later of course there was his work for Bill Como at "After Dark."  all those stunning covers.

I just learnd that Craig Highberger -- who made this lovely film -- was with Mitchell when he died.

today

wd be Paul Metcalf's 96th birthday

"Big Joy" returns to NYC

& I'm delightd that when one clicks on the link one of the pix that appears is a huge one of me in the movie

centennials

within a 20-day period in nov of 1913
these people were born:

Burt Lancaster
Vivien Leigh
James Broughton
Benjamin Britten

damn the time change

I woke at 4:30

& Kiddo was at the door looking for breakfast at 5:30

"Dia de los Muertos"

in the earth between the rocks beside the water of my pond
I stuck 14 beeswax candles which had been in a kitchen cabinet
since Dimitri & I purchasd them from the monks who made them
on our only visit to a Greek Orthodox skete in northern New Mexico.
on opposing sides of each candle I had written the name
of a dead one I wishd to remember.

here are the names:

Susan Kirby / T.R. Queen
James Dean / Marilyn Monroe
John F. Kennedy / Matthew Shepard
Allison & Bill / Jeff & Sandy
Frank O'Hara / James Broughton
Janis Joplin / Judy Garland
Marianne Moore / Joseph Cornell
Peter Burnell / Gerald Mast
Howard P. Vincent / Paul Metcalf
Robert Drivas / Richard Martin
Andy Warhol / Ray Johnson
Julia Waida / Bernique Longley
Mary Yando / Sophie Hause
Mark Bingham / Mychal Judge

then I lit the candles
 & as they flickerd in the wind I rememberd . . .

2 nov 02:SF

happy Halloween

this was taken 4 years ago in my room at Blue Moon in Las Vegas.  that's my Wanderbuch with the ms of a new poem underneath.  & the decoration was one of several my father got me at a garage sale years ago. I just took it out of storage & opend it beside my computer as I write this.

Lee Kearse

this is a high school yearbook picture of Lee & I:

I haven't seen my classmate in 15 years but he was in town today:

Marrahwanna Quarterly

here's the issue I'm in:

& this bibliography of the entire run.

Lou Reed (1942-2013)

while listening to those unforgetable songs from "Tranformers" & "Berlin" on the original vinyl I startd a search for the newspaper ad I have for the Plastic Exploding Inevitable at Cleveland's Masonic Hall nearly 47 years ago.

altho I can't find it an online search reminded me of the Velvet Underground interview d.a. levy publishd in 1967. unable to locate my copy but I think that's the issue with my poem "A Flower for Hui-Neng."

remembering John Kendrick

I knew him as co-owner of the legendary Inn Exile where I took this picture of him some 6 years ago making a pizza for me:

& here's a wonderful tribute I just found:

yes Virginia there is a Santa Fe River

does anything work?

Republicans shut down the government costing taxpayers millions.  do they apologize? no. instead they mount this silly ass committee attacking the Obamacare roll out.

then there is our judicial system.  some sorry judge just gave the pepper spray cop a small fortune. & the Kennedy cousin's conviction gets thrown out.

no wonder I like spending evenings alone watching William Haines movies while eating brownies.

I've had people tell me

"life is not a movie."

& I respond

"well maybe yrs isn't."

rarely

do I think abt baseball. but Tony Trigilio & I were just back&forthing abt baseball poems & I recalld what I believe is the only one I ever wrote.

I rememberd that it appeard in that 1971 issue of Io which became a collector's item because it was one of the earliest appearances of a young writer by the name of Stephen King.

I cdn't find a copy of that issue but then I suddenly rememberd that the poem appeard in my book The Origin of Oregano which also was publishd in 1971. Steve Saylor took my prose poems & made illstrations for them. it came out in a regular edition of 100 copies on silver paper with an additional 50 copies on white paper which Steve & I gave to friends.

looking back after all these years on this forgotten piece I see it's less abt baseball than abt poetry.  & it's much less abt Al Rosen (who I met once when I was a kid) & more abt Marianne Moore who I visitd when she lived next door to my friend Jean-Claude van Itallie.

"died"

(culld from 3 months of obits in Kent-Ravenna Record-Courier)

passed away
went to heaven
completed her journey into the light
entered into eternal rest
left this world to join her father in heaven
went home to be with the Lord
became Our Gift to God
entered the gates of heaven
lost her life to cancer
returned to the Lord
rejoined family and friends
finished his pilgrimage on this planet
surrendered his life
claimed the promise of resurrection
left us to begin his journey
fell asleep in the Lord
kicked off

poetry & underwear

the postman deliverd 2 boxes today. in one was my copies of Cleveland. in the other my newest selection of undies.

I'm delightd by both.  the only thing missing is chocolate.  so I took a brownie from the freezer.

Garden of Allah model

the first time I stayd at Chateau Marmont I made that dangerous cross of Sunset. I walkd into the bank that was built in the space once occupied by Nazimova's apartment complex. the reason was I knew there was a scale model of the buildings on display.  from time to time I poppd in to see it on following visits.  & then is disappeard.

this article reveals what happend to the model. & it adds yet another layer for me.  the current owner is David Meyer who I met many years ago thru our mutual friend Jay Parsell. I even got my hair styled by David once.

Sandia mountains hike

Gregory Ghent took this of me:

& I took this of him:

Ed Lauter (1938-2013)

saw him in "The Great White Hope" on Broadway in 1969

&

from Alex in Movieland :

passes Natalie Wood & Robert Wagner on red carpet to attend premiere of "Atlantic City" at Grauman's Chinese Theater with audience that includes Ed Lauter & Richard Masur

"Birds"

a bit of dazzle

at Canyon Club

the dance of turbulence

I went to Palm Springs for a few days to relax before what may be some difficulties on the horizon. the flight in was so turbulent the attendant was beltd in the whole way. as I steppd from the plane it began to rain. that nite the streets flooded. & it was cold.

for some 15 years I stayd at Inn Exile when I came to Palm Springs. new owners have made it a place I no longer know. so this was my first time in new digs. change (climate & so many other kinds) seems to aggravate me as I age but I try to adapt. there is no other option.

my plans did not include seeing friends but I ended up happening on a few familiar faces. & I learnd that someone I knew killd himself. I tried to deal with cold & loss. I tried to stretch the definition of relaxation.

on my first flight  this morning there was a man who had one arm shorter than the other. if I wrote fiction I'd work that. but I don't. & sometimes it's cold in Palm Springs. & sometimes people you know kill themselves.  & sometimes "turbulence" rimes with "dance."

Verdi (1813-1901)

happy 200 Giuseppi

old hotels

one thing I love abt antique films is location shots.

in the past few days I've been catching up on a batch of DVDs of forgotten films of the 30s. last nite I saw a quick shot of the late Astor Hotel on one coast.  tonite it was the Knickerbocker on the other coast.

sometimes a film which can be deemd minor at best yields little historic treasures.  so I keep going to those companies who sell DVDs of movies I don't know. & nite after nite I see moments of the past that thrill me.

Blogger sucks

this is day 2 of my attempting to add Cleveland to my list of book links here.  every time I try nothing happens when I click on "save."

Point B

John Burroughs publishd Elyria when he lived in Elyria. so when he moved to Cleveland it seemd natural for him to publish Cleveland:

you can order the book here.

do what you do well

just found this delicious commentary from actor Leslie Jordan:

"I just got back from New Orleans. I am in Episode 4 and 5 of American Horror Story. I spent 14 hours on the set with only myself, Jessica Lange, Francis Conroy and Robin Bartlett the last day of my shooting. Honey, get ready. There was Emmy award-winning acting coming at me from all sides. But I held my own. Yes Ma’am, this old sitcom queen dug in and gave it my all. It reminded me of a movie that I had a small part in a few years ago with Miss Helen Mirren. It was called Love Ranch and was directed by her brilliant husband, Taylor Hackford. The movie was about the first legal brothel in the state of Nevada and my part was the traveling ‘butt plug salesman.’ I ain’t kidding. That is the way I was listed in the script. 
Mr. Hackford insisted that I sell those butt plugs as if they were the finest china. He came over once hemming and hawing. What he wanted was for me to ‘butch it up a bit.’ The butt plug salesman was too nelley!!! Miss Helen jumped immediately to my defense. ‘Oh for God’s sake, Taylor, let him do what he does so well!’ Best compliment I’ve ever had. And she played The Queen!!!”

Jay Robinson (1930-2013)

as a kid I was fond of his performance in "The Robe."  later he had trouble with drugs. altho married twice he was the subject of gay rumors. & then there was all that "born again" press which he apparently disavowd.  a complicated man.  never became the star he shd have.

Ruth Maleczech as "Bag Lady"

photos by Regina Yando

Ruth Maleczech (1939-2013)

Kent : 1985

NYC : 2008

"legend" is a word too often tossd abt. but this actress was indeed a legend in the history of off-Broadway. she was one of the founders of Mabou Mines. when they came to Kent State I got to almost work with her in "Cold Harbor."  yes I was in the production but was part of the tableau sequences so had no real stage time with her.

the last time I saw her was at a Jean-Claude van Itallie seminar in which she appeard in a selection from his play "Bag Lady." she was mesmerizing.

Lipsmack 2

happy anniversary to NightBallet Press

back cover

highlight

of last nite's performance of "Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike" at the Lensic was Ross Kelly as Spike.

so it was a surprise to find him shopping beside me at my grocery store today.  we had a pleasant chat.  the LA-based actor returns home tomorrow after a state-wide tour of the Durang play.

dream

Flora Goforth making pierogies for Christopher Flanders

includes my poem "This Then is the Wheel"

today's hike

new trailer for "Big Joy"

this revisioning includes some of the critical response:

dreamt

I took a part-time job scrubbing floors at Plaza Cafe. & on my first day I found a diamond watch.

obits

can be stuffy. & sanctimonious. so I was tickled to read the one for Joe Baird. he was on the English faculty at Kent State when I was there. & he askd that his obituary read that he "kicked off."

another sept

in The Year Book I mention hearing Jimmy Durante in Las Vegas. & my one memory of his act was his singing of Kurt Weill's "September Song."  I just found this which was filmd the same year I heard him sing it: