D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A S AV E T H E C H I L D R E N ’ S L O N G I S L A N D C O U N C I L ’ S B A S H AT T H E M E A D O W B R O O K C L U B
Frank and Lynn Gundersen
the harshness and hardships of Mary’s home life with her parents. To these eyes, she never lost that quality. That first lunch, after the two of us “confided” about our backgrounds and growing up, Mary RG concluded: “Oh, why don’t we just go somewhere and neck!” I paid the check, she went back to her office, and I went to my desk and keyboard. She will rest in peace. A little less than a month later, on July 17, the theater lost another great talent, when Elaine Stritch passed away at her home in Birmingham, Michigan. Stritch, who grew up in Michigan, came here to New York when she was in her early twenties to have a career as an actress. Her talent took her all over the world and to the heights of Broadway, where she learned everything she would need to 36 QUEST
Liz Bentley and Sarah Rogers
Matthew and Alexandra Murray and Mary Jo Balkind
become one of the great, great performers of our era. She’d retired to Michigan sensibly but reluctantly only a couple of years ago. One could see that, no matter how sensible the decision to leave, she was always back in town if she had any reason to be here, trouper that she was. I can say I knew Elaine, although really only from being in her company—usually with Liz Smith. Liz and she had been friends for the better part of 60 years or more. And although I never got to know her on a personal level, I learned so much about her from Liz and from Peter Rogers as well as another friend of Stritch’s, who happened to be a college mate of mine, Bob DiNapoli. The combination of being in her company, hearing her friends talk about her, and watching her perform made
Robin and Paul Vermylen and Patsy Sands
Jack and Kathy DiMaio
me feel like I knew her. She lived to be on that stage. At the end, it was very hard to leave it, and she wasn’t shy about demonstrating that. It was always a great pleasure watching her perform, not only because of her ability to amuse but because she was the consummate pro. She had learned from the greats who came before, and so she became one herself. She was one of those people, one of those actors, who was entirely there, wherever she was—whether in her performances on stage, in a cabaret like the Café Carlyle, or in front of a camera. And she loved it! At a birthday party (she shared the day with Liz and they celebrated together occasionally, with lots of friends), it was the same lady you saw up there on the stage or on the screen. She lived for years at the
Henry and Erica Babcock
Carlyle and Upper East Siders would see her walking in the neighborhood. Spotting her, even on the sidewalk, could tell you a lot about the lady. She was tall and angular and walked with a wide, determined gait at a good speed. She was going somewhere (“Otherwise, why would I be on the sidewalk?”) and when she stopped to talk to a stranger or a friend, again, you saw that personality and character operating. There was a quality of the naïve, but she was sharp. There was the appeal of being the “new girl in town” but within the old dame who’d seen and heard it all. We were lucky to have her. Well, it was midsummer and the social scene in New York had largely gone elsewhere to enjoy what was great summer weather. And nowhere is the New York social
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Patricia Marcin, Ralf Lange, Patricia Petersen and Amy Brogan