In Memoriam Katherine De Hetre ’71 On December 29, 2007, Katherine De Hetre ’71, was killed in a car accident while driving along Route 101 in Northern California on her way to her family’s new home in Southern Oregon. She was 61. As a student at YSD, she played Bunny Barnham in Terrence McNally’s Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone? After Yale, Katherine performed on Broadway in The Love Suicides at Schofield Barracks, by Romulus Linney ’58, and understudied the role of Letta in a revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Her work in television included roles in “Murder, She Wrote” and “Quincy, M.E.” Katherine’s husband, actor Charles Levin ’74 ’71 yc , writes that she “was a brilliant actor, a wild and crazy mom, and the gypsy in my soul.”
Jeffrey Dennstaedt ’87 Jeffrey Viet Dennstaedt ’87 passed away suddenly at his home in Minneapolis, Minn., on February 5, 2008. He was 47. Friends and colleagues remember Jeff’s professional talents and his personal warmth. Longtime friend Tim Fricker ’89, who followed Jeff from his undergraduate years at Towson University, to their time together at YSD, to Jeff’s first post-Yale position as Technical Director at the University of Virginia Theatre Arts Program, remembers, “While Jeff was always a consummate and dedicated professional, he also understood and helped others understand the importance of having a life outside of work.” On reconnecting with Jeff in Virginia, Tim shares, “I learned things [from Jeff] about technical direction that I carried with me for the rest of my career. Simple things, but Jeff set a good example in many aspects of [our] work, and I will always be grateful for the time I spent working with him there and elsewhere, and most of all, grateful for his friendship.” From 1993–2001, Jeff was Technical Director at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, N.J. Tom Muza, General Manager, said, “To his friends Jeff had a gentle manner, an easy smile and warm heart. No one could plan a better bike route or encourage us to make it that last mile. Jeff challenged us with conversation and, believe it or not, he asked many of us to bring him back dirt and sand samples from our travels. Did he have a scale model of the world in his basement? Ride on, my friend.” In January of 2001, Jeff became Technical Director for the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minn. Joe Dowling, the Guthrie’s Artistic Director, reflected on Jeff’s role in the design and construction of the Guthrie’s new space (opened in summer 2006), when he spoke at Jeff’s memorial service: “Jeff had an extraordinary capacity to solve problems. He relished in the complex designs that were presented before him. I know that in the creation of this building, Jeff’s input was invaluable. He knew instinctively and from experience how important it was that however iconic the architecture, the long-term health and success of this theater depended on the decisions that were taken at the planning stage. And if mistakes were made—and indeed there were—it was largely because, whether through budgetary reasons or because we simply didn’t listen, we didn’t actually pay attention to his advice. He is one of the true heroes of this new building, of the Guthrie, and we will remember him for a very long time.”
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Rosemary Ingham ’67 Costume designer Rosemary Ingham ’67, who died on July 13, 2008, will be missed for many qualities—her talent, her devotion to her craft—but not least among them is the vivacity and bravery she brought to her long career. She loved staking out new ground in which theatre could bloom, whether it be the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, or the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Winona, Minnesota, along with the fabric store and workshop Clothworks in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ingham designed costumes all over the country, though she was most well known for her period designs, particularly for Shakespeare productions. She has also nurtured generations of young designers from her years as a professor at Southern Methodist University and, later, University of Mary Washington. Even more impressive are the students she has influenced from afar, thanks to her four books on design—three of them written with colleague Liz Covey—which have been among the most influential tomes on the subject. In 2006 she received the U.S. Institute for Theatre Technology Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award. Greater than all these achievements, though, was Ingham’s family—her four sons (all with her late husband, playwright and actor Robert Ingham) and four grandchildren—who will miss her most of all.
Roxanne Kadishov Nicholson ’71 Roxanne Kadishov Nicholson ’71 passed away suddenly at the age of 60 after a brief illness on September 24, 2007. After graduating from Yale, Roxanne began her stage lighting career in New York City. She co-founded and operated Alumifax, a company that specialized in commercial lighting supplies. She continued her career in Las Vegas, designing in many of the hotel showrooms, including those at Caesar’s Palace, the Hilton, and Harrah’s. Roxanne also studied photography and became an accomplished landscape photographer. Her husband Lynn Nicholson said, “In the hearts of those of us who knew her well, we miss her greatly, and will forever cherish each moment we spent with her, knowing that we were in the presence of a rare soul. Roxanne was a perfect living example of peace, happiness, and love. It was the greatest gift to spend 15 years with her.”