JOAN RIVERS’ FUNERAL FILLED WITH SURPRISES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS
Best quote from the service: Howard Stern paid tribute to his friend, joking, “I hope Joan is somewhere chasing Johnny Carson with a baseball bat,” and added, “Joan was a best friend for the world.”
September 7, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: Barbara Walters, celebrities, Donald Trump, entertainment, fans show up for Joan Rivers funeral, floral tribute to Joan Rivers, Hans Von Rittern, Howard Stern, Ivanka Trump, Joan Rivers, Joan Rivers funeral, Manhattan, Michael Kors, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Rosie O’Donnell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Temple Emanu-El, whoopi goldberg | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: PAYING MY RESPECTS TO JOAN RIVERS
September 5, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 'Gods Name We Deliver, 1 East 62nd Street, a true New Yorker Joan Rivers, AIDS charity work by Joan Rivers, celebrities, entertainment, floral tribute to Joan Rivers, gay rights, Hans Von Rittern, Joan Rivers, Joan Rivers dead at 81, Melissa Rivers, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: Gay Pride means ~ You’re never too old to wave a flag
June 30, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: entertainment, Gay Pride day, Gay Pride Day Parade New York 2014, Gay Pride weekend, Greenwich Village, Hans Von Rittern, largest gay pride parade in the world, Manhattan, New York photo, old man in droopy pants waving flag, Photo of the day, photography, Senior Gay Pride | Leave a comment
GAY PRIDE 2014 IS COMING . . .
June 27, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: entertainment, gay couple marching, Gay Pride day, Gay Pride Day Parade New York 2014, Gay Pride march New York City, Hans Von Rittern, largest gay pride parade in the world, male gay married couple marching, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, same sex marriage | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: MM = MACY*S + MARILYN
June 17, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: all American girl Marilyn, American flag, arts, Broadway, celebrities, department store, entertainment, Hans Von Rittern, Macy's, Macy's Americana, Macy's banner, Macy's flagship store Herald Square, Macy's Herald Square, Macy's store window, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe, Mount Rushmore, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: HARVEY FIERSTEIN AND HANS SEE “CASA VALENTINA” TOGETHER
The setting is the Chevalier d’Eon, a Catskills resort where button-down married men from the city can slip into something more comfortable for the weekend. This sanctuary is run by George (Patrick Page) and his infinitely accommodating wife, Rita (Mare Winningham). And if the place is a bit run down, for its guests it remains “our own Garden of Eden.” But Harvey being the brilliant Harvey, he has set a serpent loose in their garden of Eden, and you are hooked.
During intermission I asked to buy the poster. The head usher saw I was carrying the book. He tells me several of the men are still alive and the man who took the photos actually had come to see the play! I come further to find out, that of the men/women who are still alive, Harvey (I think) felt it his duty (and privilege) to interview them. So some of the mystery was gone, but yet all the more heightened. Who are they and what has become of them?! I was obsessed with the fact that the usher knew what the photographer of most of the photos looks like! I am even more energized for act two for now I know how much more ‘real’ the story is and I was watching also a history lesson unfold.
As I am waiting for the curtain to go up, coming up my aisle is an unmistakable figure of man – it’s the playwright himself Harvey Fierstein! He sat 1 row across from me! I had to go over to him to ask to sign my poster. “He’s got the book,” he growled to his friend. I grabbed his wrist and kept babbling “it’s brilliant! It’s brilliant’! Hans tongue tied = not often. Back to my seat. I now watched the show and out of the corner of the eye watched this Broadway royalty watching his own show. Surreal. He laughed at the jokes, was stoned faced at the serious moments, just like the rest of us.
After the show I ran to the stage door and got the cast to sign the poster. Glee star Jonathan Groff was there, a girl next to me nearly died. Harvey was saying goodnight and I asked if I could have my picture taken with him and the book since he had made it come alive along with preserving gay history. “Sure with the book!” We hugged and the guy I gave my camera to couldn’t figure out how it works. Harvey growled, “Heterosexuals! They can’t even figure out how to work a camera.” We all laughed and that is the moment captured in this wonderful moment. I am still on cloud nine.
GO SEE THE PLAY – it has a limited run and is closing June 29. Tickets sometimes available 50% off at TKTS nightly.
CASA web site: http://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/2013-2014-season/casa-valentina/
New York Times review: http://online.wsj.com/articles/like-earlier-hot-spots-williamsburg-adds-gloss-1402620838
June 13, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: 1960's politics, All About Eve, arts, Broadway, Casa Susanna, Casa Valentina, Casa Valentina review, Catskills, celebrities, Chevalier d’Eon, cross dressing, entertainment, gay history, Glee star Jonathan Groff, Hans Von Rittern, Harvey Fierstein, homophobia, John Collum, Manhattan, Mare Winningham, Margo Channing, men in drag, New York City, Patrick Page, Photo of the day, photography, Reed Birney, transvestites | 3 Comments
Photo of the day: DEBBIE HARRY, CHRIS STEIN, BLONDIE, EARTHA KITT AND HANS – 35 YEARS LATER – or “How a Russian, an old concert ticket and Eartha Kitt got me to meet Blondie”
Warhol’s Interview, June 1979 -Illustration by Richard Bernstein. Bernstein created more than 120 portraits for Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine in the 1970s, including this one of Blondie’s Debbie Harry.
“Rapture” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHCdS7O248g
“Dreaming” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOnv8lXDzhg
May 29, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Dreaming"/(Eat to the Beat), "Heart of Glass", "Rapture", 'The Laughing Dogs, 1979, 92nd Street "Y", Abba, Andy Warhol, Anthony DeCurtis, Asbury Park's Convention Hall, Blondi rare interview, Blondie, Blondie and reggae, Blondie Ticketron 1979 tickets, CBGB's, celebrities, Chris Stein, Debbie Harry, Debbie Harry on Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin, Dreaming" Blondie is copy of Abba, Eartha Kitt, entertainment, first mainstream rap song, Hans Von Rittern, how the, how the Blondie look evolved, Janis Joplin, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Richard Bernstein, Studio 54, The Ramones, Warhol Blondie, Warhol photographing Debbie Harry, Warhol's Interview | 4 Comments
Photo of the day: CHER COMES TO BROOKLYN’S BARCLAYS CENTER TONIGHT!
May 9, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Dressed to Kill" tour, architecture, Barclays oculus, Brooklyn, celebrities, Cher, Cher Barclays Center 5-9-14, Cher comeback tour, Cher concert photos, Cyndi Lauper, entertainment, Hans Von Rittern, Janet Novick, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Oculus hommage to Cher, personalized Barclays oculus, Photo of the day, photography, six decades of Cher | Leave a comment
Postcard story of New York: “STOMPING AT THE SAVOY IN HARLEM”
Postcard story from New York: “STOMPING AT THE SAVOY IN HARLEM”
New York, October 15, 2:00pm, 1954
The Savoy the showplace of Harlem, has acquired an international reputation for its unique styles of dancing. Such dances as the Lindy-Hop, Big Apple, and the latest of all sensations the Mutiny Swing, had their origin at The Savoy.
To: Mrs. M. A. Ryan
U.S. Army Air Corps
8505 W. Warren Ave
Detroit, Michigan
Personnel
“Hi Marg: We arrived in NY Monday at 9:30p.m. are having a swell time here. Say hello to the girls for me
Connie + Bob”
Sadly Connie & Bob’s adventures at the famed Savoy were never received by Mrs. M. A Ryan at the U.S. Army Air Corps since the postcard is stamped “FOUND IN PACKAGE BOX COLLECTION”.
It is guaranteed that Connie & Bob had a ‘swell time’ since The Savoy nightclub was dubbed the swingingest hot spot in Harlem and all of New York City. The first non segregated club allowing blacks and whites to swing together. The famed Cotton Club was for white patrons only with famed black musicians on stage. At The Savoy – real hep cats dug some cool jive on the be-bop side! They were jammed packed every night from March 12, 1926 to July 10, 1958. Often thousands had to be turned away. The Savoy is deeply rooted in our dance, music and culture. Music united all at the Savoy !
Read about it’s wonderful history here and see the link to the YouTube videos below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy_Ballroom
See a brief video history:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqsc0dhoED0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmnsWcxdhEQ
With swing’s rise to popularity and Harlem becoming a connected Black community, The Savoy opened at a perfect time, giving the rising talented and passionate Black dancers an equally beautiful venue. The Savoy’s ballroom, which was 10,000 square feet in size, was on the second floor and a block long. It could hold up to 4,000 people. The interior was painted pink and the walls were mirrored. Colored lights danced on the sprung layered wood floor. In 1926, the Savoy contained a spacious lobby framing a huge, cut-glass chandelier and marble staircase.
The Savoy was extremely popular right from the start. A headline from the New York Age March 20, 1926 reads “Savoy Turns 2,000 Away On Opening Night – Crowds Pack Ball Room All Week”. The ballroom didn’t go dark a single night of the week.
The Savoy even participated in the 1939 New York World’s Fair, presenting “The Evolution of Negro Dance”.
The Savoy was unique in having the constant presence of a skilled elite of the best Lindy Hoppers, known as “Savoy Lindy Hoppers”. Occasionally, groups of dancers such Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers turned professional and performed in Broadway and Hollywood productions. Whitey turned out to be quite a successful agent, and in 1937, the Marx Brothers’ movie A Day at the Races featured the group. Herbert White was a bouncer at the Savoy who was made floor manager in the early 30s. He was sometimes known as Mac, but with his ambition to scout dancers at the ballroom to form his own group, he became widely known as Whitey for the white streak of hair down the center of his head. He looked for dancers who were “. . . young, stylized, and, most of all, they had to have a beat, they had to swing”. The Savoy held a yearly dancing festival called the Harvest Moon Ball featuring lindy dancers. The first Ball was held in 1935, and the contestants introduced the Lindy Hop to Europe the next year.
Unlike many ballrooms such as the Cotton Club, the Savoy always had a no-discrimination policy. Generally, the clientele was 85% black and 15% white, although sometimes there was an even 50/50 split. Lindy hop legend Frankie Manning noted that patrons were only judged on their dancing skills and not on the color of their skin: “One night somebody came over and said, ‘Hey man, Clark Gable just walked in the house.’ Somebody else said, ‘Oh, yeah, can he dance?’ All they wanted to know when you came into the Savoy was, do you dance?”. Virtuosic dancers, however, excluded others from the northeast corner of the dance floor, now referred to as the “Cat’s Corner,” although the term was not used at the time. This part of the floor where the professional Lindy dancers ruled was on the 141st street side of the room and was then referred to just as “the corner”. Only Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers could dance and work routines there. Competition was huge in “the corner” and every serious hopper awaited the nightly “showtime”. Other dancers would create a horseshoe around the band and “ . . . only the greatest Lindy-hoppers would stay on the floor, to try to eliminate each other”. On 140th street was the opposite, mellow corner which was popular with dancing couples. The skilled Tango dancer known as The Sheik frequented this corner.
Many dances such as Lindy Hop (which was named after Charles Lindbergh and originated in 1927) were developed and became famous there. It was known downtown as the “Home of Happy Feet” but uptown, in Harlem, as “the Track” because the floor was long and thin. The Savoy earned the nickname “Home of Happy Feet” from Lana Turner who remarked of the dancers, “What happy feet these people have”. The Lindy Hop is also known as The Jitterbug and was born out of “. . . mounting exhilaration and the ‘hot’ interaction of music and dance”. Other dances that were conceived at the Savoy are The Flying Charleston, Jive, Snakehips, Rhumboogie, and variations of the Shimmy, Mambo, and many more.
It is estimated that the ballroom generated $250,000 in annual profit in its peak years from the late 20s to the 40s. Each year, the ballroom was visited by near 700,000 people. The normal entrance fee was 30 to 85 cents per person, depending on what time a person came. 30 cents was the base price, but after 6pm the fee was 60cents, and then 85cents after 8pm. The Savoy had made enough money by its peak of business in 1936 that $50,000 was spent on remodeling it.[
The ballroom had a double bandstand that held one large and one medium sized band running against its east wall. Music was continuous as the alternative band was always in position and ready to pick up the beat when the previous one had completed its set. The bouncers, who had previously worked as boxers, basketball players, and the like, wore tuxedos and made $100/night. The floor was watched inconspicuously by a security force of four men at a time who were headed by Jack La Rue, and no man was allowed in who wasn’t dressed in a jacket with a tie. Besides the security staff, the Savoy was populated by “Harlem’s most beautiful women”: the Savoy Hostesses. They would be fired for consorting with patrons outside the ballroom, but inside the hostesses would teach people to dance and were dance partners for anyone who purchased a 25 cent dance ticket. Roseland Ballroom hostesses often visited the savoy on their night off; this inspired Buchanon to create Monday-Ladies-Free Nights. Other special events began during the week, including the giveaway of a new car every Saturday. The floor had to be replaced every 3 years due to its constant use.
“Stompin’ at the Savoy“, a 1934 Big Band classic song and jazz standard recorded by Chick Webb, was named after the ballroom. The song was featured in an episode of I Love Lucy in which she performs the Jitterbug.
Chick Webb was the leader of the best known Savoy house band during the mid-1930s. A teenage Ella Fitzgerald, fresh from a talent show win at the Apollo Theater in 1934, became its vocalist. Floating World Pictures recently made a documentary called “The Savoy King” about Webb, Ella, and the ballroom. It was shown at the 50th New York Film Festival.
The Savoy was the site of many famous “Battles of the Bands” or “Cutting Contests“, which started when the Benny Goodman Orchestra challenged Chick Webb in 1937. Webb and his band were declared the winners of that contest. In 1938, Webb was once again challenged by Count Basie Band. While Webb was officially declared the winner again, there was a lack of consensus on who actually won that night. Earle Warren, the alto saxophonist for Basie reports that they had worked on a song called “Swingin’ the Blues” for the purpose of competing and says, “When we unloaded our cannons, that was the end”. Webb’s “unbeatable” band had been bested.
The Savoy participated in the 1939 New York World’s Fair, presenting “The Evolution of Negro Dance”.
Despite efforts by Borough President Hulan Jack and others to save it, the Savoy and the nearby Cotton Club were demolished for the construction of a housing complex, Bethune Towers/Delano Village. The Ballroom was shut down as a result of “charges of vice filed by the police department and Army”. The mayor was the target of protest by angered members of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The ballroom was auctioned off for $25,000 to a “middle-income housing project”. Count Basie was quoted in the paper saying “With the passing of the Savoy Ballroom, a part of show business is gone. I feel about the same way I did when someone told me the news that Bill (Bojangles) Robinson was dead”. On 26 May 2002, Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, surviving members of Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers, unveiled a commemorative plaque for the Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Avenue between 140th and 141st Streets. The tradition of swing has lived on today and many surviving dancers from the Savoy still dance when they can. As Norma Miller says in her memoir, “Although Harlem created it, the Lindy belongs to everyone”.
May 8, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "The Evolution of Negro Dance", 1939 World's Fair Savoy dancers, 1954, 1954 postcard, Big Apple dance, collecting postcards, Cotton Club Harlem, Detroit Michigan, entertainment, Hans Von Rittern, Harlem, history of modern dance, history of The Savoy Ballroom Harlem, Lindy Hoppers, Lindy-Hop, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, postcard collecting, Postcard Stories from New York, Roseland Ballroom, Savoy Ballroom Harlem, the first integrated dance club, the Mutiny Swing, U.S. Army Air Corps, vintage NYC postcard | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: AN EASTER BUNNY TAIL
April 20, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: bunny suit looses tail, bunny suit tail loose, BUNNY TAIL, children and Nestle Quick bunny, Easter, Easter fair, entertainment, Greenwich Village, Greenwich Village Easter fair, Hans Von Rittern, Manhattan, Nestle Bunny looses tail, Nestle Quick Bunny, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography | 2 Comments
Photo of the day: COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL FOR EASTER!
April 19, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Yolk" dance performance, 70's egg chair, 70's fashion, Afro 70's retro dance, afro woman rising out of egg, dance, disco egg dance, entertainment, fashion, Hans Von Rittern, Happy Easter, Liberated Easter, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Third Rail Projects | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: “COME TO THE JEFFREY LEDER GALLERY MY FRIEND!”
The paintings are beautiful…even the photographs are beautiful (and selling) !
My dear friends Tom Orzo, Mindy Cassle-Rosato, of course Mom, Deborah Blau and Frederica Meister all came for the grand opening party of the 5 Pointz “Whitewash” exhibit that I am a part of! Why don’t you join the ranks of graffiti lovers, street art lovers, preservationists and the passionate and check out my 16 photos along with the fantastic works of artists Auks, Cortes, Jerms, Just One, Meres, Orestes, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad, Hunt Rodriguez proving art is forever! A mourning and celebration of the destruction of the world’s most spectacular street art museum. $20 catalog available for sale in the gift shop.
Fremde, etranger, stranger.
Gluklich zu sehen, je suis enchante,
Happy to see you, bleibe, reste, spray paint!
April 11, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 5 Pointz white washed, 7 train, architecture, arts, Auks, Cortes, Deborah Blau, entertainment, Frederica Meister, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Hunt Rodriguez, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jerry Wolkoff, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Just One, Long Island City, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres, Mindy Cassle-Rosato, Mindy Csssle, New York City, New York photo, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Ray Rosato, See TF, SHIRO, Tom Orzo, Topaz, Ursula Von Rittern, whitewash of 5 Pointz, whitewashing of 5 Pointz, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photos of the day! 5 POINTZ “WHITEWASH” GRAND OPENING TONIGHT! Come meet Hans 6-9pm
Leder Gallery: 2135 45th Road, on the street of the Court Street #7 and G subway station.
April 5, 2014 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, art event, arts, Auks, Cortes, entertainment, gentrification in Long Island City, graffiti, Grand opening of Whitewash exhibit, Hans Von Rittern, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jerry Wolkoff, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Leder Gallery, Long Island City, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, photos, Poem, politics, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, Sunnyside, Topaz, whitewashing of 5 Pointz, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW – Sunday November 17, 2013, 8:24pm
Opening reception April 5, 6-9pm! Come join me – you’re invited!!
FIVE DAYS TO GO TILL 5 POINTZ EXHIBIT OPENING !
http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
March 31, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, arts, Auks, Brooklyn, Cortes, entertainment, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, inside 5 Pointz, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jerry Wolkoff, Jonathan Meres Cohen, last photo of 5 Pointz 11-17-13, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Poem, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, street art, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, Topaz, whitewashing of 5 Pointz, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: LAZY SUNDAY AFTERNOON 2011 AT 5 POINTZ – 6 DAYS STILL “WHITEWASH” EXHIBIT
http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
March 30, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, arts, Auks, Brooklyn, Cortes, entertainment, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, inside 5 Pointz, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Poem, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, street art, That's Dready, Topaz, toxic Queens, toxic view of Citibank building Queens, view from 5 Pointz, whitewashing of 5 Pointz, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: TOXIC – 7 days till “Whitewash”
http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
March 29, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, arts, Auks, Brooklyn, Cortes, entertainment, Gold Coast Arts Center, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, inside 5 Pointz, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Poem, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, street art, That's Dready, Topaz, toxic Queens, toxic view of Citibank building Queens, view from 5 Pointz, whitewashing of 5 Pointz, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: ‘SEE’ “WHITE WASH” !
Contributing Artists: Auks, Cortes, Hans Von Rittern, Jerms, Meres One, Orestes Gonzalez, Poem, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad
Curated by Marie Cecile-Flageul
April 5 – June 8, 2014
Opening reception April 5, 6-9pm! Come join me – you’re invited!!
To read more click http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
March 28, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 5 Pointz white washed, 7 train, arts, Auks, Cortes, entertainment, graffiti, Graffiti art exhibit, Hans Von Rittern, Jerms, Jerry Wolkoff, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Poem, Queens, See TF, SHIRO, Sunnyside, Topaz, whitewashing of 5 Pointz, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: GET READY TO GET ‘WHITEWASHED’!
March 27, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, arts, entertainment, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, Queens, street art, Sunnyside | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: MERELY THE BEGINNING!! APRIL 5, 2014, Hans in “Whitewash” exhibit!
Contributing Artists: Auks, Cortes, Hans Von Rittern, Jerms, Meres One, Orestes Gonzalez, Poem, Shiro, See TF, Topaz, Zimad
“Whitewash, is an answer to the violent act of G&M realty on November 19th, 2013 in Long Island City Queens. Overnight thousands of murals adorning the building known as 5 Pointz were destroyed. It‘s a story of pain, sadness, and anger at times and reflection – An epic of an art community and its home coming apart under the pressure of economical trends and waves of gentrification.
Bringing together a cluster of resident graffiti artists and two Queens photographers, the exhibition enables the artists to express their true feelings and thought process since loosing their work to a white layer of paint, and their home to the pressing demands of real estate development. For the first time since the whitewash we will witness how affected this collective is by being eclipsed from their 11 years home.
The works in Whitewash aspire to such: Laying feelings on canvas, and letting go of the pain, the show brings together artworks that can be interpreted as confession, lessons, or reflection but also aspirations and hopes.
Whitewash is an obvious requiem for 5 Pointz the building but also maybe the beginning of a rebirth of 5 Pointz the community and its true core: the people.“
Marie-Cecile Flageul
http://www.jeffreyledergallery.com/whitewash.php
March 26, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "WHITEWASH", 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz destroyed, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, art destroyed 5 Pointz, Art exhibit, arts, Auks, Cortes, David Wolkoff, entertainment, G&M realty, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Jerms, Jerry Wolkoff, Jonathan Meres Cohen, Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, November 19th 2013, Orestes Gonzalez, Photo of the day, photography, Poem, politics, PS1 MOMA, See TF, SHIRO, street art, Sunnyside, Topaz, Ursula Von Rittern, Zimad | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: WAS THIS THE END of 5 POINTZ?…or….
EXciting details to come tomorrow ! STAY TUNED . . .
March 25, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, 7 train, architecture, arts, entertainment, graffiti, Hans Von Rittern, Jeffrey Leder Gallery 2137 45th Rd. Long Island City, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, Marie Cecile Flageul, Meres One, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: “CALL ME LIZ”
March 23, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Call me Liz", AIDS activist, arts, Bramhall, Broadway, celebrities, Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor's funeral, Elizabeth Taylor-Hilton-Wilding-Todd-Fisher-Burton-Burton-Warner-Fortensky, entertainment, Hans Von Rittern, Liz Taylor cartoon, New York City, New York Daily News, New York photo, Photo of the day | Leave a comment
Photos of the day: STAY TUNED FOR GALLERY EXHIBIT NEWS!
February 21, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: 5 Pointz, 5 Pointz Graffiti Museum, entertainment, GALLERY EXHIBIT, Gold Coast Arts Center, Hans Von Rittern, Hans Von Rittern 2014 gallery exhibit, Long Island City Queens, Manhattan, New York City, New York photo, Photo of the day, photography, photography exhibit, Queens, Sunnyside | Leave a comment
Photo of the day: AS THE WORLD still TURNS with EILEEN FULTON
Photo of the day: AS THE WORLD still TURNS with EILEEN FULTON – Sometimes being a bitch pays off, just ask Eileen Fulton! – Before there was Erica Kane/Susan Lucci on All My Children, Amanda Woodward/Heather Locklear on Melrose Place, Abby Ewing/Donna Mills on Knotts Landing and certainly Alexis Carrington/Joan Collins on Dynasty – – there was Lisa Grimaldi/Eileen Fulton in 1960 on the classic TV soap opera “As The World Turns“. Being a bitch certainly offers job security, Eileen played the roll for fifty, yes fifty years!
On February 16, 2014 Sunday night, Richard Skipper: entertainer, charity fundraiser, Carol Channing’s champion and a well loved friend and historian of the entertainment community, hosted an evening’s conversation with soap opera legend Eileen Fulton at New York’s Metropolitan Room. One of many celebrity interviews in the ‘Richard Skipper Celebrates…’ series. A charity event with all proceeds going to president Jimmy Carter’s ‘Habitat for Humanity’ at the request of Eileen herself.
Richard’s warm and listening manner lets his guests free flow with the room and the audience loves it. Eileen’s zesty charm took over the room immediately. She looked absolutely stunning with her blonde curls tossed on top of her head, wearing black feathers and diamonds just as a soap opera queen should! So how do you get a job that lasts 50 years? You bang down doors. No…I mean that literally.
On a hot summer’s day in 1960, Eileen was treading the pavement going from agents office to agents office. After her bluff did not work at the William Morris agency that “I have an appointment with Mr. William Morris”, she went on to the next name on her list, William McCaffrey. When knocking on the door yielded no results, she knocked/pounded a little harder therefore knocking the door off it’s hinges (well…it WAS being repaired and so therefore loose). That accidental stunt landed Eileen her first agent. Shortly thereafter she landed the role of Lisa Grimaldi ‘for just a few episodes’ on ATWT. Her Asheville, North Carolina sweetness connected with the viewers but not with Eileen. Eileen didn’t like being the ‘good girl’ Lisa Grimaldi – too boring. So she schemed to spice things up. When not allowed to change the plots or staging directions, she changed her character simply by using her voice. She said the same sweet dialog “but as I said it, I thought the nastiest dirtiest thoughts and the words just came out differently – with a whole new meaning. It was live television, what could they do?” she recounted to Richard with a sly grin. The rest is television history.
Eileen’s determination is also show business legend. At one point Eileen held down three acting rolls at once. ATWT soap filming live, then 3 matinees of “Whose Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?” and then evening performances of “The Fantastiks”. She had a speed record of getting from the CBS Grand Central Broadcasting studio to the Billy Rose Theater (now the Nederlander) on West 41st street in five minutes. Talk about determination! It’s a feat of determination that Elaine Stritch still talks about in her act today. Why did she stop? “I was exhausted!”.
Over the decades CBS tried to replace Eileen’s character of Lisa with another actress, but the viewers would not have it. “You can’t lie to the audience” Eileen passionately insists. Lisa/Eileen’s audience was so wrapped up in the nastiness of the character, Eileen was slapped by a Chanel wearing patron at SAKS Fifth Avenue and she also had to hire body guards because people simply couldn’t separate real life from fiction as they would try to slug her in the street. Well, Eileen slugged herself all the way to the banks with 5 lp recordings and two autobiographies under her belt, night club acts, movie rolls as well as many murder mystery novels to her credit as well.
Sunday night under Richard’s loving guidance, two passions in acting came to light. Eileen strongly feels you can’t fake emotions and don’t glorify violence against women even in jest. When a scene came up that her character was to be taken across her husband’s knee and spanked, she refused to play the scene insisting to her directors “that’s abuse whether you realize it or not.” Eileen got her way and kept a high standard on the show for a long time.
Any ironies in her life? Yes. As a child she was fascinated that ivory soap bars would float on the water in the tub, “just like a piece of wedding cake.” Being left alone in the tub one afternoon as a child, her mother returned to find little Eileen had bitten away the edges of the tasting looking soap bar as she ‘foamed from the mouth.’ “Isn’t it ironic that for fifty years I had Procter and Gamble/Ivory Soap as my sponsor?!” she laughed.
Any grudges or unhappy memories? Yes, one. Eileen is not a great fan of Carol Burnett. There’s a grudge there. Seems Eileen came up with the idea of the comedic take-off on Carol’s show “As the Stomach Turns” yet she was never once asked to appear. But when Carol did the comedic take-off of “Sunset Boulevard/Norma Desmond”, Gloria Swanson was asked to appear. “I think it was jealousy” Eileen still quickly insists.
Eileen has played through fifty years of history, fashion fads, political turmoils and every heinous plot you can think of on TV soaps but on September 17, 2010, the “World” no longer turned to the heartbreak of the legions of fans of “As The World Turns.” All the more reason this rare intimate night with this TV icon was such a treat thanks to Richard Skipper.
Richard doesn’t just “read the book” as some interviewers may do, he gets to really know his guests and hence the magic of the evening is born. Many of her fans and also former cast member Colleen Zenk who played Barbara Ryan from 1978 till 2010 where in the audience. When asked during the question and answer part of the show if she still recalled her full legal show name, Eileen shouted: “Of course! I was married eight times, divorced three times and widowed four times. I’m Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn!” (Take that Alexis Carrington!)
Richard Skipper’s web site: http://www.richardskipper.com/index.html
February 18, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Whose Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?", Abby Ewing/Donna Mills on Knotts Landing, Alexis Carrington, Amanda Woodward/Heather Locklear on Melrose Place, arts, As The Stomach Turns, As The World Turns, ATWT, Barbara Ryan, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, CBS, CBS Television, celebrities, classic soap opera, Colleen Zenk, dinner with Eileen Fulton and Colleen Zenk, Eileen Fulton, entertainment, Erica Kane/Susan Lucci on All My Children, fans meet soap stars, Grand Central Station, Grand Central Terminal, Habitat for Humanity, Hans Von Rittern, interview with Eileen Fulton, Ivory Soap, Jimmy Carter, Joan Collins, Kevin Campbell, Lisa Grimaldi, Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn, Manhattan, Melrose Place, New York City, New York photo, Norma Desmond, Peggy Eason, Photo of the day, photography, Procter and Gambell, Richard Skipper, Richard Skipper Celebrates..., soap opera bitches and vixens, television, The Fantastiks, The Metropolitan Room, William McCaffrey, William Morris, William Morriss agency | Leave a comment
HEADLINE TRIBUTE TO JAY LENO
February 5, 2014 | Categories: DAILY PHOTOS WITH STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY | Tags: "Headlines", celebrities, cunt, cunt count, embarrassing typo, entertainment, Hans Von Rittern, humor, Jay Leno, Jay Leno Tonight Show, Jay Leno's Headlines, Jay Leno's last show, KOTEX, Kotex ad typo, Kotex cunt ad, maxi pads ad, NBC, New York photo, Smith's Supermarket, Smith's Supermarket Tucson Arizona, tampon ad, televison, Tucson Arizona | Leave a comment