Obituary -- Cartoonist and Former Drama Desk President Sam Norkin
World-renowned artist, caricaturist, illustrator and cultural critic Sam Norkin died in his sleep July 30.
For more than seven decades, Norkin depicted and described the performing arts in America through his sketches and artworks. During his long career, he created more than 4,000 published drawings of theater, dance, opera, jazz, pop, circus and classical music. He was also a writer, lecturer and noted raconteur. His first sale was a 1940 drawing of Alfred Hitchcock directing “Mr. and Mrs. North” that ran in the New York Herald Tribune - it netted him the princely sum of $15.
From 1940 to 1956, his witty and elegant stage illustrations were featured in the Tribune. During the next 26 years, he covered all of the performing arts for the New York Daily News. Uniquely, his theater drawings also appeared in newspapers in all cities where shows made their debuts in preparation for Broadway, including the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Toronto Star. His drawings of theater, opera, ballet and film celebrities were also published in Variety, Backstage, the Los Angeles Times and many other publications. His portraits frequently appeared on covers of the magazines Saturday Review and Harpers. Norkin also served as an art critic for the Carnegie Hall house program and was a cultural reporter for the New York Daily News.
Norkin was born in Brooklyn on January 10, 1917. He was accepted into muralist Mordi Gassner’s life classes for talented teenagers at the age of 9 and studied with him for nine years. He attended the Metropolitan Art School after high school and later studied at Cooper Union and The School of Fine and Industrial Art. During the 1940s, newspaper editors wanted to devote more space to new theatrical events, but advance photo opportunities in street clothes did not reflect the essence of the productions. He “dressed” the performers in their costumes based on costume sketches and added the scenic design, thus providing an accurate illustration prior to an opening. When he began doing theatrical caricatures, he also supplied his own captions, which eventually prompted him to write articles and reviews.
His theater reminiscences and a selection of 266 drawings came together in the book "Sam Norkin: Drawings - Stories" (Heinemann, 1994). In 2009, he provided the illustrations for "Having Fun With Words of Wit and Wisdom," written by his friend and colleague Tom McMorrow. Norkin's artwork has been exhibited twice at the prestigious Lincoln Center Library and Museum of the Performing Arts; The Museum of the City of New York; the Metropolitan Opera House; the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY; and in various galleries on the East coast.
Norkin was a longtime member of the Drama Desk, the association of drama critics and editors, and served as its president. He was a member of the Drama Desk Board for more than 40 years. In June 2011, the Drama Desk Board of Directors established an annual special award in his memory – the Sam Norkin Off Broadway Award – which will be presented for the first time at the 67th Annual Drama Desk Awards in 2012. Upon the news of his passing, current Drama Desk President Isa Goldberg remarked that “Sam was a lovely, sweet man, beloved by all. His contributions to the organization will always be remembered.”
Norkin iwon an award for “Outstanding Theater Art” from the League of American Theatres and Producers (1980); an award for “Lifetime Body of Work” from the Drama Desk (1995) and two awards from the National Cartoonists Society: the “Special Features Award” (1980) and the “Silver T-Square Award” (1984).
Norkin is survived by his wife and constant companion of 43 years, Frances Norkin; his son Richard Norkin and wife Mary; his daughter Laura DeSena and husband Fred; grandsons Johann and Sam Waes (Laura’s sons); Frances’ daughter Sue Fallon and her daughter, Dr. Kim Fallon and husband Brett Merker and their three sons; her son Ken Landsman and wife Renee and their sons, Dr. Michael Brucculeri and wife Maartje and their two sons; and Officer Jim Brucculeri and wife Cathryn.
He donated his body to New York’s Presbyterian Hospital.
Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.
** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.
My Bio
Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York.
Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run.
She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at
http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.
She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (
http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.
She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.
She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter.
Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.
Copyright
All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com
Key to Content Notes:
God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.
Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.
Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.
Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.
Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.
Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.
Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.
Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.
Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.
Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.
Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.
Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.
Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women
or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.
Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.
The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.
Reviewing Policy
I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.
No comments:
Post a Comment