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Joe Hickerson, A Key Figure In The Preservation Of American Folk Song, Is Dead At 89

“At the height of folk revival, Hickerson began what became more than a quarter-century tenure at the Library of Congress in 1963, swiftly establishing himself as a knowledgeable guide to the sometimes-convoluted collections of recordings, documents and oral histories that were vital to performers, songwriters and historians of the genre.” - Billboard

Shirley Ririe, Utah’s Pioneer Of Modern Dance, Has Died At 96

With colleague Joan Woodbury, who died in 2023, she founded the state’s first contemporary troupe, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, in 1964 and developed it into a prominent ensemble. Though she relinquished the helm at the turn of the millennium, she remained a part-time employee for the rest of her life. - The Salt Lake Tribune

Starling Lawrence, Editor With A Nose For Bestsellers, Dead At 82

“For more than five decades at W.W. Norton, (he) waded into the so-called slush pile ... to discover unsung authors and to help fashion sometimes amorphous antecedents into sizzling, culturally significant potboilers” such as Liar’s Poker, The Big Short, Moneyball, The Perfect Storm, and Master and Commander. - The New York Times 

Giles Havergal, 87, Longtime Artistic Director Of Glasgow Citizens Theatre 

Havergal, with his co-directors, the designer Philip Prowse and the playwright and translator Robert David MacDonald, ran the beautiful jewel of a Victorian theatre on the south side of the Clyde in the Gorbals from 1969 to 2003, the longest tenure in post of any British director. - The Guardian

Comedian Reginald Carroll, 52, Shot To Death In Mississippi

Police officers found Carroll wounded in Southaven, Mississippi, immediately south of Memphis, at the offices of the merchandise company for a fellow comedian with whom Carroll had recently toured. Carroll died of his injuries at a Memphis hospital. One suspect has been arrested. - The Guardian

Food Writer Mark Bittman Is Ready To Make No Money

The author of How to Cook Everything also, it turns out, has some ideas about how to feed everyone. - Fast Company

The Rise Of Margaret Qualley

“Qualley is exhilaratingly unpredictable, a star who clearly cares more about the art she’s making than the fame it brings her. And maybe that’s because, when she’s working, she’s leaving it all on the floor.” - Salon

Ozzie Rodriguez, Archivist For Off Off Broadway, Has Died At 81

Rodriguez was an actor, playwright, and director for La MaMa, but then he "carved out a unique role in the avant-garde theater world by maintaining its vast archive of costumes, scripts, props and other ephemera, tracing more than 60 years of history.” - The New York Times

Chris Doyle, Artist Whose Work Was Described As ‘Narnia On Acid,’ Has Died At 66

Doyle was “a multimedia artist who made poetic and beguiling pieces — exquisite animated work that explored ideas about civilization and evolution.” - The New York Times

What Art Fraudster Inigo Philbrick Has To Say For Himself Now That He’s Out Of Prison

“I’m obviously in no position to do anything other than say how sorry I am. But there is a small part of me that thinks: what about all the good deals? … The ambition is to get back to doing what I was doing. I was a great art dealer.” - The Guardian

Will At The Center Of A Shakespeare Controversy Has Been Located After 150 Years

A will that has been lost for more than 150 years and was at the centre of a bitter legal battle by William Shakespeare’s family over who owned the playwright’s final home has been unearthed in an unlabelled box at the National Archives. - The Guardian

This Man Has Built A Career Out Of Talking To Leprechauns

“Now a hale 81, Kevin Woods calls himself Ireland’s last leprechaun whisperer, a title that reflects the weekly conversations he says he still carries on with them. But he’s more precisely a leprechaun promoter, building a tidy business from books, merchandise and guided tours of (a) cozy leprechaun cavern.” - The New York Times

Data: Are Art Historians Now More Employable Than Computer Scientists?

According to data released this year by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recent art history graduates nationwide were more employed than computer science graduates, at a rate of 3% and 6.1%, respectively. - Hyperallergic

Who Are The Generals In The Trump White House’s Culture War?

Since he returned to the White House, Trump has appointed himself chairman of the Kennedy Center, revived the Garden of Heroes statuary project, and pushed for more control over the Smithsonian, among other things. The allies he’s appointed to oversee these efforts don’t always have arts backgrounds or experience. - The New York Times

Audra McDonald Followed Home From Theater By Autograph-Seeker

She says that on Saturday, following her next-to-last performance in Gypsy on Broadway, an audience member “snuck around and found me the way I had exited from the theater, followed me all the way home to where I was staying, came into the building,” and insisted that “they deserved an autograph.” - Entertainment Weekly

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