The term “prodigy” rarely applies to set designers, but Mr. Conklin’s instincts were on full display in his youth. Growing up in Hartford, Conn., he attended symphonies and operas with his family, and by the age of 10 he was building his own models, based on photographs he found perusing the magazine Opera News. - The New York Times
“(He) evolved from a conservative, high-profile member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into an outspoken atheist and liberal, all while using his pen to skewer presidents and the powerful.” (He liked to describe himself as an “editorial harpoonist.”) - The Washington Post (MSN)
“(She was) the most popular female singer of the late 1950s and early ’60s, with such hits as ‘Who’s Sorry Now,’ ‘Stupid Cupid’ and ‘Where the Boys Are,’ and who became an unlikely TikTok sensation at 87 for a song she recorded six decades earlier.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
Gibson, spouse Megan Falley, and their four-year struggle with Gibson’s ovarian cancer are the main subjects of the documentary Come See Me in the Good Light, winner of the Festival Favorite Award this year at the Sundance Film Festival and scheduled to air this fall on Apple TV+. - AP
It seems the categories for the $100,000 arts prizes this year were made a bit flexible: performance artist Abramović won the prize for sculpture and choreographer de Keersmaeker won the theatre/film award. Meanwhile, pianist Schiff won for music, artist Doig for painting, and Souto de Moura for architecture. - FAD Magazine
“(He) had just published Hotel Ukraine, the 11th and final installment in his Arkady Renko detective series, three days before he died. The novel featured his detective hero grappling with the usual concerns — official corruption, a brutal murder — as well as the same debilitating illness faced by Mr. Smith.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
He managed the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Meredith Monk, and he produced modern dance festivals in New York, but “it was as the director of American Dance Festival that Mr. Reinhart had an outlet commensurate with his ambitions.” - The New York Times
“From the beginning, the Earth Room drew pilgrims, like the woman who visited a few decades ago and would stand silently for a bit and then start to laugh. Or the pre-med student who changed her major to soil studies after her first visit.” - The New York Times
The former Monty Python star: “I’ve had a green card for about 28 years. I’d be proud to be thrown out because I’d be in very select company. The last English comedian to be thrown out of America for political reasons was Charlie Chaplin.” - The Guardian (UK)
Some clay pipe fragments dug up from his backyard garden in Stratford-upon-Avon and dating from the time he lived there were found to contain cannabis residue. Okay, technically this evidence is circumstantial: there’s no proof that Shakespeare himself left those pipes there. (Maybe they were planted by the Earl of Oxford.) - Literary Hub
Martin, an adventurous independent publisher who brought out the raucous work of the poet Charles Bukowski, as well as the writing of other offbeat literary rebels like Paul Bowles, John Fante and Wyndham Lewis, died on June 23 at his home in Santa Rosa, Calif. - The New York Times
“Pat was seventy-four and knew she was about to die. ... I was trapped in her world with her, trembling. She had weeks left to live and had spent so much time writing about how to get away with murder. I fantasized that she might try to kill me.” - The Yale Review
“Libin produced more than 250 Broadway, Off-Broadway and touring productions. He led Circle in the Square Theatre for 62 years until his death, serving as Executive Vice President and Producing Director of Jujamcyn Theaters for 28 years until 2017, and was President of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for 24 years until 2018.” - Deadline
Among his collaborators, Sellars is cherished for this openness with his feelings. He wraps anyone and everyone in a bear hug. He releases sudden honks of laughter. He cries. - The New York Times
“(He) was one of America’s most established dramatists, responsible for about 30 plays staged on or off Broadway since the mid-1980s. His work was wry yet tender, nipping at the divide between comedy and drama, and delved into questions of family, love and friendship.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
