RANDY WEEKS DEAD AT 59: HE BROUGHT BROADWAY TO COLORADO
Randy Weeks, president of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the man in charge of bringing Broadway to Denver, died Thursday in London. He was 59.
Weeks was in England attending the Independent Presenters Network conference. The cause of his death is unknown.
“We are shocked,” said DCPA chairman Daniel L. Ritchie. “He was here since the beginning. He and his team were really so respected nationally.”
Weeks began his tenure at the center in 1978, working in the box office. He left to attend school and eventually returned in 1989 to head up Denver Center Attractions, the division that presents touring musicals. In all, he oversaw 400 productions in Denver.
Weeks built DCA into one of the most successful tour stops in the nation.
“As a regional person, he really managed to become part of the Broadway industry,” said Nancy Gibbs, a veteran New York producer who worked often with Weeks.
“His taste was so superb, so right on. He knew what the Denver audience wanted.”
In regional show business, good taste and solid business sense pay off in connections. Weeks had them and local audiences benefited. Again and again, he scored Denver the road show premieres of major works.
Among them: “The Book of Mormon,” “Pippin,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “The Lion King” — events that have defined the cultural experience in the city.
The Broadway League honored him with its ” Outstanding Broadway Presenter Award.”
In addition, Weeks produced a series of successful cabaret shows that were seen by tens of thousands at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, including “Always … Patsy Cline” and ” I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” which ran for more than four years.
His community involvement extended well beyond his professional duties at the Denver Center. He served on the boards of the Denver School of the Arts, the Independent Presenter’s Network, The Broadway League, and Scientific and Cultural Facilities District.
He was a mentor to students at his fraternity, Kappa Sigma, at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
“Randy did not talk about it much, but he was a real bulwark of the Kappa Sigma chapter at the University of Colorado and was a fraternity man, in the finest sense of that concept,” said Weeks’ colleague, attorney Michael Smith. “He was a very visible alumni leader and mentor.”
Weeks attended the Leeds School of Business at CU and started his career working in his family’s restaurant business before moving to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
But he was lured back to the Denver Center, the place he started his career. Weeks was mentored personally by Donald Seawell, who founded the center and served as its chairman until 2007.
“I trained him for a little while, and bang, he was terrific,” said Donald Seawell, now 102 and still going in to the office every day as a consultant. “I admired him so much.”
Weeks is survived by his father, David Weeks; brother Joel Weeks; and sisters Pam Weeks and Stephanie Gamble.
Ray Mark Rinaldi: 303-954-1540, rrinaldi@denverpost.com or twitter.com/rayrinaldi
[Thank you to the Denver Musicians Association for passing this along: http://www.dmamusic.org]
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PAUL REVERE OF ‘PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS’ DIES
Initially based in Boise, Idaho, the Raiders began as an instrumental rock band led by organist and founder Paul Revere Dick (January 7, 1938 in Harvard, Nebraska – October 4, 2014 in Caldwell, Idaho). In his early 20s, Revere owned several restaurants in Caldwell, Idaho and first met singer Mark Lindsay (born March 9, 1942, Eugene, Oregon) while picking up hamburger buns from the bakery where Lindsay worked The circumstance of their meeting was later referred to in the tongue-in-cheek song “Legend of Paul Revere”, recorded by the group. Lindsay joined Revere’s band in 1958. Originally called The Downbeats, they changed their name to Paul Revere & The Raiders in 1960 on the eve of their first record release for Gardena Records. The band garnered their first hit in the Pacific Northwest in 1961, with the instrumental “Like, Long Hair”. The record had enough national appeal that it peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard chart on April 17, 1961. When Revere was drafted for military service, he became a conscientious objector and worked as a cook at a mental institution for a year and a half of deferred service. During the same time period, Lindsay pumped gas in Wilsonville, Oregon. On the strength of their Top 40 single, Lindsay toured the U.S. in the summer of 1961 with a band that featured Leon Russell taking Revere’s place on piano.
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Paul Revere & the Raiders saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. Among their hits were the songs “Kicks” (1966; ranked number 400 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time), “Hungry” (1966), “Him Or Me – What’s It Gonna Be?” (1967) and the Platinum-certified classic #1 single “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)”.
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In 2010 Paul Revere & the Raiders were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Revere announced his retirement from the band in August 2014; the group plans to tour without him as “Paul Revere’s Raiders”.
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On Facebook, 10/05/2014
Dear Paul,
Where do I begin? How do I tell you how much I love you and what you have meant to me?
Have you ever met a person and felt like you’ve known them your entire life, sensed a familiarity and warmth? That’s how I felt the very first time I met you, and the feeling only grew stronger the more I got to know you.
Like most people, my initial introduction to you was on television, radio and records, but none of those mediums gave me a real clue to the one-of-a-kind life force that was Paul Revere.
Sitting in an audience at my first Paul Revere and The Raiders concert introduced me to a larger-than-life dynamo of high-energy slapstick, outrageous and spontaneous humor and a genuine child-like joy. Everyone in attendance just knew that you MUST be a wonderful person offstage too, no doubt about it.
Meeting you after a show in the autograph line cemented the deal for everyone. Just as fun, funny and spontaneous as you were onstage, extremely nice and accommodating to everyone who waited in the long lines to meet you. Take a picture – “SURE, take TWO!” Sign these 20 albums? “Why NOT, you helped pay for my first house, and my first wife!”
Generous to a fault with your family, your friends and your band, there seemed to be no limit to your kindness. When you turned your attention towards someone, you made that person feel special and in your spotlight. You had a pet name for each person, and you never hesitated to tell them how exceptional they were. You appreciated the talent, beauty, skills and uniqueness you found in others, and you were never shy about telling them so. All the more reason for people to feel wonderful in your presence.
It’s no accident that people called you “Uncle Paul”. You were like a favorite uncle who’s always fun to be around. Hug-gable, like a child’s favorite stuffed animal, smart, funny, world traveled and so very interesting. (and as you would say, “Don’t forget CUTE!!”) You were also the epitome of a cool rock star, admired and respected by so many entertainers throughout the decades.
And how about people like Dick Clark? How many businessmen and showbiz people did Dick Clark meet in his lifetime? And yet he gravitated to you, and chose to work on many projects and business ventures with you. He saw something in you, even when you were a kid, that separated you from the pack of extremely talented and interesting people with whom he constantly came into contact. He was proud to call you his friend and enjoyed your company tremendously. The same goes for Andy Williams and many, many others.
You loved eating a hot dog at a truck stop with the guys as much as you enjoyed spending an entire evening in a classy restaurant appreciating the finer things. You loved taking your friends out to dinner, and you never let them pay. You always got to know the staff when you ate out too. By the end of the evening you not only knew your server’s names, you knew all about their hopes, their goals, their family. You knew the manager’s name and you made sure you told them how fantastic your server was. And you always tipped WAY too much. This is EVERY time, at EVERY restaurant. This says a lot about the kind of person you were.
Your deep love and devotion to your wife, Sydney, was beyond compare. Anyone could see the eternal connection you shared, the great marriage you were part of, what a doting and attentive husband you were. The way you made each other laugh, holding hands and your open show of affection. No one could make you happy like she did, and no one could make you laugh like she could. Hopeless romantics enjoying each other and the life you shared together.
You loved Christmas like no one else. You loved Disney World, old movies on TCM, rocking chairs on the porch, Sunday mornings at home with your wife, a nice fire in the fireplace and a big bowl of popcorn – you absolutely just loved life!
But now you have passed on. By your example, both professional and personal, you’ve left a blueprint of how to live a life full of love, laughter and happiness. The world will be a lot less fun, a lot less kind and gentle without Paul Revere in it. Your larger-than-life absence will leave a void in our hearts and our lives.
We are all blessed to have known you, and we’ll miss you more than you could ever know.
Love forever,
Everyone who has ever met you.
Paul Revere & The Raiders with Linda Ann Smith and Rhonda Cope
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TWO KILLED IN TRAFFIC COLLISION: A TRAGIC LOSS IN THE MC FAMILY
The Music Connection family is extremely sad to relate the news that Gary McLarty–husband of former MC Senior Account Executive Hillorie McLarty–was killed in a car accident on Saturday, Oct. 11, in Rancho Cordova, CA. Both Gary and a companion were pronounced dead at the scene. Gary had a long career as a Hollywood stuntman, earning a long list of credits that includes the notable films Blues Brothers, Jurassic Park and Beverly Hills Cop.
RANCHO CORDOVA, CA – Two Hollywood stuntmen were killed in a traffic accident in Rancho Cordova yesterday afternoon.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, the two men, later identified as 86-year-old Robert (Bob) Orrison and 73-year-old Gary McLarty, were traveling in a blue Chevy truck in the area of Grant Line Road and Raymer Way, when they made a U-turn causing a white Jeep Cherokee to slam into their vehicle.
The fatal accident happened at approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. The occupants of the Jeep Cherokee were transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.
Orrision was a stunt performer and background actor on Star Trek: The Original Series, having minor roles in three second season episodes. He also performed stunts for television’s The Dukes of Hazzard and for such films as The Wild Bunch (1969), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Die Hard 2 (1990), Speed (1994), Stargate (1994), and The Wedding Planner (2001).
McLarty is known for his work on The Blues Brothers (1980), Jurassic Park (1993) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984).
On July 23, 1982, McLarty was in the helicopter, as a stunt coordinator, when actor Vic Morrow and two children died in an accident on a “Twilight Zone” movie set. They were filming on location in Ventura County, California, between Santa Clarita and Piru. Vic Morrow, 6-year-old Shin-Yi Chen and 7-year-old Myca Dinh were in a scene where their characters were attempting to escape a pursuing U.S. Army helicopter. The helicopter was hovering about 24 feet above them when pyrotechnic explosions damaged the chopper causing it to crash on top of the three actors.
By Randy Miramontez
http://celebrityexaminer.com/2014/10/12/2-men-killed-traffic-collision/
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Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths…
October 2014
15: Leonard Delaney, 71, American drummer (The Tornadoes), Alzheimer’s disease.
14: Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, 38, American keyboardist, heart attack.
13: Mark Bell, 43, British musician and house music producer (LFO), complications from surgery. (death announced on this date)
11: Anita Cerquetti, 83, Italian soprano; Gary McLarty, 73, American film and television stuntman and stunt coordinator (Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Beverly Hills Cop), traffic collision; Bob Orrison, 86, American film and television stuntman (Star Trek, The Dukes of Hazzard, Speed), traffic collision; Mats Rondin, 54, Swedish cellist and composer, heart attack.
10: Olav Dale, 55, Norwegian composer and jazz saxophonist; Richard Kanter, 79, American oboist; Ed Nimmervoll, 67, Australian music journalist and author, brain cancer.
9: Style Scott, 58, Jamaican reggae drummer; Rita Shane, 78, American operatic soprano, pancreatic and liver cancer.
From http://www.wikipedia.com