Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Rest In Peace.

Steven Shaw’s phone number has been in my contacts list for several years. He passed away this week, and I find myself faced with a modern-day dilemma: it feels as if deleting someone’s number is deleting him. For now, Steven stays in my phone.

He was a great actor and a real gentleman – always happy to chat – with a very interesting life. He was a talented baseball player growing up in Brooklyn, and was invited to try out for the Detroit Tigers. Then he acted for a short time, appearing on a TV show in 1957. He then began a prolific career as a stage manager on Broadway, including the original production of Hair.

Watching the best directors and actors at work was the ultimate education, and when he returned to acting in 1999, he started working like crazy. Two years ago, he had a role in Surburbicon, directed by George Clooney. I was entirely jealous.

Steven culled his fascinating stories and wrote and starred in a great one-man show last year. It’s rare these shows captivate – Steven’s show was amazing.

He’ll be missed by a lot of people, especially me. The number stays in my phone.