IN MEMORIAM
Filmmaker Stevenson Palfi '74, best known for his documentary "Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together," died Dec. 14, 2005. Mr. Palfi shot himself as a result of severe depression after Hurricane Katrina damaged most of his property and possessions.
Mr. Palfi, who grew up in Chicago, earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy at Clark and went on to a distinguished career as a filmmaker. "Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together" chronicled the lives of three generations of New Orleans pianists: Isidore "Tuts" Washington, Henry Roeland "Professor Longhair" Byrd and Allen Toussaint, composer of such hits as "Workin' in a Coal Mine," "Mother-in-Law" and "Southern Nights." The film is still in distribution.
At the time of his death, Mr. Palfi was in the final stages of production on a feature-length program about Toussaint titled "Songwriter, Unknown," a project he had been working on for more than 15 years. Mr. Palfi also made films about singer Ernie K-Doe and Preservation Hall banjoist Emmanuel "Manny" Sayles. He also made a 13-week series of documentaries and short films for the Learning Channel, hosted by his friend Martin Sheen.
Mr. Palfi earned many grants, fellowships and awards from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Channel Four Network of Britain, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, among other institutions.
Deaths:
William Ahearn '60 North Salem, N.Y., June 15, 2006
Thomas Anton '56 Orleans, Mass., June 6, 2006 See In Memoriam page 2.
Valerie Bogdan '82 New York, N. Y., June 16, 2006
Carl Butenas '49 Meriden, Conn., July 1, 2006
Rebecca Lynn Carver Greensboro, N.C., April 29, 2006
Elwyn Chesley Jr. '44 Macon, Ga., July 6, 2006
Curtis Chapman '60 Westerly, Conn., Aug. 4, 2006
Alexander Drapos '58 Worcester, Mass.,July 10, 2006 See In Memoriam page 2.
Brian Dunlevy M.A.L.A. '95 Worcester, Mass., July 20, 2006
Richard Foster '67 Westborough, Mass., July 11, 2006
William LaFosse '60 Hartford, Conn., Aug. 28, 2006
Leo Mann '53 Fort Myers, Fla., Sept. 3, 2005
Alaric Mills '68 Worcester, Mass., Feb. 13, 2006
Salvatore Natoli '57 Oxford, Pa., July 4, 2006
Stevenson Palfi '74, New Orleans, La., Dec. 14, 2005 See In Memoriam.
Andrew Sellato Jr. '65 Williamsburg, Va., Sept. 4, 2005
Mark Solovay '63, M.D.Yuma, Ariz., April 22, 2006
Karl Stacey Ph.D. '55 Topeka, Kan., July 10, 2006
Richard Widak M.P.A. '87 Worcester, Mass., July 3, 2006
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