On hearing of Edgar's death

The phone rings

far too late for good news

Dear friend

So long

The time has passed for jokes and jibes

You fought the fight

How long?

Ten? Twenty years?

Eating away at your insides

Tumours the size of grape fruits

That's how you described them

On your spine, on your chest

Riddled throughout your beautiful body.

And no one knew

What to do

For yours was a rare one

Not found in the books

And so you fought

Oh how you fought

For life. To life. Lechaim!

And then the doctors and the experts

And in the end Death itself.

And those who might have known

scratched their heads and just moved on.

A brave fight but in the end

Death has had its way

And the shell that lies before me now

I can never recognise

For it's not you

You were so much more

And now your light is gone,

but not forgotten

Never forgotten.

Oh Edgar where have you gone?

And Beruria, you who have survived it all

From Nazi guns and troublesome son

Now you too must say goodbye.

A pain no mother should ever feel

But for you who gave him all his life

You who gave him all you had

All your love

All your love

And now you're gone, my friend dear friend

My buddy, my fine young man

Buried in the sand of sins

That sand we both called home

You touched us all. And we touched you

We say goodbye today

And see you off on your final trek

We'll meet again one day

Dear friend, farewell. Farewell, dear friend

We'll miss your smile, your face

Without your laugh, your elegance and grace

This world's a sadder place

Good bye, farewell, your time has come

As ours will surely too

Goodnight sweet Edgar. Sweet dreams, dear friend

Long life. Much love. Adieu.

There are so many stories to tell about time spent with Edgar, and I'll come back for others, but the 1st one I want to share is about going to the West Hollywood Halloween parade years back. This is a huge event where they close off a big part of West Hollywood for people to have a street party on Halloween. Everybody goes in the most outlandish costumes they can put together, and any kind of wild behavior is acceptable (any wonder this a favorite event of Edgars?) Anyway, this year I show up at his house where he's been spending the day figuring out his costume, but without settling on anything. Finally, we have a stack of hats from his huge collection of costumes, props etc. he kept hoarded. And he gets the idea to cover himself with hats -- not just on his head (where he put 5) but his whole body. "I'm a man who tries to wear too many hats!!" A great costume -- but far from a disguise! 

Two stories come to mind, amidst the haze of memory, gerry rigged fog machines and burning wires...

We had a reoccurring discussion concerning how to stop his turntables from skipping during the Devastation Dan gigs. Well, I went into one of my lengthy absurd engineering rants about, "in a perfect world, if we had infinite mass attached to the turntable console, and suspended the console on some kind of shock dampening system, we could probably get past most of the problems". I though this was a theoretical discussion ... it wasn't. There we were, Edgar, Dan, myself, (and maybe another member) rebuilding the console to house (Dan, help me on this) a couple of slabs of slate or soapstone from a lab table. This crazy road box console was built and sent on its maiden voyage (rather hastily if I remember correctly). The first time I grabbed hold of that thing with Dan, I remember giggling,.. (No F...W.....!!!) We faithfully loaded that obscene console into that precious van, tires flattening, and made our way to the End of the Bridge. I hate to admit it, but it worked pretty well, but,.. I don't have words to explain what it felt like packing out at the end of that long night.

Edgar came to me and asked if I wanted to be involved in an audio play of sorts, Stripes. Stripes was an epic project, recording the reading of his play and random conversation, and editing the tape into all its separate characters. I said yes, having no idea of the ensuing madness. This was reel to reel tape days. Every line of the play was extracted, cut by razor blade, and bracketed with leader tape on both sides. Hundreds and hundreds of cuts later, knee deep in discarded magnetic tape, we ended up with something. I don't quite know what it was, but Edgar did, that's all that counts. I had never edited that much tape in my life, nor since, but the experience was priceless. That experience pushed, and expanded, the limits of my attention, and my craft.  

I'll never forget his nutty, flailing craziness, jumping around the stage, with seemingly endless energy. There was always the next project, the next scheme. It was fun to share the journey for what now seems like such a short time. He taught me a lot, on many levels. His strength and tenacity will be with me, always.

Dude, I'll catch you on the flip side...

I have many funny stories surrounding Edgar and our myriad of experiences together in the lighting world, but my favorite has to be the Fleetwood Mac ReUnion show in Vegas a few years back. My company was doing the tour and Edgar begged me to get him on the list for the Vegas Show. I was also attending with my wife, Crystal and we decided to make an evening of it. Now my girl couldnt tell Lindsey Buckingham from Lindsey Nelson. I was back stage, talking to Edgar and we were watching Lindsey trying to deliver some smooth line to my wife after he had come backstage after the show......the expression on Crystals face was pricess (the "I could care less" look). All of a sudden, she sees us and standing very near us was Corey Feldman. In the middle of Lindsey's delivery, she screems out loud, "Look, it's the kid from the Lost Boys! I love him". Lindsey stomps off like a 4 year old having a temper tantrum and Edgar and I just watched, laughing hysterically!

Edgar's obituary and a related story was posted today in Lighting and Sound America Online.  LSA had done a lengthy feature article on Edgar back in December 2004 highlighting his work and his battle with cancer.  Today's story is located at the following link.
http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/news/story.asp?ID=-AYUSYQ

True story, so '79-'80 we're doing a production of War and Peace at several venues in N.Y.C. One  performance is being staged  in the auditorium of the Dag Hammarskjold Library at the United Nations. I'm driving this beat to hell step van from Stony Brook that's got all the equipment and props and we're running late and the traffic is impossible. We've taken to calling this the Crime and Punishment Tour. The van only has two seats so everyone else is sliding around with the lights and the costumes and we're trying to get to the U.N.  I pull up to some gate  so we can get directions, Edgar slides open the  door, leaps out and a guard comes running toward us with his gun drawn yelling "Stop, Hands in the air". Hochtman is in the back screaming that we're going to be shot, Edgar's got his hands up asking about a garage,but the guard is still behind the gate and not listening so we're yelling "get back in the truck". Edgar gets back in the truck and we take off before he can close the door. Three minutes later we find the garage.......good times. Except for the traffic, and the gun thing.

Edgar.

My dear friend. I will miss you. So many memories, so much laughter, so much joy. You were my boyfriend when I was nineteen. You would never tell me how old you were. And we dated again when I was twenty six.  I still did not know how old you were. But I never missed your birthday, and spoke to you every year on New Year's eve. I was with you when you were diagnosed with cancer. You were so brave. Always. You always had such a strong spirit and a sense of humor that made me laugh and brought me such joy. We laughed so hard that we would fall on the floor laughing until tears would come.

My happiest memories are of my time spent with you. You were a part of my family. I remember a day we spent at Disneyland on a rainy tuesday when we rode the rides until we were dizzy. Running from ride to ride like we were little kids. I remember so many days we spent together in New York City. You even made the subway fun. We hiked through the hills of Los Angeles, got snowed in at Big Bear, and rode your white Porsche, never going the speed limit!!!!

I will always remember the beauty that you created with your brilliant lighting design.  One memory I hold dear is the lighting design for "our Town" when you were working at Stonybrook. The stage was dark and the lights danced onto the stage like stars with a mystical and magical transendence.

You are like those stars. Dancing, playing, laughing and illuminating this world.  You are one of a kind, my dear Edgar. There is no one like you on this earth and there never will be.

We are all better because we knew you. We are all blessed for having known you. You leave behind a big space that will only be filled by your memories. So many years ago, we laughed until we cried. Now I cry, and through the tears, I will try to smile, as I know that you are no longer in pain. I felt you leave this earth and was not at all suprised when your mother called me with the news of your passing.  My heart is with you, Beruria. You brought a beautiful man into this world.

With Love,

Marjorie

How many of us remember the wonderfully funny messages that Edgar used to come up with for his home answering machine?

Usually they were just something funny or sometimes outrageous, but on one occasion I remember Edgar deciding that his halloween message needed reverb and sound effects. So off we went to the Fine Arts Center to spend 4 hours recording a 30 second answering machine message with 3 different actors and a slew of scary sound effects.  He couldn't stop until it was just right.

That was just Edgar being Edgar.  Why do a job in 30 seconds when you can take an extra 4 hours and do it even better!

I was sorry to hear of Edgar's passing, but I am sure his spirit and joy of life will live on in his friends. I had not seen Edgar for a number of years, but him being the sort of person who collects friends and keeps them, he kept in touch enough over the years that I was able to follow the trials of his illness and the successes of his career.

I worked with Edgar for two years at Stonybrook, where I was TD in the Theatre Dept. from 83 through 85. In fact it Was Edgar who picked me up at the ferry terminal when I was being interviewed for the position, with him Driving me around Port Jeff and other points in his Porsche. He was a great work colleague and a wonderful source of energy and ideas, and in time he became a good friend as well, to the point that as I later became his upstairs neighbor on Main Street, it seems that our doors were always open to one another. 

Edgar of the indomitable spirit and energy always had several projects going at any one time, be it Devastation Dan, a lighting design for a show on one of the theaters or a wacky all night film production on the art gallery. Yes, I too was convinced to take part in his film production of "Gallery" (of which I still own a copy of the video) I remember hours of filming scenes over night and the actors exhausted, covered in while make-up, finally napping on the floor at 4am waiting for dawn, and the final shots, but Edgar was still up and running at full speed in spit of his lack of sleep. 

I think that is the way Edgar led his life, too busy and too interested to slow down. Even when his illness physically hindered him, his spirit and drive never left him it just caused him to focus on other things with the same amount of energy. It is hard to keep a good man down.

Back at StonyBrook Edgar decided to make a movie and I was in it - I cannot even recall how I met him, or how he chose me for the part of the nurse but maybe it was in an acting class.  And it looks like I missed out on way too much fun since I only saw one of his shows at The End of the Bridge...but anyway, somehow I did meet him and join his movie about a gallery of statues that come alive in the middle of the night and dance into a frenzy.  I have really vivid memories of him directing us, the makeup, the night shoot and that amazing dance finale.  I was a nurse who held a huge hypodermic needle and my dance began with my arm injecting into the beat of the music.

Edgar was incredible - I was on my way to medical school and basically studied every other minute of college except that one acting class.  What a blast he was - and probably still is!!!

Carroll

I've known Edgar since the '80s back at Stony Brook, and we reconnected later when we both ended up in L.A. in the '90s and beyond. I have lots of great Edgar stories (like the time he and I went to an air show at Edwards Air Force base, and Edgar was so infuriated with the parking situation that he wanted to find the base commander to yell at!), but here's my favorite: 

One night in L.A., Edgar and I and another friend went to a festival (the Garlic Festival, if you must know). There were lots of booths and vendors, and our other friend went to some "wellness" booth for an evaluation by an herbalist or chiropractor or someone else trying to get a quick referral. While this friend was getting his "free consultation," I hatched an idea and shared it with Edgar. "Edgar," I said, "When our friend comes back, let's make it look like his 'free treatment' left him deaf! We can just pretend to talk to him by moving our mouths and not saying anything, and he'll think he's lost his hearing!" 

Now this is about as stupid as you can get, because we were at a noisy festival; why on earth would our miming speech make this guy think he was deaf? Regardless, Edgar loved the idea and couldn't wait to pull this big stunt, with me, on our friend. 

So our friend returns from his "free consultation," and I immediately go into the act of asking him "How did it go?" without any sound coming out of my mouth. But Edgar, you should've seen him, he thought that this stunt was the funniest practical joke in the world, and he was trying, for all his life, to mime speaking without making a sound, but he was laughing so hard the whole time that the act totally fell apart, he kept trying to mime speech, but he was blubbering out all this laughter the whole time, and trying to gesticulate with his hands, he was like a four-year-old trying to keep a secret, and it just slayed me. (Our friend, for the record, didn't find the "deafness" stunt very amusing.) 

Anyway, my enduring memory of dear old Edgar is of him frantically trying to keep a straight face and try and pretend to carry on a mute discourse, while erupting in constant laughter the whole time and ruining whatever semblance of silence he was trying to portray. 

Incidentally, I'd retold this exact story to Edgar years after it happened. He didn't remember it, but knew it was true, and cracked up upon hearing it. Which made it all the better for me: I got to enjoy his own reaction to hearing about his own ridiculous antics! Oh man, Edgar, you are missed, Buddy. 

Back in 1984 we shared a house on Main Street in Port Jefferson.  During the summer months, Port Jeff was a very busy place. One of the best things about the location of the house was that we could sit out on the front porch, have a few drinks and do a bit of girl-watching as the ladies walked down into town. 

Late one evening at about midnight we were sitting on the front porch contemplating the meaning of life when Edgar says "Did you see that?" pointing to a house across the street.  I said No.  He says, a guy is robbing that house, he just climbed out of the window over there, and he's hiding in the bushes.  Edgar being the ever vigilant good neighbor, decides that he's going to call the police.  While he's on the phone, the guy starts walking away, so Edgar talks me into following him with my car. 

Since cellphones were not invented back in the stone age he tells the cops which way we went and that I'm following the guy so they should search the neighborhood to find my car, and they will find the burglar.  After about 10 minutes of following the guy, 5 police cars surround me and catch the guy.  So I have to spend 1/2 hour explaining the whole story to the cops. Thanks Edgar.

The guy claims that his girlfriend lives there, so the cops take the guy back to the house and knock on the front door.  Of course Dad comes to the door in his pajamas and goes ballistic when he learns that the kid climbed in through her window that night to have a little nookie with his 16 year old daughter.  Ooooops.

So very sad to hear of Edgar's passing.  I had lost touch with Edgar over the past several years.  Busy with work, family, and separated by long distance made it difficult to connect, but when ever we did, it was like we just saw each other yesterday.  Edgar was always so energetic and enthusiastic.  He always wanted to do something, to go some where, to have fun and enjoy life.  He was a perfectionist, and a very hard worker.  Dedicated and serious at his craft, but always able to smile and laugh at himself when he realized (usually by the looks of the people around him) he was pushing too hard.  I'll always remember his smile (infectious) and his willingness to help those around him.  He was truly a great person and great spirit.  I remember the late nights working with him and Dan Addis on Devastation Dan shows.  The loading in, the loading out, the boxes and boxes of records.  It was a widely great time.  The lights, the music, the dance floor full of dancers song after song after song.  We had some really great times.  Really fun times.  I'm so glad I got to share some of those times with Edgar.  Rest in Peace and God bless you Edgar.  The world is less fun now. 

As most of you know, Edgar was also Devastation Dan the crazy DJ.  Dan was his alter ego, and his chance to really let his hair down (as if he ever really needed an excuse).  Of course those were the days that he actually had hair to let down. 

Back in 1982-84 Edgar and his faithful crew performed almost every week at the End of the Bridge Restaurant in the Stony Brook student union.  Always the showman, Edgar was possessed to make the shows bigger and better every time we performed there.  Each week he would add more and more gags to the show until it eventually took a crew of 4 all day to setup, and until daybreak to pack up the show at the end of the night.  (It's a good thing we were used to all-nighters back then)

Of course he needed a great introduction each week.  "Heeeeeere's Edgar" would not do at all.  So every week, Edgar, Dan, Warren and Bruce would have to come up with something to top the week before.  It started off small, with recorded intros, funny gags, exhanced lighting, flash pots, fog machines, and even adding a follow spot. But then the line was crossed and it became a fullfledged theatrical performance every week.

Some of the more famous intros were when we carried Edgar to the stage in a coffin with a headstone that read "Devastation Dan - He Danced Til He Dropped".  We also used various stage illusions to produce him out of an empty cube, produce him out of thin air, and we even cut him in half.  Edgar was always looking for the ultimate jaw-dropping entrance, and we finally found one.  Edgar rode in on the back of a motorcycle, circling the dance floor before launching into his act.  Of course that stunt nearly got us fired, because the management was much more worried about the little things like insurance risks, serious bodily injury, damage to the dance floor, and carbon monoxide poisoning.  You know, little things like that.

After word got around campus of what happened the week before, the place was packed for the next performance. Management got a little worried when we started the show, since we began with the roaring sounds of a motorcycle revving it's engine once again.  After a sufficient amount of anticipation had built up, the sound reached a roaring crescendo, and Edgar finally appeared on the dance floor, riding his tricycle to a huge round of applause. It was priceless.

The crowds loved the show every week, and I have to say that I loved doing the shows with Edgar. 

I know I was there...and I know i took photos, but I cannot find them right now.  But I remember Edgar's "Devestation Dan'" DJ show when he did it at Stony Brook University in 1982-ish. He was such a character, but beloved by all.  He knew how to do a great DJ show, before DJ shows were popular - like today.....I also remember when he worked on "The Blob" remake....gooey, gooey, fake blood. I remember when he was so excited about working on the Corey &Corey show.  And I remember him in the shots of the Corey wedding too.... I also was kept-up to date and informed of his increasing illness, as it progressed over the last decade.  Although I had not spoken to him personally for years, I was always kept up to date of his health battles over the years, and always prayed for him.  Although I am sad about his passing, I am glad to have known him over the years...and I am certain that he is in a better place now...and can't wait to see him again..when  my time comes...to take the journey to eternity...to once again see him....and all the people I have known and loved during my short time here on earth.  Bye, Bye Edgar....see you soon......