Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1985 - 14

OBITUARY

Charles Levy
1922-1985
Charles Levy, a founder and Fellow of
the USITT, a lighting designer, long-time
Director of Research and Development at
CenllllY Lighting, and recently Executive
for Theatre Services at Four Star Stage
Lighting, died on April 14, 1985, from cancer. The excerpted quotes here arefrom colleagues who spoke at the memorial service
on May 28 at Liss Hall at the Metropolitan
Opera House. The following eulogy was
millen by Kelly Sonnenfeld and read by her
husband, Sonny Sonnenfeld.
A Chuck Levy Memorial Fund has been
established. Contributions can be sent 10:
eurological Oncology Research Fund
c/o Dr. Michael Fetell
eurological Institute
710 West 168th St.
New York, NY 10032

Chuck Levy was a quiet man with
great dignity, walking through life at
hi own pace, doing everything in his
own good time, ignoring the frenzied
existence of many around him. He was
a cOnLradiction-a sophisticated man
who loved the simple things in life, a
modest man aware of his worth, a striver for perfection but seemingly easygoing, a gentle man with tremendous
strength of will and a private man with
a legion of friends who shared whatever
lillie part of his life he would allow
them to view.
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Theatre Design & Technology /

I first met Chuck in 1951 when Sonny called to tell me that he was bringing
a friend home to dinner. Before I could
say "short notice" he said, "This one
you 'II like !"-and for thiny- four years
it was so.
A little over a year ago when Chuck
learned that he had cancer, Sonny encouraged him to come to dinner to talk,
and Chuck came a few times a week on
his way home from Four Star Lighting
in the Bronx. While we waited for Sonny we talked of "old times." Chuck recalled his days at the Yale Drama School
where he met his teacher and mentor,
Stanley "Mac" McCandless, who
brought him to Century (then on 43rd
SI.) as his assistant in Research and Development. "I wonder what happened
to" and "do you remember when" led
to memories of his days in Greenwich
Village, of the Off Broadway shows
that he lit, of the demise of many
Broadway theatres, of his "outrage" at
some of the names the theatre shows
bore, of the loss of his dear friend Tom
DeGaetani, of his grandmother and her
cooking, of chocolate egg creams and
Charlotte Russes, of his philosophy of
life-and the state of the world. No
topic was too trivial-or too weighty.

City. He loved wandering around the
various neighborhoods recording every
street, park, pier, unusual store, restaurant, food store, and recent atria. The
vest pocket parks of midtown anhattan were his" Walden Pond" where he
could purchase a muffin and a container of coffee and sit and reflect on
his life as he watched his city flow by.
So it was with a great deal of pain
that he faced the dilemma of being
forced to relocate in California in order
to continue working for Strand Century. When the opportunity to remain
in ew York arose, he joined Four Star
Stage Lighting on January I, 1984.
Chuck was an observer, a listener,
a philosopher; nothing got past him.
He wrote letters to editors, magazines,
institutions, and colleagues to build up
or tear down a cause. To make a point
he would quote Plato-or Pogo-with
equal conviction. If you said something that rang a bell, he'd point his
finger at you and say, "You got it!"
pleased that someone shared his
feelings.
His eyes and hands said much more
than words. Even a simple task like
peeling and cutting up vegetables for a
salad became a methodical step by step

Chuck was independent. He did things his way. When we both worked on 43rd
St., we met one morning going to the office. He asked me to step into a restaurant
for a cup of coffee. I had to make a phone call at 9 A .M. and it was now 5
minutes to 9, so I declined. It wasn't until I took a few steps thar I realized Chuck
went in for coffee so that he would not get to the office at 9 A.M. He had
promised himself that he would never take a 9 to 5 job. He'd come in at 6 o'clock
in the morning and stay until midnight. That was O.K. -but not 9 to 51
-Sonny Sonnenfeld

Chuck spoke of the forties-of
trading his Paramount usher's uniform
for an army uniform and his internment in a German POW camp. During
the winter his fingers still became dead
white as a lasting car of that severe
frost he had suffered then. He talked
sadly of the McCarthy era and the theatre blacklists of the 1950s. He had
laminated a leller to the editor of the
New York Times criticizing the' 'Totalitarian Tactics" of our government.
The letter was written by Brooks Atkinson-dated 1954. Chuck kept it in
his wallet as a constant reminder that it
could happen again.
Chuck, born and schooled in Brooklyn, had a love affair with New York

SITT / Fall 1985

plan from the choice of a knife to his
scrutiny of the vegetable. As he turned
a pepper or cucumber around in his
hand he gave importance to the whole
process, and as usual he was meticulous
in detail. When he needed help he
asked for it silently, using his eyes to
communicate the urgency and with
them said, "Thank you."
In September, 1984, Chuck came to
Sonny's birthday party. When there
was a lull in the festivities Chuck
handed me a magazine he had brought
with him. Turning to the proper page
in Science '84 he said, "Read this." It
was an in-depth article on cancer refuting optimistic reports on the rate of
cure. 1 was devastated by the informa-

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1985