Ron Vawter
Ron Vawter | |
---|---|
Born | Latham, New York, US | December 9, 1948
Died | April 16, 1994 On a plane from Zürich to New York City | (aged 45)
Ron Vawter (December 9, 1948 – April 16, 1994) was an American actor and a founding member of the
Life and career
Vawter was born in Latham, New York, to Matilda (Buttoni) and Elton Lee Vawter.[2] As a founding member of The Wooster Group, directed by Elizabeth LeCompte at the Performing Garage in downtown New York, Vawter originated roles in Rumstick Road, Nayatt School, Point Judith (an epilog), Route 1 & 9, Hula, L.S.D. (...Just the High Points...), Frank Dell's The Temptation of Saint Antony, North Atlantic, and Brace Up!. He appeared on video in Fish Story, and in the Group's video pieces White Homeland Commando and Flaubert Dreams of Travel but the Illness of His Mother Prevents It.
Vawter was a member of The Performance Group, from which The Wooster Group emerged in 1980. With The Performance Group, Vawter performed in Mother Courage and Her Children (Bertolt Brecht), The Marilyn Project (David Gaard), Cops (Terry Curtis Fox), and The Balcony (Jean Genet) -- all directed by Richard Schechner.
In addition to his work over 15 years at the Performing Garage, Vawter appeared in films, including King Blank,
Vawter explored themes of
Vawter's last piece of work was considered his artistic testament: the Philoktetes-variations, written by
In director Jan Ritsema's triptych at the Brussels Kaaitheater in 1994, Vawter embodied Philoktetes in three forms, using his own body naked and covered with purple Kaposi rash. Through his visible being, he illuminated the connection between the performance's "here and now" and the story's "there and then," as well as between life and death, subject and object—as in his first audience address, when Vawter said that he was suffering from AIDS: "I am dying; I am on my way to the grave but am just doing this performance on the way."
Vawter was a graduate of Siena College, where he performed in Little Theater productions. Vawter died of a heart attack on April 16, 1994, in-flight on a commercial plane from Zürich to New York. He was 45.
Ron Vawter's papers are held by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.[6]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | Sudden Death | Businessman | Uncredited |
1979 | Minus Zero | Freud | |
1981 | Strong Medicine | Max | |
1983 | Born in Flames | FBI Agent | |
1983 | King Blank | King Blank | |
1989 | Sex, Lies, and Videotape | Therapist | |
1989 | Twister | Man in Bar | |
1989 | Fat Man and Little Boy | Jamie Latrobe | |
1990 | Internal Affairs | Jaegar | |
1991 | The Silence of the Lambs | Paul Krendler | |
1991 | The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez | Dr. Ramirez | |
1991 | Johnny Suede | Winston | |
1992 | Swoon | State's Attorney Crowe | |
1993 | King of the Hill | Mr. Desot - Hotel Manager | Uncredited |
1993 | Philadelphia | Bob Seidman | |
1994 | Roy Cohn/Jack Smith | Roy Cohn / Jack Smith | |
1994 | Fresh Kill | (final film role) |
References
- ^ a b "Ron Vawter". Variety. 1994-04-19. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
- ^ Pace, Eric (18 April 1994). "Ron Vawter, Actor, Dies at 45; Known for Avant-Garde Roles". The New York Times.
- IMDb
- ^ Holden, Stephen (1992-05-03). "Two Strangers Meet Through an Actor". New York Times.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (1995-08-04). "2 Extremes of Gay Life". New York Times.
- ^ "Guide to the Ron Vawter Papers". New York Public Library. 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
External links
- Ron Vawter at IMDb
- Ron Vawter papers, 1963-1994, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts