Arlene Alda(néeWeiss;born March 12, 1933)[1]is an American musician,photographerand writer. She began her career playing clarinet professionally, then moved on to photography and writing children's books. She is married to actorAlan Alda.
Arlene Alda | |
|---|---|
| Born | Arlene Weiss March 12, 1933 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Evander Childs High School |
| Alma mater | Hunter College |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer, writer |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingElizabethandBeatrice |
| Relatives | Robert Alda(father-in-law) |
| Website | www |
Early life
editAlda was bornArlene Weissinthe Bronx,New York Cityto Jewish parents.[1]She attendedEvander Childs High SchoolandHunter College,graduating in January 1954 as a music major,Phi Beta Kappa,Cum Laude.[2][3]She became a member of the National Orchestra, a training orchestra, conducted byLeon Barzin.She studied clarinet withAbraham Goldsteinand Leon Russianoff, becoming a member of theHouston Symphony Orchestra,playing assistant first clarinet and bass clarinet under the baton ofLeopold Stokowski.[3]
Weiss played first clarinet in the Ridgefield Orchestra. She pursued an early interest in photography by studying with Mort Shapiro andLou Bernstein,ultimately changing careers and becoming a photographer and writer. As a photographer, Alda had several one-person shows, including those in Nikon House in New York City and the Mark Humphrey Gallery inSouthampton,New York. As afreelance photographer,her photographs have appeared inThe Saturday Evening Post,Vogue,People Magazine,Life Magazine,andToday's Health Magazine, for which she received a Chicago Graphics Communications Award for herphoto essay,"Allison's Tonsillectomy".
Literary works
editAlda is the author of 15 children's books, including the best seller,Sheep, Sheep Sheep, Help Me Fall Asleep(Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 1992),Arlene Alda's 1,2,3(Tricycle Press 1998), which won an American Library Notable citation,The Book of ZZZs(Tundra 2005),Did You Say Pears?(Tundra 2006) andExcept the Color Grey(Tundra 2011). She also wrote the popularHurry Granny Annie(Published byTricycle Pressin 1999) as well asHold the Bus(Published by Troll Press in 1996),Iris Has a Virus(2008) andLulu's Piano Lesson(2010). For much, but not all, of her career as an author, she has provided her own photography as illustrations used in her children's books.[4]
She is also represented in photo anthologies,Women of Vision,andSoho Gallery 2.Alda is the author ofOn Set(Fireside/Simon and Schuster 1981) illustrated with over one hundred of her photographs andThe Last Days of Mash(Unicorn, 1983) with photos by Alda and co-written with her husband, Alan Alda. Her most recent book,Just Kids from the Bronx(Henry Holt and Co. March 2015.) an Oral History of 64 interviews with prominent Bronxites. The story tellers includeAl Pacino,Regis Philbin,Colin Powell,Neil deGrasse Tyson,Mary Higgins Clark,Avery Corman,Chazz Palminteri,TATS CRUGraffiti Artists, GrandmasterMelle Mel,and the others, from age 93 to age 23.
Personal life
editArlene is married to actorAlan Alda.They wed on March 15, 1957, and they have three daughters, Eve (b. 1958),Elizabeth(b. 1960), andBeatrice(b. 1961), as well as eight grandchildren.[5]
Awards and honors
editAlda was honored asThe New Jewish Home'sEight Over Eighty Gala 2015 honoree.[6]
References
edit- ^ab"Alda, Arlene 1933-".Encyclopedia.com.Cengage.RetrievedJune 28,2022.
- ^Klemesrud, Judy(31 May 1981)."Arlene Alda: Life as a Feminist's Wife".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 28,2022.
- ^ab"Back in the Bronx featuring Arlene Alda".The Bronx Museum of the Arts.
- ^"Arlene Alda's official website"
- ^Klemesrud, Judy(May 31, 1981)."Arlene Alda: Life as a Feminist's Wife".NY Times.
- ^"Eight Over Eighty Gala Celebrates 8 Remarkable New Yorkers".Retrieved13 July2021.
