PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FILM, "THE FIRST DEADLY SIN" - with David as the Icepick Killer & Frank Sinatra as the detective who hunts him down!
At this the centenary of Sinatra's birth - I offer this tribute to him and to David, whom Sinatra called, "One of the great actors"! David had many anecdotes about Sinatra as they shot the film in NYC -- I'll add them later. Thanks, CMD
I am writing
this in Fall of 2003, just after the three-year anniversary
of David's death. It hardly seems possible and yet the reality
of three Octobers presents itself. David seems more present
than ever — his films, like The Josephine Baker Story
(for which he received an Emmy nomination) and A Little Romance
(with Laurence Olivier) — even 79 Park Avenue (an old
Harold Robbins made-for-TV movie) and Snowkill and Without a
Trace all surface on HBO or TNT or other channels. Then there's
Dawson Creek re-runs and Law and Order and others — his
unforgettable face and voice stay animated in his film and TV
work.But David
lives on in other ways. The USC School of Theater scholarship
in his name continues — Patrick Adams, a third year USC
Theatre Arts major, is the second recipient of the scholarship
award and internship at the Taper/Ahmanson Theater Center in
Los Angeles. The scholarship will continue into perpetuity —
and my daughter Annie and I thank every one of you who have
contributed to the ongoing fund!And there's
more news about David's posthumuous "presence" —
At the invitation of the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library
in New York City, I have arranged to donate David's theater
"archive" (all of his photographs, letters, annotated
scripts and screenplays, notes, signed theater posters, and
other memorabilia) to the library collection. Robert Taylor,
curator of the Billy Rose archive at Lincoln Center Library,
is facilitating the transfer of the documentation of David's
acting life and career for permanent inclusion at Lincoln Center.
David would have been thrilled to know that this record of his
life and profession would be available to theater scholars,
actors, critics and the public. The Lincoln Center Library for
the Performing Arts will also mount an exhibit of David's archive
when the conservancy (preservation) process is completed. David,
in this way, will be forever "on Broadway"! The archive
will feature special memorabilia like an audiotape of David
in one of his first roles on Broadway, as Henry Carr in Tom
Stoppard's "Travesties", notes from Arthur Miller
on "Broken Glass", interviews with David on video
and audiotape (most notably about "M. Butterfly"),
theater posters signed by cast members who include John Woods,
Brian Bedford, Amy Irving, Ron Rifkin, Michael York, etc. and
signed notes from Frank Sinatra and Ah MacGraw, Sir Peter Hall,
Hal Prince, etc. Here's to immortality for David on the Great
White Way! My book
of essays, which include "remembrances" of David,
Married to the Icepick Killer: a Poet in Hollywood (Random House)
was selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as a Best Book of
2002.
And more
to come.
As
of this May, we have a new scholarship recipient -- Edward Padilla,
third year student, USC School of Theater. There were many finalists
this year — all extremely qualified. All wrote essays and "auditioned"
for the panel of judges including Dean Madeline Puzo. Edward Padilla,
already an experienced actor, demonstrated astonishing interpretative
skill. He was awarded the David Coleman Dukes Memorial Scholarship (and the
Mark Taper Forum internship) at the School of Theater Awards Ceremony
on May 8, 2004, by Carol Muske-Dukes.
The scholarship,
established in memory of the late actor David Coleman Dukes, will be awarded
annually to a third-year Theater Arts student working toward a career
in stage acting. A bronze plaque commemorating the scholarship benefit
held in David Coleman Dukes' name can be seen in the lobby of the Bing Theater,
off Queen's Court on the USC campus.
A
Message From Carol Muske-Dukes My husband, David Coleman Dukes, died on October 9, 2000 of heart
failure related to coronary artery disease. We have set up a scholarship
fund in his name at the School of Theatre at the University of Southern
California, which includes an "internship" at the Mark Taper
Forum of the Ahmanson Theatre Center. If you would like to contribute
to this scholarship fund, please click below.
Donate
online today:
On October 9, 2000,
the actor David Coleman Dukes passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. He will
be greatly missed. In his 30-year career as an actor, David appeared
in more than 20 films and numerous television shows, but theatre always
remained his primary love. In honor of David, the USC School of Theatre
has created a memorial scholarship in his name. Each year a theatre
student will benefit from this scholarship, which will help defray the
costs of an undergraduate education in the arts. If you would like to
make a contribution to this ongoing endowment please send a check to
the address below. Thank you for your support.
The
David Coleman Dukes Memorial Scholarship
USC School of Theatre
Tyler building Suite 120
Los Angeles, CA 90089-7711
Thank
you for your contribution, large or small —
we are very grateful for your interest in perpetuating David's memory.
