RIP Sheldon Patinkin

[xxdrewboy85xx]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 2:17pm

For those of you that knew him, Sheldon Patinkin passed away this morning. He was a legend in the Chicago theater community. He was a mentor and teacher to so many. The theater community lost one of the best.

"Although many of Patinkin's old pals (such as Ed Asner or Mike Nichols) became rich and famous for their work in film and television, Patinkin mostly remained in Chicago, dedicating much of his life to the training and teaching of future artists, especially those like the future Broadway directors Anna D. Shaprio and David Cromer who came through Columbia College.

But Patinkin also remained deeply connected to the profession. A famously social, emotional and likable personality, he knew, intimately, all the giants of improv and comedy from the late Del Close to the late Bernie Sahlins, his longtime professional partner. Patinkin was a longtime friend of the late Paul Sills. And when Patinkin called the late Second City producer Joyce Sloane "the mother of Chicago theater" in her Tribune obituary, he was, in fact, referring to a woman he himself had hired nearly a half century earlier. "



http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/chi-sheldon-patinkin-dies-20140921-column.html
Updated On: 9/21/14 at 02:17 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 4:43pm

He was also one of the early movers and shakers with Steppenwolf, including the production of THE GLASS MENAGERIE with Laurie Metcalf as Laura and John Malkovich as Tom, which has a legendary status in the Chicago theater scene.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/23/14 at 5:09pm

I was fortunate enough to work with Sheldon many years ago at The O'Neill Center. A brilliant artist and true gentleman. The end of an era.