To our dear friends and family,
Serena and I both hope this email finds you all safe and well during these extraordinary times.
As some of you know, we had hoped to have a memorial for Dad this month. We started planning earlier this year, found a venue that was perfect and were on the verge of sending invitations to you. Then the world shut down.
In recent weeks, we discussed having a memorial via Zoom, an attempt to join together to celebrate Dad. The more we talked about it however, the more we realized how unsatisfying it would be. It felt important to be able to see each of you, to hug you and to remember him together. But it doesn’t look like things will be changing anytime soon and we just don’t anticipate having the opportunity we would have hoped for to commemorate Dad’s life let alone hug each other in large groups.
The truth of the matter is, Dad hated the idea of a service or memorial of any kind. Over a year ago, Serena and I broached the idea with him. “Jesus Christ honey,” he said. “Who wants to go to a memorial? Tell everyone to have a martini, do something wild, watch a good film and call it a day!” He would have roared with laughter that our attempt at memorializing him was unceremoniously foiled.
We think about him constantly with such love and pride. His kind thoughtful way with everyone who crossed his path, his deep and abiding love for the theatre, for art and for true great expression, his impressive memory up until his final days and above all, his great sense of humor…These are a few of the things we will always miss most. He was an extraordinary man, and we were lucky to have him as our father for so many years.
On Dad’s birthday in 2005, Serena recorded an interview with him at StoryCorps in New York. She was recently sent the file and thought it might be a nice thing for you all to listen to — maybe even on his birthday– as a memorial of sorts. It’s 35 minutes long and I loved every minute of hearing his voice. We thought perhaps you will too. I’ve posted the link below.
https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/gct001687-2/
Thank you all for being in Dad’s lives, whether as friends, family, or colleagues. On his birthday tomorrow let’s all raise a glass to David and thank him for every glorious minute we got to spend with him. If you choose to drink a martini, make sure it’s stirred not shaken, with an extra olive for Bridget. Please feel free to pass this email along to anyone who knew and loved David. We don’t have everyone’s email address and want to make sure we don’t leave anyone out. We’re sending you our love from afar and wishes for your health, fortitude and humor during this unprecedented time.
xx Alexandra and Serena
From David’s FB page.
