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Kaufman, George S.

(Encyclopedia)Kaufman, George S. kôfˈmən [key], 1889–1961, American dramatist and journalist, b. Pittsburgh as George Kaufman. As a drama critic for various New York newspapers he was influential in raising th...

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

(Encyclopedia)Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in central Manhattan, New York City, between 62d and 66th streets W of Broadway. Lincoln Center is both a complex of buildings and the arts organizations that r...

Rodgers, Richard Charles

(Encyclopedia)Rodgers, Richard Charles, 1902–79, American composer, b. New York City. Rodgers studied at Columbia and the Institute of Musical Art, New York City. He met both of his future collaborators, Lorenz H...

Simon, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Simon, Paul, 1941–, American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, b. Newark, N.J. A polished and intelligent folk-rock lyricist and performer, he first gained fame as half of Simon and Garfunkel (with...

Baryshnikov, Mikhail

(Encyclopedia)Baryshnikov, Mikhail mĭˈkhail bərĭˌshnĭkävˈ [key], 1948–, Russian-American dancer and choreographer, b. Riga, Latvia (then in the USSR). He studied in Riga and performed with the Kirov Balle...

Kramer, Larry

(Encyclopedia)Kramer, Larry (Lawrence David), 1935-2020 American gay-rights activist and playwright, b. Bridgeport, Ct., Yale Univ. (B.A., 1957). After graduating co...

Rainey, Gertrude "Ma"

(Encyclopedia)Rainey, Gertrude "Ma," 1886–1939, African-American blues singer and songwriter, b. Columbus, Ga., as Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett. Rainey's place and...

Brando, Marlon

(Encyclopedia)Brando, Marlon, 1924–2004, American film actor, often described as the greatest of his generation, b. Omaha, Nebr. Regarded as the foremost practitioner of “method” acting as taught by American ...

Allen, Woody

(Encyclopedia)Allen, Woody, 1935–, American actor, writer, and director, one of contemporary America's leading filmmakers, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Allen Stewart Konigsberg. Allen began his career writing for televi...

Kushner, Tony

(Encyclopedia)Kushner, Tony ko͝oshˈnər [key], 1956–, American playwright, b. New York City. He was a little-known off-Broadway playwright with several interesting works, e.g., Yes, Yes, No, No (1985) and A Bri...