In October of last year, the entertainment industry lost a powerful friend in Richard Barclay, a celebrated singer/actor and producer/director, who passed after an eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
Singers Frank Basile, Julie Budd and Richard Holbrook, actress-singer Ilene Kristen and Richard Barclay’s dear friend, performer Eileen Fulton, will join Richard Skipper to share memories and perform musical entertainment in Barclay’s honor. The memorial is on Saturday, May 26 at 8 PM, at Don’t Tell Mama, with all cover charges donated to Career Bridges, an organization which was very near and dear to Barclay’s heart.
Richard Barclay was more than a great artist—he was a kind, compassionate, and generous mentor. Barclay started his long career in the 1950s as a dancer performing with Mitzi Gaynor and Lisa Kirk in their club acts. He took over—at the last minute—for an ailing Darryl Hickman (who had replaced Robert Morse) as J. Pierpont Finch in the Broadway production of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. After that, Barclay played Albert Peterson opposite Chita Rivera and Brenda Lee in Bye Bye Birdie at The Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. He also appeared with Nanette Fabray in No, No Nanette; Carole Cook in Kismet and with Eileen Fulton in the dark musical, Carnival. This was the beginning of a very long friendship with Ms. Fulton. By the early 1970s, Barclay teamed with Bob Deubel to form the production company, Concepts Unlimited, which produced several documentaries for film and television. He produced the documentary, Norman Rockwell’s World, winning an Academy Award for the Best Documentary Short Subject. He and Deubel also produced the TV documentary, The American Woman, narrated by Patricia Neal and featuring Celeste Holm, Helen Gallagher, Frank Langella, Claudia McNeil, Joanna Miles, Melba Moore, Kate Mulgrew, Lois Nettleton, George Rose and Jamie Ross. The team also produced Verse Person Singular starring Richard Kiley, shown on PBS “American Playhouse.”
Richard Skipper Celebrates Richard Barclay will be presented at Don’t Tell Mama (343 West 46th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenue) in Manhattan on Saturday, May 26, 2018 at 8:00 P.M. There is a $25.00 Cover Charge (CASH ONLY) with a two-drink minimum.
All Cabaret Cover Charges will be donated to Career Bridges, an organization which helps extraordinarily young operatic singers launch their careers. It has also provided grants and expert advice to over 160 highly talented young singers. http://careerbridges.org
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