I Remember Clarise
I REMEMBER CLARICE
When Clarice Taylor made her transition on May 30th, I was overtaken by sadness and tears. After all, I’d known this legend, this grand lady of the theater and one of our original NEC members for over forty years. But these feelings of remorse were soon replaced by the laughter and priceless moments we shared, moments that can never be erased from memory.
Clarice was one of the first persons at the NEC to take me under her wing, inviting me to dinner with her family. She made me feel special. Of course, she realized that I was a starving actor. And that was no joke. Times were hard, but her generosity took a little of the edge off.
I loved to watch Clarice at work on stage. She had vitality and charisma, a consummate professional, who made everyone around her better. She found humor in moments that other actors would not have even thought of. In Philip Hayes Dean’s, “Sty of the Blind Pig,” her work was a perfect blend of poignancy and comedy. It was beautiful to watch.
Clarice was the only actor I know of who literally stopped the show right in its tracks. In the early seventies, we were in Ed Bullin’s, “The Duplex,” at Lincoln Center. One evening, she did something that was so funny, there were ten minutes of sustained laughter by the audience (and the cast, too, to be truthful) because of Clarice’s comic interpretation. The director said after to her; Clarice. “You can't do that. The show can't afford to stop every performance for ten-minutes.
These few, brief moments I've described are only the tip of the iceberg as far as my memories of Clarice. I hold these memories close to me; they are mine; but I’ll be glad to share them with you from time to time. Clarice was all she was meant to be and even more. Even up where she is now, She has Esther, and Roxie, Moses, Francise and Adolph all laughing with her. We are going to miss you girl, Thank you for the memories you have left behind for us to take some of the edge off. You were the best.
Your good buddy,
Charles
