Ronald Tavel
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Ronald Tavel (May 17, 1936 – March 23, 2009) was an American writer, director and actor, and was known for his work with Andy Warhol and The Factory. He was involved in the Playhouse of the Ridiculous and wrote the scripts for Chelsea Girls, Poor Little Rich Girl and Vinyl. Ronald Tavel provided the one-sentence manifesto for The Theatre of the Ridiculous: "We have passed beyond the Absurd: our position is absolutely preposterous."
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Life
Tavel was born in New York in May 1937. Ronald Tavel was appointed Artist-in-Residence to The Yale University Divinity School in 1975 for his contributions to formal theology and religious theatre (notably, the Obie-Award winning play BIGFOOT): believed to be the first such position ever established at a Protestant divinity school. Re-appointed to that position in 1977 (for the 3-act play GAZELLE BOY). Appointed First Playwright-in-Residence at Cornell University, 1980, where he was commissioned to write the melodrama, THE UNDERSTUDY, which was directed and designed by Michael Hillyer and starred a young Jimmy Smits. Also received the Obie Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theater, 1969, for the musical drama BOY ON THE STRAIGHT-BACK CHAIR. Appointed Distinguished Visiting Assistant Professor in Creative Writing at The University of Colorado at Boulder, 1986-87. Appears in a spate of theatrical and TV documentaries, released since 1989, on painting, postmodern art, and independent films. Was asked by the U.S. State Department to represent Andy Warhol and himself at the city-wide Andy Warhol Festival in Moscow, June-July 2001, where he also staged his play THE LIFE OF JUANITA CASTRO with an all-Russian cast.
He died on a flight from Berlin to Bangkok (where he resided) on March 23, 2009.
Career
Tavel was the screenwriter on Chelsea Girls, a 1966 film directed by Paul Morrissey and Andy Warhol. He wrote or co-wrote numerous other Warhol films.
Tavel worked with other members of Warhol's Factory crowd, including Freddie Herko, Ondine, Mary Woronov, Billy Name, and Brigid Berlin.
Tavel also founded, named, and was heavily involved with the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, a New York City theatre presenting works produced and directed by John Vaccaro and Harvey Tavel and Charles Ludlam. Ronald Tavel provided the one-sentence manifesto for The Theatre of the Ridiculous: "We have passed beyond the Absurd: our position is absolutely preposterous."
Critical reception
“Ronald Tavel is one of the four or five artists in America.” (Martin Gottfried, Theater Critic, WOMENS WEAR DAILY, 1974)
“America’s Aristophanes” (Mel Gussow, Theater Critic, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 1973)
“Ronald Tavel may well be the best young playwright around” (Jack Kroll, Arts Editor, NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE, 1967)
“Ronald Tavel is the best kept secret in the American arts.” (Ron Norman, Editor-in-Chief, BLACKLIST MAGAZINE, 2007)
“One of the greatest American Playwrights. Ronald Tavel is my favorite American writer.” (Michael Silverblatt, THE BOOKWORM, KCRW-FM, nationally syndicated (40 stations) radio program on books and authors, 1996)
“No reading of the literature of the second half of the 20th Century is complete without Ronald Tavel.” (Ed Leffingwell, Art Critic, ART FORUM MAGAZINE, 1996)
“Our first and best interview for ANDY WARHOL: A DOCUMENTARY FILM was Ronald Tavel.” (Ric Burns, TV Documentary Maker, 2007)
“The two people I learned the most from about Andy Warhol are his assistant, Gerard Malanga, and his screenwriter, Ronald Tavel.” (Callie Angell, Assistant Director, The Andy Warhol Film Project, The Whitney Museum of American Art.)
“THE LIFE OF JUANITA CASTRO is an unheralded masterpiece. The creative force behind it is Ronnie Tavel, who wrote the script and plays the role of the Stage Manager.” (Andrew Sarris, Film Critic, THE VILLAGE VOICE, 1965)
Filmography (partial)
- Chelsea Girls - 1966
- Hedy - 1966
- Kitchen - 1965
- The Life of Juanita Castro - 1965
- Poor Little Rich Girl - 1965
- Horse - 1965
- Screen Test #1 - 1965
- Screen Test #2 - 1965
- Vinyl - 1965
