Robert Hilferty
Encyclopedia
Robert Hilferty was a New York based journalist
, filmmaker and AIDS
activist.
on The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
and Tanner '88.
Although he was HIV-negative, Hilferty became an AIDS activist following the death of his lover. He shot video footage at Act Up's December 1989 St. Patrick’s Cathedral demonstration which he used to create the documentary Stop the Church. PBS initially planned to broadcast the film in August 1991 but then canceled the broadcast, citing the film’s numerous denunciations of the Roman Catholic Church
and calling it "inappropriate for distribution because of its pervasive tone of ridicule." Hilferty responded that PBSs decision was a "cowardly and unprincipled" form of censorship. Various local PBS stations, including New York's WNET
, aired it in protest.
Hilferty followed Stop the Church with I Wrapped a Giant Condom Over Jesse Helms' House which documented a September 1991 demonstration by TAG
, an activist group related to Act Up.
In 1991, Hilferty completed a screenplay, Comes to Shove which he described as "an action film" — a pun on Act Up's strategy of direct action, but the film was never produced.
In 1992, Hilferty obtained partial funding for Babbitt: Portrait of a Serial Composer, a documentary about composer Milton Babbitt
with whom Hilferty had become acquainted during his years at Princeton. ) In 1993, Hilferty shot footage of Babbitt and conducted interviews with some of Babbitt's former students, including composer Stephen Sondheim
, but did not complete the film. It was completed in 2010 by another former Babbitt student Laura Karpman, and presented on NPR online upon Babbitt's death in January 2011. Hilferty also served as cinematographer
for the 1996 documentary I Was a Jewish Sex Worker.
From the mid 1990s until his death, Hilferty worked as a journalist for publications such as Artforum
, Bloomberg News, Gramophone, New York Magazine, The New York Times
, Opera News
, Playbill
, Stagebill and The Village Voice
, writing about acting, architecture, classical music, fashion and gardening. While working for Bloomberg TV, he conducted on-camera interviews with Marisa Tomei
, Mickey Rourke
, Philip Roth
, Renée Fleming
, William Gibson
and others.
and was raised in Weehawken, New Jersey
. He attended Regis High School (New York City)
He majored in music at Princeton University
, graduating in 1982.
Hilferty was a resident of New York City's East Village neighborhood for most of his adult life.
His companion in the early 1980s was film scholar Tom Hopkins who died of AIDS in 1985. His companion in 1988 was AIDS activist and writer Peter Staley who commented that although Robert was HIV-negative, "he helped me live and love without stigma." Hilferty's partner from 1995 until his death was costume designer Fabio Toblini.
Hilferty committed suicide on July 24, 2009, following complications from a concussion in March 2009.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, filmmaker and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
activist.
Career
Hilferty began his career in 1988 working as a production assistant for Robert AltmanRobert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
on The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is a two-act play by Herman Wouk, which he adapted from his own novel, The Caine Mutiny.Wouk's novel covered a long stretch of time aboard the USS Caine, a Navy minesweeper in the Pacific...
and Tanner '88.
Although he was HIV-negative, Hilferty became an AIDS activist following the death of his lover. He shot video footage at Act Up's December 1989 St. Patrick’s Cathedral demonstration which he used to create the documentary Stop the Church. PBS initially planned to broadcast the film in August 1991 but then canceled the broadcast, citing the film’s numerous denunciations of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and calling it "inappropriate for distribution because of its pervasive tone of ridicule." Hilferty responded that PBSs decision was a "cowardly and unprincipled" form of censorship. Various local PBS stations, including New York's WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
, aired it in protest.
Hilferty followed Stop the Church with I Wrapped a Giant Condom Over Jesse Helms' House which documented a September 1991 demonstration by TAG
Treatment Action Group
Treatment Action Group is a US-based HIV/AIDS activist organization formed in 1991 involved with worldwide efforts to increase research on treatments for HIV and for deadly co-infections that affect people with HIV, such as hepatitis C and tuberculosis...
, an activist group related to Act Up.
In 1991, Hilferty completed a screenplay, Comes to Shove which he described as "an action film" — a pun on Act Up's strategy of direct action, but the film was never produced.
In 1992, Hilferty obtained partial funding for Babbitt: Portrait of a Serial Composer, a documentary about composer Milton Babbitt
Milton Babbitt
Milton Byron Babbitt was an American composer, music theorist, and teacher. He is particularly noted for his serial and electronic music.-Biography:...
with whom Hilferty had become acquainted during his years at Princeton. ) In 1993, Hilferty shot footage of Babbitt and conducted interviews with some of Babbitt's former students, including composer Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, but did not complete the film. It was completed in 2010 by another former Babbitt student Laura Karpman, and presented on NPR online upon Babbitt's death in January 2011. Hilferty also served as cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
for the 1996 documentary I Was a Jewish Sex Worker.
From the mid 1990s until his death, Hilferty worked as a journalist for publications such as Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
, Bloomberg News, Gramophone, New York Magazine, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
, Playbill
Playbill
Playbill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...
, Stagebill and The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, writing about acting, architecture, classical music, fashion and gardening. While working for Bloomberg TV, he conducted on-camera interviews with Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei is an American stage, film and television actress. Following her work on As The World Turns, Tomei came to prominence as a supporting cast member on The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World in 1987...
, Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke
Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
, Philip Roth
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
, Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
, William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
and others.
Personal life
Hilferty was born on December 14, 1959 in TeaneckTeaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
and was raised in Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 12,554.-Geography:Weehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area...
. He attended Regis High School (New York City)
Regis High School (New York City)
Regis High School is a private Jesuit university-preparatory school for academically gifted Roman Catholic young men located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Annual class enrollment is limited to approximately 135 male students from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut tri-state area...
He majored in music at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, graduating in 1982.
Hilferty was a resident of New York City's East Village neighborhood for most of his adult life.
His companion in the early 1980s was film scholar Tom Hopkins who died of AIDS in 1985. His companion in 1988 was AIDS activist and writer Peter Staley who commented that although Robert was HIV-negative, "he helped me live and love without stigma." Hilferty's partner from 1995 until his death was costume designer Fabio Toblini.
Hilferty committed suicide on July 24, 2009, following complications from a concussion in March 2009.