Ronald Tavel
Encyclopedia
Ronald Tavel was an American screenwriter, director and actor, best known for his work with Andy Warhol
and The Factory
.
, New York
, Tavel graduated from Brooklyn College
and later attended the University of Wyoming
, where he earned a Master's degree
in creative writing in 1959. Tavel worked as a screenwriter during the 1960s for many of Andy Warhol's underground films including Chelsea Girls
. Tavel worked with other members of Warhol's Factory crowd, including Freddie Herko
, Ondine
, Mary Woronov
, Billy Name
, and Brigid Berlin
. He also received the Obie Award
for Outstanding Contribution to Theater in 1969, for the musical drama Boy On the Straight-Back Chair.
Tavel later 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, Harvey Tavel, and Charles Ludlam
. Tavel provided the one-sentence manifesto for The Theatre of the Ridiculous: "We have passed beyond the Absurd: our position is absolutely preposterous."
In 1975, Tavel was appointed Artist-in-Residence to The Yale University Divinity School or his contributions to formal theology and religious theatre (notably, the Obie-Award winning play Bigfoot). In 1977, he was re-appointed to that position for the three-act play Gazelle Boy.
In 1980, he was appointed the First Playwright-in-Residence at Cornell University where he was commissioned to write the melodrama, The Understudy, which starred a young Jimmy Smitts. In 1986, Tavel was appointed Distinguished Visiting Assistant Professor in Creative Writing at The University of Colorado at Boulder.
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and The Factory
The Factory
The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 East 47th Street, in Midtown Manhattan. The rent was "only about one hundred dollars a year"...
.
Early life and career
Born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Tavel graduated from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
and later attended the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
, where he earned a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in creative writing in 1959. Tavel worked as a screenwriter during the 1960s for many of Andy Warhol's underground films including Chelsea Girls
Chelsea Girls
Chelsea Girls is a 1966 experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films...
. Tavel worked with other members of Warhol's Factory crowd, including Freddie Herko
Freddie Herko
Frederick Charles "Freddie" Herko was an artist, musician, actor, dancer, choreographer and teacher.-Biography:...
, Ondine
Ondine (actor)
Robert Olivo aka Ondine was an American actor. He is best known for appearing in a series of films in the mid-1960s by Andy Warhol, whom he claimed to have met in 1961 at an orgy....
, Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov
Mary Woronov is an American actress and writer. She is primarily known for her roles in independent and cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies, as well as numerous appearances in mainstream television series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider.-Early life:Woronov was born in the...
, Billy Name
Billy Name
Billy Name, , is an American photographer, filmmaker and lighting designer. He was the archivist of the Warhol Factory, from 1964 to 1970. His brief romance and subsequent friendship with Andy Warhol led to substantial collaboration on Warhol's work, including his films, paintings and sculpture...
, and Brigid Berlin
Brigid Berlin
Brigid Berlin is an American artist and former Warhol superstar.-Early years:Berlin was the eldest of three daughters born to socialite parents, Muriel Johnson "Honey" Berlin and Richard E. Berlin, into a world of Manhattan privilege. Her father was chairman of the Hearst media empire for 32 years...
. He also received the Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for Outstanding Contribution to Theater in 1969, for the musical drama Boy On the Straight-Back Chair.
Tavel later founded, named, and was heavily involved with the Playhouse of the Ridiculous
Playhouse of the Ridiculous
The Theatre of the Ridiculous is a theatrical genre that began as an American movement in New York in 1965 with the beginnings of "The Play-House of the Ridiculous" and the spin-off group formed in 1967 "The Ridiculous Theatrical Company"....
, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
theatre presenting works produced and directed by John Vaccaro, Harvey Tavel, and Charles Ludlam
Charles Ludlam
Charles Braun Ludlam was an American actor, director, and playwright.-Early life:Ludlam was born in Floral Park, New York, the son of Marjorie and Joseph William Ludlam. He was raised in Greenlawn, New York, on Long Island, and attended Harborfields High School. The fact that he was gay was not a...
. Tavel provided the one-sentence manifesto for The Theatre of the Ridiculous: "We have passed beyond the Absurd: our position is absolutely preposterous."
In 1975, Tavel was appointed Artist-in-Residence to The Yale University Divinity School or his contributions to formal theology and religious theatre (notably, the Obie-Award winning play Bigfoot). In 1977, he was re-appointed to that position for the three-act play Gazelle Boy.
In 1980, he was appointed the First Playwright-in-Residence at Cornell University where he was commissioned to write the melodrama, The Understudy, which starred a young Jimmy Smitts. In 1986, Tavel was appointed Distinguished Visiting Assistant Professor in Creative Writing at The University of Colorado at Boulder.
Death
On March 23, 2009, Tavel died of a heart attack on a flight from Berlin to Bangkok at the age of 72. Tavel had lived in Bangkok for twelve years.Selected filmography
- Chelsea GirlsChelsea GirlsChelsea Girls is a 1966 experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films...
- 1966 - Hedy - 1966
- Kitchen - 1965
- The Life of Juanita Castro - 1965 (as the Stage Manager and ON-SCREEN director)
- Poor Little Rich GirlPoor Little Rich GirlPoor Little Rich Girl is a 1965 underground film by Andy Warhol starring Edie Sedgwick. Poor Little Rich Girl was conceived as the first film in part of a series featuring Sedgwick called The Poor Little Rich Girl Saga...
- 1965 - Horse - 1965 (as Illuminary)
- Screen Test #1 - 1965 (as off-screen interrogator)
- Screen Test #2 - 1965 (as off-screen interrogator)
- VinylVinyl (1965 film)Vinyl is a black-and-white experimental film directed by Andy Warhol at The Factory. It is an early adaptation of the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, starring Gerard Malanga, Edie Sedgwick, Ondine, and Tosh Carillo, and featuring such songs as "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the...
- 1965