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This just in!
Thought you might like to know that Chris Nolan was a copywriter at Chiat/Day in the late 70's and early 80's when Jay was in the office next door.
Chris is now busy freelance writing along with commercial directing and screenwriting. He recently wrote "Going To The Mat" for The Disney Channel which will air March 19.
All the best,
A Chiat/Day alumni's wife.
Thanks, alum-in-law!
Submitted for your inspection:
Here's a bizarre alum tidbit: Denzil Meyers is directing a play - his first! Here's the part that seems somehow completely natural, in a Denzil sort of way: he's directing a stage version of "TheTwilight Zone."
Yes, Denzil is directing "Episode #64 — Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up? — on March 12 and 13th at San Francisco's gritty Mission theatre Spanganga. More info on the groovy 4 week series at http://www.twilightzonelive.4t.com/
#3 in a continuing series:
Heard in the halls:
"Chiat's hit the fan."
#2 in a continuing series:
"Don't bring me problems. Bring me solutions."
"Why did you solve that without seeing me first?"
Shortly before Christmas, Joe Palladino, one of Chiat/Day's great Account Supervisors from its early days in New York, died after a very brief illness. A few days ago, I received a phone call from a dear friend of his, Hazel Kahan, and I suggested that she send me a few photos of Joe for posting on this website.
Joe died shockingly and far too soon in New York a few days before the end of December, 2003. He had come up from Miami to spend the holidays with friends in New York and Pennsylvania.Joe sold his apartment at 77 Bleeker Street and moved out of Manhattan to Miami in the early 90s to work on a cruise ship account. When that project ended, he decided to stay on in Miami, despite the protestations of his NYC friends. Although we were happy enough to feast off his fabulous hospitality in Miami, especially in the winter, we would much rather have had him back here with us.
Joe lived these last few years exemplifying the life of the aesthete. He had the most exquisite taste of anybody I have ever known--everything he did was beautiful, whether it was the way he served fish soup in a plain white bowl or the way he grew his orchids on the balcony or the way he designed and stitched his needlepoint pillows and carpets. The Joe I know knew how to be a full friend: he enjoyed being helpful and offered his many skills in the most generous of ways.
I had a thousand reasons to call Joe and we talked to each other every day. I will always miss him.
Joe would have been 65 on March 17.
Many, many years ago, an art director at Chiat/Day named Yvonne Smith put together a hard-bound collection of all of the funny, bizarre, inconsistent, passive-aggressive, and brilliant things Jay had said over the years to various employees. She called it "Quotations from Chairman Jay" and I am proud to say that I have an original copy of that little red book.
Over the next few weeks, I will be posting the entire collection, page by page. We begin with the editor's note:
To compile the following quotes, people were asked if Jay Chiat had ever said anything strange to them.
The overwhelming response was, "Yes."
And from the forward ...
"You might not actualy meet Jay Chiat for months, even years. But his personality and energy greatly affect the environment in which you work. If you can cope witht the complexities and contradictions of a sensitive/insenstiive/articulate/vague/concentrated/dissipated Scorpio who feels no compulsion to conceal any of his feelings, your chances for survival are greatly enhanced. (By at least fourteen days.)"
- Introduction, Chiat/Day
Employees Handbook, Circa 1977
And now, for the first page ...
"No one is indispensable.""Sharon, where are my car keys?"
(clockwise from center/floor) Adam Dodway, Zoe Kawaller, Anne Watters (kneeling), Barbara Blomberg, Stefanie Vinopal, Brian Haggerty, Leslie Engel, Dan Grinko, Bradford Harlan and Daniel Burke. Photo by Carol Rosegg.
From the New York Times, February 20th, comes this glowing review of "The Diary of Anne Frank" which stars Leslie (Cicurel) Engel, who was Director of Personnel in the New York office from 1988-1992. (See February 6th entry.)
The show only runs through Feb. 29th, so get your tickets now!
FAMILY FARE
Reliving a Brief Life
By LAUREL GRAEBERIn many ways she was a typical teenage girl: headstrong and passionate, anxious about her appearance, at loggerheads with her mother, dreaming about fame. But she is remembered for what made her extraordinary: a precocious talent and the cruel circumstances that shaped her short life.
Both sides come through in "The Diary of Anne Frank," Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett's theatrical adaptation of Frank's journal, presented by the St. Bart's Players in honor of the 75th anniversary of her birth. In addition to being rich and nuanced theater, the production is distinctive for two reasons: it is directed by Stephen Press, who played the adolescent Peter in the original Broadway production in 1955, and it is accompanied by "The Anne Frank Story," a fascinating but disturbing photography show (it includes Holocaust images) sponsored by the Anne Frank Center USA.
This "Diary" is thoughtfully detailed, from the haunting music that precedes the opening to the whining sirens and gruff German commands heard during the excruciating penultimate scene. No opportunity for realism is sacrificed, down to the serenely accommodating cat that plays Peter's beloved pet, Mouschi.
Brian Haggerty communicates the strong will and steadfast love of Otto Frank, and Barbara Blomberg makes his occasionally shrill wife humane and sympathetic. Anne Watters brings energy to the quiet daughter, Margot, and Daniel Burke offers comic relief as the fussy dentist, Mr. Dussel. Bradford Harlan and Leslie Engel are convincing as the warring but peculiarly united Van Daans. Adam Dodway, as Peter, their son, finds the appropriate combination of ardor and awkwardness as he falls in love with Anne.
In the starring role, Zoë Kawaller eerily resembles the real Anne, but more important, she embodies the fervor, optimism and mischievous wit that prevent her character from seeing herself as a victim. The staging and the photo exhibition, which explores what happened before and after the action of the play, make Anne Frank's legacy clear. Six million can seem like an impossible number to grasp; by giving the world her unforgettable story, she reminds us of the precious individuality of every one of those lives.
"The Diary of Anne Frank," at St. Bart's Playhouse, Park Avenue at 50th Street, Manhattan, (212) 378-0248 (or 0222). Tonight at 8; tomorrow at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets: $20; students and 65+, $18. "The Anne Frank Story," through Feb. 29 in the cloister adjacent to the theater. Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free.
FreeConference.com
A great dial-in teleconferencing solution for free. You just set up your call as little as 90 minutes in advance and distribute the call-in number to the folks calling. The organizer pays nothing, and participants pay only their usual long distance.
The New York Times is constantly mentioning the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, nonprofit research group that tracks money in politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Here's your chance to find out just how bills get passed in Washington (literally).
Camera phones suck as far as quality is concerned, but you can't beat their portability. Here is a photo I snapped just the other night at Barrymoor's, a post-theatre dive frequented by many Broadway celebrities.
Why, here are two Broadway celebrities now! That's Susan Wands and her husband, Robert Petkoff. Susan was in Chiat/Day's MIS department for many years (she also digitized all those documents for the virtual office.)
She is an actress, as is her husband, Robert Petkoff. Robert is currently starring as Perchik in the new revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Minskoff Theatre, which opens later this week. Susan recently starred in "Knowing Cairo" at the Globe Theatre in San Diego.
(JayDay trivia: Susan Wands, Eve Luppert, and I all grew up in the same hometown: Spokane, Washington. We were also in the community theatre there together and I directed both of them in their stage debuts in "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.")
Steve Garey turned himself in! ("Worked there in 1970 and again in 1974. Stayed friends with Jay until his passing.")
Nigel Carr turned in Lauren Schiller ("she worked for me for 6 years, and is an absolute star--grew to head of client services") Rosemarie Ryan ("president of jwt no less!"), Mike Skagerlind ("he's been with nickelodeon for years==in oz, and most recently in ny--he's running their internet group now--yet another protege im v proud of"); and Bob Wolf ("he has his own consultancy now--they do newbiz searches for clients")
I also heard from The Boy from Oz, Dion Hughes!
I’ve been living the dream every Australian boy grows up with. Yes, I’m in Minneapolis. Have been for eight years. Came to work at Fallon, left five years ago to do my own thing. I’m married to Rona, and we have a four year old red-head named Jasper. My company is Dion&Mark, we started off doing freelance creative for agencies but have slowly built a list of direct clients, such as Best Buy and Target.
Dion turned in the following alums ...
Dave Cook (NY) now works at McKinney+ Silver in North Carolina ... Graham Clifford (NY) has his own design firm … David Angelo (NY) has his own advertising agency … Scott Lukas (NY) has his own planning consulting gig... Peter McHugh (NY) is Cd (creative director) at 180 in amsterdam ... David Ayriss (LA office late 80’s) freelances from Seattle ... Rosann Calisi (NY) is creative manager at FCB SF... Angela Dunkle (LA) freelances from SF, and also has a t-shirt company... Paul Hodgkinson (london office) is Cd at MCSaatchi in london... Mike Mazza (LA) is a CD at Riney in San Fran ... Steve Silver (LA) has his own small agency in San Fran ... Casey Mooney (LA, SF, NY and where else) last I heard was working at a printing company in SF... Adam Morgan (LA) has a groovy strategic consulting company in London ...Steve Sweitzer (LA, NY, London) Cd at DDB Dallas ... Rob White (LA) still works at Fallon ...
"Reporting on the brilliance and idiocy of the media and advertising industry, Adrants offers subversive comment on the questionable, the absurd, the new and the noteworthy. Everything from new campaign launches to useful facts and figures to odd little items from the fringe are delivered with wit, humor and sarcasm."
The Rail Alphabet is a typeface designed by British Rail as a tiled system to enable correctly spaced signs to be assembled by untrained staff. These and other work-a-day design wonders await you at Public Lettering, an online walking tour of British signage design.
This just in from Leslie Atkinson ...
Cathy Henderson and Kristen Henderson are Chiat/Day alums (late 90's - early 00’s). They are sisters and, ironically, were both Senior Media Planners. They left Chiat/Day to follow their musical dream full time and are doing quite well. I think Jay would be proud of their desire and tenacity.
Their band, Antigone Rising, was signed by Lava/Atlantic this past summer, and their first Lava/Atlantic release is due out this summer. I've actually been pitching in the last four years helping them with publicity. They have two shows in NYC this weekend, and I'm sure they'd appreciate a little "alum love."
Specifics: 2/13 and 2/14 Crash Mansion 199 Bowery Street at Spring Ages 18+ More info: http://www.antigonerising.com. I've also attached a press photo to post. Kristen is the second from the left in the back, and Cathy is next to her. Could you please post something pithy in the hopes we can get some alums to the shows?
[This is truly "artist" week on JayDay, isn't it? First we had David Chapa writing a book, then Leslie Cicurel Engel appearing on stage, and now this. I feel an almost overwhelming urge to run away and join the circus. And why not? I've been a clown for years! Steve]
(clockwise from center/floor) Adam Dodway, Zoe Kawaller, Anne Watters (kneeling), Barbara Blomberg, Stefanie Vinopal, Brian Haggerty, Leslie Engel, Dan Grinko, Bradford Harlan and Daniel Burke. Photo by Carol Rosegg.
This exciting confession just in from Leslie (Cicurel) Engel, who was Director of Personnel in the New York office from 1988-1992 ...
Unbeknownst to many C/D'ers, prior to getting into advertising I harbored a desire to become an actress. I studied Theater Arts in college, did summer stock, studied at Circle in the Square.. then real life took over. Prior to working at Chiat/Day, I kept my hand in the theater by co-founding and running a talent agency for 5 years. All of this to say that happily, after a 20 year absence, I'm back on the boards! I am featured in the St. Bart's Players production of The Diary of Anne Frank in the role of Mrs. Van Daan opening on February 12th and running through February 22nd. St. Bart's Players is the oldest community theater group in the city and produces 3 shows a year. This production is particularly timely as it marks Anne Frank's Jubilee celebration; she would have been 75 years old this year. On a personal note, returning to my first love, the theater, has given me a wonderful creative outlet and in this venue allows me to give back to the community as well. Hope some old friends will be able to attend a performance.
"The Diary of Anne Frank" will be performed February 12th to 22nd at St. Bart's Playhouse, Park Avenue at 50th Street, Manhattan, in the Community House of St. Bartholomew's Church. St. Bart's box office: 212-378-0248. Tickets: $20 Regular Admission; $18 Student/Senior Citizen.
For more information about the play, click here!
One of my very own employees has found himself!
David Chapa (LA, class of 87-89) started out as the nightime backup operator of the Wang computer system. (Several people out there just clutched their heart just reading that word!) David says ...
"After six months I was offered a full time position with the company as the WANG sys admin responsible for backup and recovery.My fondest memories ...
1. I loved when we would have Ad previews in the Midway of the building so all of us could see the excellent creative work going into our product deliverables. The Nissan Account was huge I that area, I remember we brought the Pathfinder "in-house" that was used in our commercial series. It was still full of mud and dents, that was pretty cool.
2. Since I was running backup and recovery, there were times when I had to work late at night doing restores (or re-orgs of files) and remember tossing the football with whoever was still around at night while I waited for the system to come back up again. I can't think of another place where I was able to do that...
3. I always liked the fact that Jay was so approachable either when he was in Venice, CA or in New York.
A lifetime of memories in just a few short years of working with this great company will forever be with me."
That's David and his wife, Jill, daughter Ashley (6), and son Tyler (4) the day before they moved to Colorado from Illinois. David is also the co-author of a book titled “Implementing Backup and Recovery: The Readiness Guide to the Enterprise”
From nightime backup operator to author. That was Chiat/Day!
Adam Sutner had a long resume at Chiat/Day. He was a Managment Sup. and later GM of the Regional Network, Group Nissan Director in Europe, head of the International Division in Brussels, etc.
"I worked in L.A., Denver, New York, San Francisco, Melbourne, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, and for bits in Dubai and Tokyo," says Adam. "Bet not everyone can say that!"
And where is Adam now?
"I now live Minneapolis, and am Marketing Director for Polaris Industries."
Welcome to JayDay, Adam!
Courtesy of alum Steve Hancock (formerly of C/D NY and Toronto, now at adbeast) ...
In partnership with Nielsen Media we are pleased to bring you a free online recap of all the Canadian and US Super Bowl XXXVIII spots. Organized by commercial break you can review all the spots that ran in this years Super Bowl . Just click here.
Enjoy
StevePS All the spots are also available to download or be transferred directly
to your adbeast studio.
Although we have stayed in touch, it had been years since we have gotten together. At lunch last week, we caught up and told each other how wonderful we both looked! Robin is married to Nancy and they have 2 beautiful children--Sam and Sophie. In addition to being a wonderful dad, Robin is a succesful jewelry designer.
Click on the link and see Robin's incredible collection...
Remember how we're supposed to be honoring Jay's spirit by helping new talent get their start? Meet Marcel Varela. By night, he works at Republic on Union Square. By day, he's getting his first jobs as a professional photographer.
Here’s a sample from a shoot he did for Triple Five Soul, an urban clothing line that got its start in the underground of New York and is now worn everywhere from LA to Japan, and Europe.
Marcel would love to hear from any of you art directors out there who might like to meet with him and see his portfolio. Click here to see his contact info.
Marcel says ...
Here are a few pictures from a spread I had in a West Coast magazine called Lemonade. Some were taken on the Staten Is. Ferry (actually, two days before the crash--a little too close for comfort.)
