"Can you tell right away if someone is talented?You can't. It grows. I see it all the time.They come in and they don't know anything, but then it starts to build."
- Irene Gilbert
The end of an era, as they say: Actress and teacher Irene Gilbert died May 21 at 76 in Eureka, California, at the home of her son, Randall Garrett Herzon. She was the co-founder of the Los Angeles branch of the Stella Adler acting school, a non-profit academy, and served as instructor and administrator. She also produced a number of plays. She died from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
A few details from Variety:
"In 1991 the school was shut down after a fire, and the building at Hollywood and Argyle was to be demolished so the subway could be constructed; then Adler died in 1992."
"Gilbert swore to Adler that she would rebuild the academy, and it reopened in 1994 at Hollywood and Highland."
"Benicio Del Toro, Mark Ruffalo and Salma Hayek are among the Los Angeles school's alumni."
"Gilbert was born Irene Liebert in Germany; she and her family immigrated to New York City just prior to WWII, but her parents died when she was 5 at the hands of a drunk driver. An aunt and her older brothers raised her."
"...Gilbert made her TV debut on an episode of Medical Center in 1969 and went to appear in Emergency, Barnaby Jones, and Cannon, among other shows. Her last credit was an episode of Highway to Heaven in 1989."
"A memorial will be held June 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the academy, 6773 Hollywood Blvd."
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