Renaissance Man

In a month marked by an unusual number of outstanding documentaries on aspects of African-American history, PBS' "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand" seems like a near-perfect grand finale.The "American Masters" documentary tells the story of a brilliant and horribly persecuted black man who comes closer, perhaps, than any other American of the century to fulfilling the definition of Renaissance Man.This is, as PBS claims, the first definitive biography of Robeson, and more's the shame on us as a culture that it took this long.

Edwin Thaddeus Morris could explain the peculiarities of building dams and bridges throughout the continent of Africa. He could hunt his food and transform it into a four-star dinner. Want to know anything about the Congo River? Consult the maps Mr. Morris corrected.Mr. Morris, a resident of Ruxton, did not limit his interests. They were varied and took him all over the globe. From the time he was a young man until well after his retirement, he had great success in almost everything he tried.

We reached out and touched Thomas Jefferson ... at least my wife and I felt we did when we entered his world on a recent driving tour of Virginia's Jefferson country. We discovered that the state where this extraordinary American was born, raised and passed his last years is so rich in structures and landscapes associated with him that he is a presence here still. Seeing his world in three dimensions made him seem even more real to us than did the commendable Ken Burns' television treatment of his life.

Barry Williams likes to say there is a renaissance in progress at Randallstown High School -- "a renaissance of excellence."That makes the dapper Mr. Williams the renaissance man -- the new principal sent to revive a school troubled last year by discipline problems, disgruntled teachers, arsons and racial unrest in the majority-black student body.When school opened last month, Randallstown had shining floors, replacements for at least half of the staff, a four-period day instead of the more traditional seven periods, more rules -- and more students than expected.

Considering how much Quincy Jones has achieved in his career -- the music he's made, the awards he's won, the deals he's cut, the worlds he's moved through -- there's no way that TC mere handful of words could ever possibly do his life justice.This, after all, is a man who in the past 50 years has worked with everyone from Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra, from Lionel Hampton to Miles Davis, and from Leslie Gore to Dinah Washington. His media empire stretches from "The Color Purple" to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" to Vibe magazine; he's as well-versed in Swedish folk music as he is in soul; and he's equally at home with rockers, rappers and European royalty.

THOMAS JEFFERSON, America's "Renaissance man," is making a comeback, according to a recent Sunday Sun article ("The truth about the American statesman may not be self-evident," Dec. 4).Count me among the people hoping he returns ignominiously to wherever it was he was making his comeback from.Do not count me among admirers of the statesman, ambassador and author of the Declaration of Independence who went on to become our third president. It's not just because he was a racist who used every opportunity to claim black people were inferior.

Clay Purdy is Harford County's Renaissance man -- concert violinist, inventor, electronics buff, music teacher, stay-at-home dad and Army veteran.Mr. Purdy's violin virtuosity will be showcased Saturday when he performs as guest soloist with the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra.His other talents are less public, but just as impressive.While Mr. Purdy's wife, Nancy, a sales representative for a pharmaceutical firm, goes off to work each day, he stays in their Abingdon home and cares for their 16-month-old son, Christopher.

Gary Vikan, the newly appointed director of the Walters Art Gallery, could reasonably be called a modern-day Renaissance man.He's a serious scholar, a person who tackles whatever he does with dedication and skill, whether that be creating catalogs on Byzantine art or writing a paper on Elvis Presley's Graceland. He's a man who on first meeting seems reticent, but is warm and even endearing to those who know him well.He possesses a wry sense of humor, plays a fair game of golf and can cook up a storm.

Nicholas VanSant, retired president and chairman of the board of VanSant Dugdale & Co. Inc., one of the oldest advertising agencies in the country, died Thursday of cancer at his home in Towson. He was 70.Mr. VanSant, a 35-year veteran of the company, retired in 1983. While he was president, the company maintained national accounts with clients such as USF&G, Black & Decker and Martin Marietta.Mr. VanSant joined the firm, founded by his father, Wilbur VanSant, in 1948 as a service assistant after graduating from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He worked in various departments before joining management.

Hyman Solomon Rubinstein -- a man of broad and stunning talents as a neurologist, violinist, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, humanitarian, writer and the inventor of his own shorthand -- died of heart failure March 17 at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 90."During the 1940s, he took in Jewish refugees from Germany, Russia and Argentina and they remained lifelong friends," said Roberta Faith Rubinstein, a daughter who lives in Pikesville. "He visited orphanages and was always giving away money to those who were in need."

He writes verse, and one of his poems won an international poetry competition. He paints, and one of his works was displayed on the Web site of a major British newspaper. He blogs for another major British newspaper. He composes music that gets performed in high-profile places. He's the author of a book on prayer. Oh yes, and Stephen Hough also plays the piano. Brilliantly, incisively, compellingly. The British keyboard artist and 21st-century Renaissance man, a recipient of a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship (the so-called "genius grant")

Paul Newman the actor, director, race car driver, political activist and philanthropist has died - and a buoyant strain of the American spirit has gone with him. He was 83 when he succumbed to cancer at his home near Westport, Conn., on Friday. For all his adult years, he imbued each of his arenas with unique, muscular vivacity. Mr. Newman wore the mantle of his superstardom lightly. Honored as an actor and a humanitarian, respected for putting forth liberal views without condescending to opponents, he was a Renaissance man and a stand-up guy. With Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting , Mr. Newman became part of our national pop fantasy life.

When British West Indian playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah came to Center Stage last month for the first rehearsal of Elmina's Kitchen, he arrived with cookies for the cast. Then he apologized for not bringing the cookies from England. Center Stage's production is the American premiere of the award-winning Elmina's Kitch-en -- and, for that matter, the American premiere of any play by Kwei-Armah. Though he's hardly a household name in this country, Kwei-Armah is a celebrity in his native Britain.

Outside The low-impact workout of water aerobics is drawing a number of fans to city pools this winter, page 28 Scene The People's Poetry Awards 2004 celebrate the accomplishments of the city's poetic wordsmiths, page 26 Family "Santa's Big Broadcast" at the Radio and Television Museum in Bowie celebrates the history of holiday-themed radio and TV programming, page 29 Eats The centerpiece of Woodfire Grill in Severna Park is, shockingly, a wood-burning...

A searcher after unfathomable things, a painter of disquieting smiles that suggest the riddles of human personality, and of hands that point to mysteries beyond the earth, he seemed to his contemporaries a sort of magician, and to men in later centuries an Italian Faust."

Murray Horwitz is a Renaissance man in an age of specialists. He's been a professional circus clown, songwriter, playwright, public radio executive and arts administrator. He's directed TV soap operas, worked for the New York State Assembly and appeared on stage with performers ranging from Jonathan Winters to Wynton Marsalis. "Specialization is highly overrated. We are living in an age when everybody is encouraged to specialize ... and we're discouraged from knowing anything outside of our own particular ken," he says.

Donald S. Elliott, a retired teacher and children's book author regarded as a Renaissance man, died Tuesday of heart disease at his Owings Mills home. He was 72. He taught at the private Garrison Forest School in Owings Mills from 1966 until he retired six years ago. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he wrote three music-teaching children's books, "Alligators and Music," "Frogs and the Ballet" and "Lamb's Tales From Great Operas." All were illustrated by artist Clinton Arrowood. "He was one of the most gifted, natural teachers I've ever seen," said Archibald Montgomery IV, Gilman School headmaster.

At St. John's College, they know from Renaissance men. But even among the classically trained tutors of that venerable institution who spend their lives reading and teaching the likes of Machiavelli, Bocaccio and Shakespeare, Elliott Zuckerman is more of a "uomo universale"- a true "Renaissance man" - than most. Over the years, Annapolitans have come to know Zuckerman as the poet, scholar, musician, pianist and cultural sage whose poetry readings, preconcert talks and lecture-demonstrations on the piano music of Frederic Chopin have helped bring high culture alive for the general public.

In a month marked by an unusual number of outstanding documentaries on aspects of African-American history, PBS' "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand" seems like a near-perfect grand finale.The "American Masters" documentary tells the story of a brilliant and horribly persecuted black man who comes closer, perhaps, than any other American of the century to fulfilling the definition of Renaissance Man.This is, as PBS claims, the first definitive biography of Robeson, and more's the shame on us as a culture that it took this long.

Edwin Thaddeus Morris could explain the peculiarities of building dams and bridges throughout the continent of Africa. He could hunt his food and transform it into a four-star dinner. Want to know anything about the Congo River? Consult the maps Mr. Morris corrected.Mr. Morris, a resident of Ruxton, did not limit his interests. They were varied and took him all over the globe. From the time he was a young man until well after his retirement, he had great success in almost everything he tried.