The New York Times - USA (2020-07-22)

THE NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARIESWEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020 N A21

Zizi Jeanmaire, the ballerina,
cabaret singer and actress whose
gamine haircut, corseted costume
and charismatic, erotic perform-
ance made an indelible impres-
sion in the 1949 ballet “Carmen,”
died on July 17 at her home in
Tolochenaz, Switzerland, over-
looking Lake Geneva. She was 96.
Her daughter, Valentine Petit,
confirmed the death.
Over a six-decade career, Ms.
Jeanmaire reinvented herself
continuously, beginning as a clas-
sical dancer whose greatest roles
were choreographed by her hus-
band, Roland Petit, and who
danced with Rudolf Nureyev and
Mikhail Baryshnikov, among
other illustrious names.
“Carmen,” which Petit created
in London before it moved to
Broadway, shocked audiences
with its onstage smoking and
frank sensuality, and made stars
of Petit and Ms. Jeanmaire.
Soon after, when Petit was plan-
ning a new ballet, “La Croqueuse
de Diamants,” featuring songs
with lyrics by Raymond Queneau,
Ms. Jeanmaire quietly worked on
her singing and then won the role
by displaying her sultry voice in
the title song.
After that ballet went on to
Broadway and a U.S. tour, the Hol-
lywood producer Howard Hughes
offered Ms. Jeanmaire a movie
contract. Samuel Goldwyn
produced her first film, “Hans
Christian Andersen,” and it was
he who suggested that she change
her name from Renée to the more
alluring “Zizi,” a childhood nick-
name. She danced with Petit and
Erik Bruhn in that film.
She went on to dance alongside
Bing Crosby in the movie revival
of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes”;
on Broadway in “The Girl in Pink
Tights” and “Can-Can”; and in a
number of French films (“Folies
Bergère,” “Charmant Garcons,”
“Guingette”).
In 1981, Frank Rich wrote in The
New York Times that Ms. Jean-
maire’s appearance in the lead
role of Pistache in Cole Porter’s
“Can-Can” was the show’s “one
authentic link to the world it
wishes to celebrate.”
“This pixieish performer, with
her lacquered hair, gravelly voice
and flat-out music-hall delivery,
need but appear to transport us to
the Folies Bergère,” Mr. Rich
wrote.
Ms. Jeanmaire established her
presence as a cabaret artist at the
Alhambra Theater in Paris in 1961.
In the song “Mon Truc en
Plumes,” (“My Thing in Feath-
ers’), which would become her
signature number, she emerged in

a tight sequined top and sheer tights (designed by Yves Saint Laurent, a close friend), accompa- nied by a bevy of young men fan- ning her with huge pink feathers. Famous French singers and writ- ers — Marcel Aymé, Guy Béart, Boris Vian, Barbara and Serge Gainsbourg — wrote songs for her (Gainsbourg wrote an entire re- vue for her, “Zizi, Je t’aime”), and she made almost 30 albums over her career. Ms. Jeanmaire continued to perform in revues created for her by Petit into her 70s. She also appeared in his ballets, notably star- ring in a 1966 film of “Le Jeune homme et la mort,” with Nureyev; and with Mr. Baryshnikov in a 1980 television film of “Carmen.” She was immortalized in 1969 by the hit song “Where Do You Go To (My Lovely),” in which Peter Sarstedt sang of his mystery her- oine, “You talk like Marlene Diet- rich, and you dance like Zizi Jean- maire.” Renée Marcelle Jeanmaire was born in Paris on April 29, 1924, the only child of Marcel Jeanmaire and Olga Brunus. Her first glimpse of ballet was in the dance

sequence of Charles Gounod’s opera “Romeo and Juliet.” En- chanted by the show, she per- suaded her parents to let her en- roll at the Paris Opera Ballet school. She was 9, the same age as her classmate Roland Petit. “Our eyes crossed; I fell for him,” she said in a 2008 interview with Paris Match. At the school, Ms. Jeanmaire was mentored by the acclaimed ballerina Yvette Chauviré, who in-

troduced her to the teacher Boris Kniaseff, who became a signifi- cant presence throughout her career. She was accepted into Paris Opera Ballet in 1940, at 15, as was Petit, and although Paris was oc- cupied by Nazi Germany, the opera dancers continued to practice and perform. (The director, Serge Lifar, welcomed high-rank- ing German officers to the theater and was accused of collaboration after the war.) Although she attracted favor- able attention in her early years with the company, Ms. Jeanmaire was unhappy with the roles she was given and left at 20. Petit, who wanted to choreograph and direct his own company, followed soon

after. In 1944, Ms. Jeanmaire joined the troupes Ballets de Monte Carlo and De Basil’s Ballets Russes, and in 1948, Petit asked her to join his company, Les Bal- lets de Paris. Still in love with him, she was determined that he would create a ballet for her. “It was thanks to this role that I could express my personality as a dancer,” she told the newspaper Le Monde in 2006. “In a way, I discovered myself through performing it.” But her relationship with Petit remained ambiguous until they reunited after their respective stints in Hollywood and on Broad- way; they married in 1954. The next year, while Petit was choreo- graphing “Daddy Long Legs” for Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, Ms. Jeanmaire gave birth to her daughter, Valentine Petit, her only immediate survivor. Over the next two decades, Pe- tit created numerous revues for his wife, buying the Casino de

Paris in 1970 as a showcase. She became a huge star in France, celebrated for her flamboyance, long-legged androgynous sexi- ness and husky-voiced charm, and the couple were a glamorous, sought-after presence on the French cultural scene. “Without her,” the French poet Louis Ara- gon is reported to have said, “Paris would not be Paris.” Ms. Jeanmaire continued to appear on the ballet stage, performing in Petit’s “Symphonie Fantas- tique” at the Paris Opera in 1975 and in other works created for the Ballet de Marseilles, which Petit directed from 1972 until 1998. (He died in 2011.) Her final performances were in 2000, in the amphitheater of the Bastille Opera in Paris, featuring songs written by her daughter, who has had her own career as a singer and songwriter. “My only tragedy,” Ms. Jean- maire told Le Figaro, “would be to no longer be able to perform.”

Zizi Jeanmaire, Who Smoldered With Her Dance and Song, Dies at 96

Zizi Jeanmaire playing the provocative title role in the 1949 ballet “Carmen,” above, and rehearsing in 1994. She last performed in 2000.

BARON/GETTY IMAGES

BORIS HORVAT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Ms. Jeanmaire in 1961 in an Yves Saint Laurent stage costume.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Equally at home in

the worlds of cabaret,

Astaire and Nureyev.

By ROSLYN SULCAS

Nakotah LaRance, a nationally
acclaimed Hopi-Tewa hoop danc-
er who performed with Cirque du
Soleil, died on July 12 near the
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo in New
Mexico. He was 30.
He died after falling while
climbing a bridge in Rio Arriba
County, N.M., his father, Steve
LaRance, said.
Nakotah LaRance’s career be-
gan at age 4, when an aunt took
him to a powwow. There he met
the hoop dancer Derrick Suwaima
Davis, who taught him the basics
of the style known as fancy dance.
Hoop dances, a tradition in
many Native American cultures,
tell tribal and individual stories
through the use of as many as 50
hoops, which represent the circle
of life and are decorated with tape
and paint to represent the chang-
ing colors of the seasons.
“Hoop dance is originally a
medicine dance, for healing,” Mr.
LaRance told The Arizona Daily
Sun in 2016.
“Mine is involved in modern
and Native American perform-

ance for the beauty of movement, and to be in touch with oneself when one is moving.” Soon after Mr. LaRance began dancing, his father took him to compete in the annual World Championship of Hoop Dance at the Heard Museum in Phoenix.

He won three youth division championships and three teenage division championships before winning the adult division title in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2004 he performed on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” He later competed on “America’s Most Talented Kids,” where he won his episode. Mr. LaRance was also an actor. He was seen in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 TNT mini-series, “Into the

West,” a performance for which he won an acting award from the or- ganization First Americans in the Arts. He later appeared in the HBO movie “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” (2007) and a 2012 episode of the AMC series “Long- mire.” Nakotah Lomasohu Raymond LaRance was born on Aug. 23, 1989, in Barrow (now Utqiagvik), Alaska. His father is a jeweler and a sculptor; his mother, Marian Denipah, is a jeweler and a paint- er. The family moved to Flagstaff, Ariz., after Mr. LaRance was born. He attended Coconino High School before transferring to the Flagstaff Arts & Leadership Acad- emy in his junior year. Shortly after graduating from high school, Mr. LaRance became a principal dancer with Cirque du Soleil. He joined the troupe in 2009 and traveled with it for more than three years. He was a principal dancer at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and performed at an American Folk- life Center concert in Washington

in 2016. He later went to New Mex- ico to work as the master instruc- tor for the Pueblo of Pojoaque Youth Hoop Dancers. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 he performed in the Brooklyn Ballet’s “Brooklyn Nutcracker,” mixing his traditional hoop and hip-hop dances. “My inspirations are move- ments in the world from hip-hop to martial arts,” he told The Arizona Daily Sun. “When I was younger, Michael Jackson was a huge influence. Growing up, a big influence has been the Twins from Paris,” the French dancer-choreogra- phers who have performed alongside artists like Beyoncé and Missy Elliott. In addition to his parents, Mr. LaRance is survived by two sis- ters, Nizhoni Denipah and Shan- Dien Sonwai LaRance; a brother, Cree LaRance; and his paternal grandparents, Ed and Rosella Lawrence. Though he made his name dancing on the national stage, Mr. LaRance said he found the most fulfillment in passing his craft on

to a new generation. “My kids come up and give me a big hug and are so happy to be doing what they are doing,” he said in a 2016 interview with The Santa Fe New Mexican. “Educating oth- ers about their world and their tribal heritage and sharing that through performances with other

people — to me that’s the payoff.” “To make that contribution to the community through my art, through working with youth,” he added, “is enough for me.”

Nakotah LaRance, 30, Native American Hoop Dancer

Nakotah LaRance said passing his craft on made him happiest.

FILMMAGIC

By JULIA CARMEL

A championship

winner and Cirque

du Soleil performer.

More Obituaries appear on Page A24.

Friedman, Joel Lachman, Joan

MacDonald, Leola Sicular, David Wolkoff, Jerry

FRIEDMAN—Joel. August 17, 1939 - July 20, 2020. Joel passed away peacefully from complications of Park- inson's disease. Joel was born in Denver, Colorado, the se- cond of three sons of Israel and Josephine Friedman. He was a proud alumnus of Co- lumbia College, and lived in Westchester County and Manhattan for the remainder of his life. Joel was a successful inves- tor and real estate developer. As a partner of Founders Ca- pital Group, he was a skilled dealmakerwholovedhis work. He was a runner and expertskierwhoenjoyed travel, singing and spending time with his family. Joel is survived by his children, Ted and Jennifer Fried- man; his brothers, Rabbi Da- niel Friedman and Jonathan Friedman; his grandchildren, Sophie and Lucas Regal; and his nephews and nieces, Jef- frey, Mark, Joshua, Jesse and Jacqueline Friedman.

LACHMAN—Joan Grace.

Joan Grace Lachman, died on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at 89 years of age, at her home in La Jolla, California. Joan is survivedbyherhusband, Leon and her children, Julie and Larry. Joan was born in Brooklyn, New York, on De- cember 17th, 1930, to Ida and Philip Kantor. Joan had one brothernamedSidney.In high school, Joan received a language award and excelled in music and dance. After graduating high school, Joan attended a two-year business schoolandmarriedLeon Lachman in August of 1951. Joan worked at the Social Se- curity Administration early in

her marriage and then worked at the University of Wisconsin Library from 1953-1957, while her husband was earning a doctorate de- gree at the University. In the late 1950s, Joan and Leon lived in Switzerland before moving to Millburn, New Jer- sey and then in 1969, to Man- hasset, Long Island. While in LongIsland,Joan volunteered at St. Francis Hospital, the Nassau County Museum of Art, and in 1981 while living in the Philippines for a two year period, she volunteered at the United States Embassy Library in Manila. Joan loved fashion. Joan loved to read. Joanlovedmusic,theater and valued the principles of diversity and kindness as she traveled the world while de- veloping loving relationships with the people she met. Joan was an exceptional mother and wife. She was always supportive, encouraging, kind and fully present with her children. Joan was especially compassionate towards oth- ers and always rooted for the underdog. Joan will be re- membered as being a sweet, optimistic, intelligent, loving, resilient,beautiful woman with a big heart. Our mother andwife will bedeeply missed by all who knew her.

A bright light and vibrant pure soul who is no longer with us. Joan's legacy will re- main in the hearts and minds of everyone who she touched. Her impact will live on forever.

MACDONALD—Leola.

Leola Armour Macdonald was a lovely, utterly charm- ing woman and her marriage, family, and relationships with her friends were such rare, beautifully managed accom- plishments that her loss will forever be deeply felt. She died July 17, peacefully in East EndHospice,West- hampton, New York, after complications from a hemor- rhagic stroke. Born April 8, 1938, she was the daughter of Lester Armour, whose grand- father, PhilipD. Armour, founded Armour and Co., and Leola Stanton of New Or- leans, a great beauty herself. Leola had four siblings, all de- ceased: Elizabeth Hollins, Lester Armour, Stanton Ar- mour, and Vernon Armour. She is survived by her husband of fifty-nine years, RobertS.Macdonald;her sons, Ian R. Macdonald and Colin S. Macdonald; a sister-

in-law,JeanArmour;two brothers - in - law, Douglas Macdonald and Stanley Mac- donald; and dozens of nieces and nephews andgreat- niecesandgreat-nephews. She went to the Bell School in Lake Forest, Illinois; Garrison ForestSchoolinGarrison, Maryland; and Smith College, graduating in 1960. She was innately kind and nice, hack- neyed words but in her case the realthing.Shewas modest and mild-mannered but had a strong will. She was brought up a Catholic and re- jected Catholicism. She was brought up in a Republican stronghold and became a De- mocrat. A friend recalls: “In my youth Leola was always this gorgeous, kind of other- worldly person to me. Someone a bit ethereal. (I was just a Lake Forest Day Schoolunsophisticateafter all.) Then to find the real Leola in our older age - down to earth, hilarious, not intimi- dating, not Lake Forest, still beautiful of course in that ethereal way.” She was never interested in society or the spotlight of any kind. She re- fused to go to a play if au- dience members were to be called up on stage. She chose an intimate family life, where she raised her two sons, Ian and Colin, with great love and a protective fierceness. She was married to Robert Mac- donald in 1961. She wanted to live in New York City, so they moved from Chicago in 1961 and have lived ever since in the same brownstone, which she found, on East 94th St. She liked East Hampton and they bought a house there in

The real estate agent,
showing her houses in East
Hampton, said, “well, I'll show
you one more property but
it's not really any good.” “I

disagree,” she said to him after seeing the house. The house on Middle Lane was decoratedbyKeithIrving with additional splashes by her great friend Mark Hamp- ton. It was her paradise: the green lawns, the giant Chi- nese elms, the beech tree, the copper maples, and her be- lovedflowergardens.Her friends came from the Bell School and Lake Forest, Gar- rison Forest and Smith, from NewYorkCityandEast Hampton, and she was bound closely to them by her conta- gious sense of humor. A close friend said: “Leola was vibrant, funny, always interested in the other person, actual- ly very funny and loyal.” She was a member of the Maid- stone Club. She loved helping run the Junior Activities Pro- gram. She and a friend were responsible for writing out the certificates of achieve- ment for each camper at the end of the summer. There was one young boy who had achieved nothing. They final- ly came up with: “ ______ had a superior summer!” She played sports well but her real passions were in New York City: movies, opera, ballet, music, and theater. She was an avid reader and one of the founding members of The Proust Group, a reading group devoted to the classics which is celebrating its fif- tieth year in 2020-21. Before having children she worked as a volunteer for The Light- housefortheBlind and taught Latin at the Cathedral School. Her two sons, Ian and Colin, both went to St. Ber- nard's School in Manhattan and she became a Trustee. Her grandson, Harry Macdo- nald, will be in the fourth grade at St. Bernard's this fall. She was on the Board of St.

George's School in Rhode Is- land, where her son Ian went. Her granddaughter, Lee Ar- mour Macdonald, seven yearsold,isnamedafter Leola, who was “Lee” to her family and childhood friends. She adored Ian's wife, Caro- line, and Colin's partner, Kara. The family is extreme- ly close-knit thanks in good measure to Leola. The ex- ample she set was a lasting one: devotion to family pays off. She symbolized another truth: great beauty without character is squandered. She hadcharacterandbeauty and they fit together perfect- ly. In lieu of flowers, dona- tions can be made to Kanas Center for Hospice Care, 1 Meeting House Rd., Quiogue, NY 11978.

SICULAR—David R. The partners, counsel, asso- ciates and staff of the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP express pro- found sorrow at the loss of our beloved friend and partner, David Sicular, who passed away on July 17, 2020 - his 63rd birthday. A Harvard College('78)andHarvard Law School ('83) graduate, David joined Paul, Weiss as a summer associate in 1982 and was a partner for 25 years. A revered practitioner and a fixture of our Tax Depart- ment, David will be greatly missed by all who had the good fortune to know him. David is celebrated for his brilliance,hiszealforhis practice and his uncanny abi- lity to solve his clients' most complex problems, as well as his kindness and his dedica- tion to loved ones. David had an encyclopedic knowledge

of tax law; even when David was an associate, senior tax partners would consult him on their most complex and challenging matters. He was a tax lawyer's tax lawyer. Da- vid was deeply respected and admired as a leader in the tax bar. He was committed to im- proving and rationalizing tax laws and regulations, having served in various leadership roles on the executive com- mittee of the New York State Bar Association's Tax Sec- tion, including as its chair in

David was deeply in-
volved in charitable and com-
munity service, particularly
on behalf of autistic children.
Davidhelped tofounda
school for autistic children in
Westchester County in 1998:
Devereux Millwood Learning
Center, now known as Dever-
eux Cares. David was dedi-
cated to helping children with
autism achieve their poten-
tial. David packed so much
life into his 63 years, but he
left us far too soon and had so
much more to accomplish
and to live for. We extend
our heartfelt condolences to
David's wife Lilian, and his
children, Sarah, Avery and
Jonathan.Wewill deeply
miss our colleague, partner
and friend.

WOLKOFF—Jerry. Wenotewithsorrowthe passing of our member, Jerry Wolkoff and extend sincerest condolences to his bereaved family. Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and President Jeremy Fielding, Central Synagogue of New York City

Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths Deaths

The New York Times - USA (2020-07-22)

Get our desktop app

Company

Features

Documentation

Resources