![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by wendy b on January 13, 2004, at 11:37:40
I usually don't post anymore, but this news made me feel very sad today. NPR this morning reported Spalding Gray was missing for three days now. I looked it up online, and the following is a report from "Playbill." Another news agency said he had been diagnosed as manic-depressive, and that he had left his medications home. If you have seen Spalding Gray's work, and felt a connection to his quirky (depressed, neurotic) view of the world, you might know how I feel. Even a guy with as many resources as Gray probably had, he could not kick this disease.
______________
From the theater journal "Playbill"
Monologist Spalding Gray Is Reported MissingBy Andrew Gans
January 13, 2004Famed, Obie-winning monologist Spalding Gray is missing. The author of "Swimming for Cambodia" and "Gray's Anatomy" was last seen Jan. 10 at his home in TriBeCa. The 62-year-old artist was reported missing by his wife Kathy Russo, reports the New York Post. Russo reported Gray's disappearance to the police Sunday, Jan. 11 at 10 AM, explaining that the writer disappeared after he returned home from the movies with their two young children.
Gray, who was been depressed since he suffered head injuries in a car accident in Ireland in 2001, has attempted suicide on two occasions. In October 2002 the entire run of his solo piece, "Black Spot," at P.S. 122 was canceled when Gray checked into a mental hospital. At that time, Gray had been found near his Long Island home contemplating a jump from a local bridge. The police and his wife talked him down.
Ironically, "Black Spot" centers on the crash. Gray was celebrating his 60th birthday when traveling in Ireland last year. According to press materials, the crash happened on the day after the longest day of the year. The monologue also addressed Gray's family's move into a bigger house—scheduled moving day: Sept. 11, 2001.
Gray won an OBIE for "Swimming to Cambodia" and filmed the monologue with Jonathan Demme. Other works include "Morning, Noon and Night," "Monster in a Box," "Gray's Anatomy," and "It's a Slippery Slope." He last performed another writer's work on Broadway — Gore Vidal's "The Best Man."
Gray's mother, the Post reports, committed suicide when she was nearly the same age as Gray is now.
_____________
Posted by gabbix2 on January 13, 2004, at 12:23:50
In reply to in the news today: Spalding Gray missing, posted by wendy b on January 13, 2004, at 11:37:40
oh, Wendy. thank you for posting that I didn't know.
Posted by Susan J on January 13, 2004, at 12:27:41
In reply to in the news today: Spalding Gray missing, posted by wendy b on January 13, 2004, at 11:37:40
Oh, that's so sad.....
Sounds dismal, but I still hope it turns out OK.....
S.
Posted by Poet on January 13, 2004, at 13:41:18
In reply to in the news today: Spalding Gray missing, posted by wendy b on January 13, 2004, at 11:37:40
Wendy,
Thank you for posting. I hadn't heard this. I feel the same way you do, I've seen and read his work and so much of what he said I can identify with.
I'd rather re-read Morning, Noon and Night as a tribute to the brilliance of his acerbic and poignant wit, not as a memorial to his life.
I share your sadness.
Poet
Poet
Posted by tabitha on January 13, 2004, at 17:20:58
In reply to in the news today: Spalding Gray missing, posted by wendy b on January 13, 2004, at 11:37:40
It's nice to see you Wendy B.
I went through a period in my 20s of being barely able tolerate male authors. One of the few books I could stand was his "Impossible Vacation".
Posted by Jai Narayan on January 13, 2004, at 19:10:39
In reply to in the news today: Spalding Gray missing, posted by wendy b on January 13, 2004, at 11:37:40
NO! I am so upset. I am so upset.
Posted by wendy b on January 14, 2004, at 15:56:36
In reply to Re: in the news today: Spalding Gray missing, posted by tabitha on January 13, 2004, at 17:20:58
Tabitha,
I thank you and the others - Gabby, Susan, Poet & Jai - for your responses. It's just so very sad. And Tabitha says she particularly liked "Impossible Vacation," so here's an excerpt that alludes to what I fear has happened to him...
The part about his mother is especially poignant, since she commited suicide when she was 52.
Thanks, Wendy___________
"I remember standing in that second-story window and looking down, wondering if I really had the courage to jump and if I did would it kill me from such a small height. I think I figured I'd just break a leg or something and end up in a cast for the rest of the summer, and that would be much better than dying because of all the attention I'd get. But then I also realized that Mom wouldn't be able to give me any attention, because she was cracking up and needed all of it for herself.
--Spalding Gray, from "Impossible Vacation"
Posted by Poet on January 14, 2004, at 18:19:02
In reply to Re: Spalding Gray still missing, posted by wendy b on January 14, 2004, at 15:56:36
Posted by Sabina on January 23, 2004, at 17:29:15
In reply to Re: Spalding Gray still missing, posted by wendy b on January 14, 2004, at 15:56:36
http://barlow.typepad.com/barlowfriendz/2004/01/is_spalding_gra.html
here's a good piece written by a friend of gray's...a kind of pre-eulogy.
i think the police aren't willing or able to search around the shoreline properly due to frozen water, etc.
i have been following this story since it first broke. i have been a huge fan of his work since the 80's and saw him perform in 2000.
i keep searching the news periodically, hoping they've found him. i just pray that his family may have some relief soon, one way or the other.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Social | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.