John Oatman '66, June Reznikoff '66, Gary Juleen '64, David Van Buskirk, unidentified actresses.

The dark-haired "unidentified" girl is Rosie Mercurio ’66 -- Susan Kitaen Rhea ’66

   

Blurry snapshots of John Oatman, Gary Juleen, and June Reznikoff

I have been going through lots of boxes from the past and found three very brittle and bent photos from my Spring 1964 drama class at Crawford.  They show scenes from the one-act play "Why I Am A Bachelor".  It had a one-night run in the Little Theater.  I played the narrator.  June Reznikoff '66 and John Oatman '66 played the couple.  The play ended with the three of us getting into a food fight.

June, John and I were quite the actors.  Of course, we were being taught by David Van Buskirk, who made a lasting impression on my life.   During the years of my career I managed to find time to get lots of training in improvisation at the National Comedy Theater near Old Town.  One of the best times of my life.

I am always saddened when I think about David Van Buskirk.  He and his wife saved for their trip to Egypt upon retirement.  They took friends from Alpine with them.  Unfortunately, their Egyptian Airlines pilot decided to crash the plane into the Atlantic.  About four years ago, I ran into his grand-daughter at Campo Middle School when I was doing some work for the Mountain Empire School District.   We both cried together -- Gary Juleen '64 (August 3, 2021)