I am really sorry to hear that Ken is dead. I will miss him. I last saw him in Rouen at a conference there in 2004. He was his usual intellectually vigorous self, but I remember his wife telling me that he was in his 80s and my surprise and learning that. I wonder how old he was when he died. Ken was very kind to me in person and in print. He told me that he went to college on the GI bill and that, after the war, he just really wanted to be an educated humanist. He said he had taken some gruff from colleagues for teaching Shakespeare on film as art, but that clearly didn't stop him from doing it nor from writing about it. He was a forward thinker early on and a late bloomer publication wise. His Cambridge book was such a success that it came out quickly in a second edition. I learned a lot from his Shakespeare film encyclopedia and from emails he sent me. The next time I have a drink, I will rise my glass in his memory.
Best,
Richard
Professor Richard Burt
Department of English and Film and Media Studies Program
4314 Turlington Hall
P.O. Box 117310
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
32611-7310
Phone: 352 373-3560
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/~burt/burtindex.html
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/~burt/Citations.html
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From: Discussion list for audiovisual Shakespeare project [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Olwen Terris [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 4:12 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Ken Rothwell's Passing
I remember Ken Rothwell as a scholar and a gentleman, way ahead of his time in embracing film and Shakespeare in a manner which tempered his enthusiasm with a slightly distanced, clear-sighted, unprejudiced approach which always appealed to me. On one occasion, when I had undertaken some small service for him, he presented me with a bottle of delicious maple syrup. He was hugely generous with his time and in sharing his knowledge. In 2008, he responded with alacrity to my invitation to nominate his three favourite Shakespeare films for inclusion in `Shakespeare on Film, Television and Radio: the Researcher's Guide'. Ken chose Polanski's MACBETH, Kozintsev's KOROL LEAR and Luhrmann's WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO + JULIET. His short account of Polanski's influence on Shakespeare and popular culture can scarcely be bettered; he states `A major problem was that three decades ago few Shakespeareans had developed a vocabulary for coping with such audacity'. He is right, but Ken was one of those few Shakespeareans.
I cannot claim that I knew Ken well but I miss just knowing he's there in the background with that friendly, astute and knowledgeable eye.
Olwen
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Jensen<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 3:17 PM
Subject: Ken Rothwell's Passing
For those who have not heard, Ken Rothwell has passed away. Ken was one of the founders of Shakespeare film scholarship, and with Bernice L. Kliman edited The Shakespeare on Film Newsletter for nearly 20 years. As editor, he helped get my first scholarly article into print. He was the author of A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film and Television (Cambridge Univeristy Press, 2004), published in two editions, and more. You may find his obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/burlingtonfreepress/obituary.aspx?n=kenneth-sprague-rothwell&pid=146539964
all the best,
Mike Jensen
author site:
www.michaelpjensen.com<http://www.michaelpjensen.com/>
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