Herbert Stothart II, 74 - Art History Professor, Son of Wizard of OZ composer
Bob Feigel
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father
Herbert Stothart II, who died on October 6, from complications of a
stroke. He was 74 years old.
Herbert was born on November 23, 1929 in Santa Monica, CA., the only
son of artist Mary Vernon Wolfe and the pioneer Broadway and MGM film
composer Herbert Stothart, best known for the original score for 1939
film classic The Wizard of Oz.
Stothart was raised in Santa Monica and attended The Harvard School
and UCLA were he earned a Master's Degree in Art History, married
Roberta Ann Bates and together built a home on the Old Malibu Road in
Malibu, a location he carefully selected for its perfect surf break.
Driven by his great passion for Italian art he moved his family to a
tiny village in the Provincia di Como, Northern Italy, where he was an
early faculty member of The American School in Switzerland and
Franklin College in Lugano.
The family traveled extensively together, often crossing the Atlantic
Ocean on "banana boats," and other nontraditional forms of
transportation. Eventually returning to Southern California, he taught
art history at UCLA and Santa Monica City College.
Professor Stothart was well known for inviting students and friends on
day-long field trips to his mountaintop property in Solstice Canyon,
the "Castello Academy in Malibu - A Center for Spiritual Renaissance"
for passionate discussions and lectures about ancient art and
architecture, Greek tragedies, Italian opera, ethics, gardening,
sculpture and nature.
He was a consummate dreamer and was deeply intrigued and committed to
the idea of living off the land.
Determined to uphold his father's musical legacy he was also a great
supporter of The Film Music Society and its efforts toward film music
preservation maintaining many of his father's music manuscripts and
papers.
The Herbert Stothart Collection is presently being catalogued for UCLA
Music Special Collections and will include rare information about
Broadway and Hollywood history.
Stothart is survived by his four daughters; Lisa, Camille, Anna Lucia
and Betta; his sister Constance Stothart Bongi, and Roberta Bates
Stothart. A memorial service will be held on "The Mountain" in the
spring.
Published in the Los Angeles Times on 10/22/2005.
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
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