Mark Ferber dies at 60; longtime production supervisor at the Hollywood Bowl
Matthew Kruk
latimes.com
OBITUARY
Mark Ferber dies at 60; longtime production supervisor at the Hollywood
Bowl
As a child, he bicycled to the Bowl to do his homework in the picnic
areas he found so peaceful. Hired as an errand runner at 14, his career
at the famed venue stretched over 45 years.
By Valerie J. Nelson
March 21, 2010
To thousands of concert-goers, Mark Ferber's voice was comfortingly
familiar as he announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the
Hollywood Bowl."
As a child, he bicycled to the Bowl to do his homework in the picnic
areas he found so peaceful. He was hired as an errand runner at 14, and
his career at the venue stretched over 45 years.
Ferber, who was the Bowl's longtime production supervisor and special
events manager, died March 14 in Los Angeles of injuries sustained in a
fall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced. He was 60.
"Every night, without fail, Ferber conjured up the backstage magic that
made the Bowl legendary," the Philharmonic said in a statement.
"Ferber thrilled in the excitement of the stage, calling the show from
the wings and donning a tuxedo to personally hand flowers to legends
like Judy Garland and Pavarotti."
In 1985, The Times called Ferber one of "the Bowl's unsung heroes" for
his role in making sure performances were trouble-free.
"I'm a detail man," Ferber said at the time. "I run around backstage and
make sure everything goes correctly."
Apart from an aircraft flying into earshot now and then during a
performance, "just about everything" did, The Times had pointed out.
Ferber made headway in reducing the ill-timed flyovers by building
positive relationships, said Paul Geller, the Bowl's director of
production.
One time "we brought some air traffic controllers to a concert and sat
them down so they could understand the problem," Ferber told The Times
in 1985.
From speaking with pilots, Ferber learned that they couldn't see the two
searchlights that defined the Bowl's airspace until it was too late.
The Bowl then installed three strobe lights on surrounding hilltops in
the 1980s that serve as a triangular beacon to better warn pilots,
Geller said.
During a performance, Ferber would use an electronic scanner to detect
incoming air traffic and employ a telephone hotline that connected him
to local airports so that he could request a plane be redirected out of
Bowl space.
Born in 1950 in Los Angeles, Ferber grew up in the shadow of the Bowl.
His graduation ceremony from Hollywood High was held on the Bowl stage.
After earning a bachelor's degree in theater from UCLA in 1972, he
worked for the Seattle Opera in 1974 but "turned south almost
immediately to be reunited with his beloved Bowl," the Philharmonic
said.
As production supervisor, Ferber would spend one day each season as an
usher, "just to see what it was like," Geller said.
"He was always up, happy, cheerful," said Geller, who worked with Ferber
for 40 years.
"He was one of these special people. He liked everyone and everyone
liked him. That's why it's such a loss to the Bowl. People like that
don't come around often."
Ferber's first wife, actress Elaine Welton Hill, died of cancer at 45 in
1999.
He is survived by Suzanne Friedline Ferber, an actress he married in
2001, and a son, Daniel, 5.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Hollywood
Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles.
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times