Saturday, April 20, 2013

ABOUT MY FATHER Sam Cytron: A Life in Music


                                                                                                        Watch the trailer.


 

ABOUT MY FATHER   Sam Cytron:  A Life in Music  is a biographical documentary made by his daughter, Sally Cytron Gati, who pieced this personal puzzle together.

Before doing this film, she knew very little of his early life except that he started off as Sammie Levine, a violin prodigy in New York who played with Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic and then came to Hollywood as Sam Cytron to play in the movie studios. She interviewed those closest to him - his two wives, son, grandson, son-in-law, niece, and another violinist; and from these, wove a narrative about him and his music.  His second wife gave her a real treasure-trove consisting of ten scrapbooks filled with photographs, concert programs, event articles, letters, newspaper reviews, recital announcements, job-related papers, check receipts, work schedules, copyrights, a huge pile of original compositions and song arrangements, published and hoped-to-be published music, transcriptions, cadenzas, two cabinets full of sheet music, a bookcase crammed with memorabilia, desert and mining magazines, cassettes from radio broadcasts, reel-to-reel tapes, audition recordings, home-made records, hand-written notes, five TV programs, his passport, a stop watch, a resin packet, conductor’s batons, violins, bows, and a toupeé.

In dealing with the twists and turns of Sam Cytron’s life (Aug. 15, 1905 – April 25, 1988), his daughter put together a revealing story of his creativity, quirkiness, and originality  -  underscoring it all with his music.


                                              Go to GATI PRODUCTIONS


                                                                          

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Sally, My name is Frank Dupuy. I am posting this comment on my son's account simply because I don't know how to set up my own. I don't know why, but I thought of your father the other day, and thought I would type in his name. I met your dad when I first moved to Los Angeles 79' or 80. Being new to the area, I went looking for a pick-up game of tennis at West Hollywood city courts just accross from the Sheriff's Dept. It was there I met this little guy named Sam. We hit tennis balls for about an hour, and then talked for another. We began meeting there every week until I lost touch. He told me amazing stories and all the people he played with, I was fascinated. I will be 65 on this July 19th and will always remember talking, and hitting tennis balls with your dad.
Kindest regards,
Frank Dupuy
I tried to locate you on facebook, but could not, so I used Cameron's blog