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| Ricardo Tobia, original 'Pacific Overtures' actor and longtime vocal instructor, found dead at 71 | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 11:37 am EDT 07/13/18 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 11:26 am EDT 07/13/18 | |
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| Ricardo Tobia, a member of the original 1976 Broadway cast of ''Pacific Overtures,'' was found killed on July 10 in Pittsburgh. Tobia, 71, and his beagle, Sparky, were brutally slain with a sword. The Pittsburgy Post-Gazette reports that the police arrested his longtime roommate, 35, who has a history of mental illness and reportedly claims ''demons took over'' at the time of the attack. In ''Pacific Overtures,'' Tobia and Alvin Ing sang Tamate's thoughts in the lilting Sondheim duet ''There Is No Other Way.'' He also did the West Coast tour of ''Pacific Overtures,'' and that show would be his sole Broadway credit. (I tried to find Tobia's bio in my 1976 Playbill, but there wasn't one. Only 9 of the over 30 actors in the show had a bio included. Nowadays, every cast member gets a bio in a Playbill, but I guess not then.) Tobia went on to become a beloved, private voice instructor for 35 years at Point Park University. And among his many students was future Tony nominee Tony Yazbeck (''On the Town''). John Pearson, senior vice president of Point Park, said: ''Ricardo Tobia was well-loved by generations of our students. My condolences go out to his family, students and colleagues.'' Ian Brown-Gorrell of Washington, D.C., who studied with him, said Tobia went above and beyond for his students. In 2008, Brown-Gorrell's tonsil burst, and he says Tobia took him in and helped him recover. Brown-Gorrell added: ''When I got back to school, I couldn’t eat a lot of the stuff in the cafeteria, so he brought me a meatloaf sandwich every day for a month so I could have something soft enough to eat.'' (For details of Tobia's attack, they can be found by Googling stories at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I chose not to mention the attacker's name, and instead pay tribute to the talented artist and compassionate teacher that, according to all accounts, Tobia was.) |
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| Link | BroadwayWorld.com: Original 'Pacific Overtures' actor Ricardo Tobia found dead |
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| re: Ricardo Tobia, original 'Pacific Overtures' actor and longtime vocal instructor, found dead at 71 | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 12:54 pm EDT 07/13/18 | |
| In reply to: Ricardo Tobia, original 'Pacific Overtures' actor and longtime vocal instructor, found dead at 71 - WaymanWong 11:26 am EDT 07/13/18 | |
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| Sad news to hear about this murder. | |
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| re: Ricardo Tobia, original 'Pacific Overtures' actor and longtime vocal instructor, found dead at 71 | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 10:30 am EDT 07/14/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Ricardo Tobia, original 'Pacific Overtures' actor and longtime vocal instructor, found dead at 71 - FinalPerformance 12:54 pm EDT 07/13/18 | |
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| Breaks my heart. And he helped to make that song one of the most beautiful ones in the completely exquisite PACIFIC OVERTURES. So sad & horrible. | |
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