For the past several years I have been an instructor at the following Lifelong Learning Institutes:
- Lifelong Learning at Brookdale Community College
- Evergreen Forum in Princeton, NJ which is a member of the Road Scholar Institute Network.
- Great Horizons program in Morristown, NJ
- Library of the Chathams, Adult Services Department
- Montclair Institute for Lifelong Learning (The MILL)
- Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers University
These organization are designed for individuals over 50 who are looking for an opportunity to expand their horizons, learn in an engaging environment, and meet new friends. They offer noncredit education that is stimulating, friendly, and informal¬–there are no tests and no grades! You will be part of a learning community that is full of diversity, insight, wisdom, intellectual and cultural stimulation, and friendship.
I conduct courses on my three passions:
- Folk music where I run two courses on The Folk Music Revival: Behind the Artists and their Songs
- Comedy where I run three courses on 20th Century Comedians which provides background information about the artists and a sampling of their material.
- Classical, ground-breaking anthology television series where I run several courses on The Twilight Zone and others on Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
The Folk Music Revival; Behind The Artists and their Songs – Part 1 covers the earliest folk songs through the mid-1960’s. It is divided into four categories:
– The Folk Pioneers including Woody Guthrie, Peter Seeger, The Weavers, The Kingston Trio and others.
– The Troubadours – Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte and more.
– The Groups including The Clancy Brothers, The Limeliters, The Chad Mitchell Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary, The New Christy Minstrals and others.
– Folk Rock including The Animals, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & The Papas, and others.
The Folk Music Revival; Behind The Artists and their Songs – Part 2 covers the period from the mid-1960’s to today and includes such artists as Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Harry Chapin, John Denver, Don McLean, James Taylor, Carole King, Carly Simon and many more.
The three 20th Century Comedians cover a myriad of talent. The first class starts with Charlie Chaplin, proceeds through the radio and early film era, then television (including I Love Lucy) and ends with tributes to some recently departed comedians including Joan Rivers, Robin Williams and George Carlin.
The second class includes the 2000 Year Old Man (Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks) and proceeds through comedians of the latter half of the 20th century. It also pays tribute to Saturday Night Live and Johnny Carson, and favorites such as Don Rickles and David Brenner.
The third class covers more contemporary comedians ranging from Robert Klein, Rich Little and Steve Martin to Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld and the Hollywood Squares.
The Twilight Zone: You will be on a journey into the wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination – your next stop – “The Twilight Zone.” We’ll first explore the background of this ground-breaking television series and provide background information on numerous episodes, as we watch them and follow them with interactive dialogues about each one.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Come hear classical episodes from one of greatest and longest running classical anthology shows of early television. Alfred Hitchcock has been acclaimed the master of suspense and his presentations were riveting and full of ironic twists that surprised, amused and confounded viewers. We will first explore his background and then watch various episodes followed by interactive dialogues about them.