"We are born astride a grave - WaynesWorldStage.com

From what I could gather, at thebeginning of World War II, at the age of twelve,Jack had been placed in a Nazi concentrationcamp. He survived, and was liberated by the U.S.Army. He had a good career as a director of filmand theatre, but seems to have been best knownfor being married to the actress Carol Baker.In order to understand the status of TheHarold Clurman Theatre, it would help tounderstand the contract between New York Cityand what was (and is) known as "Theatre Row."In the early sixties, a man by the name ofJ.I. Rodale was a food faddist, a very wealthyfood faddist. He believed that we were all killingourselves by ingesting salt and sugar. Today,most nutritionists would agree with him, but atthe time, he was considered a nut. He wrote,produced and directed plays about the evils ofpoor nutrition. His financial losses as a result ofthese Off-Broadway productions were staggering.He and a man named Maidman bought a lot ofproperty on 42nd Street, west of Ninth Avenue,and built their own theatres, thinking this wouldcut production costs. I never saw any of theseproductions but they were usually thought of as ajoke. How interesting can a play be when its plotrevolves around how much sugar you eat?302