Rare footage: David Merrick announces Gower Champion's death

It's never less than thrilling to see a true legendary moment captured on film. I really thought the retellings over the years were making it more and more grandiose, but it's exactly as everyone describes it.

In some way, I appreciate Merrick thinking ahead to invite the press to capture the announcement. And I'm sure that was the best publicity in the world for the show (much like Jonathan Larson's passing was to Rent). They became more than just good shows, they were a fond farewell from some very talented friends.

What a strange coincidence -- I just read about this in Sam Wasson's bio of Bob Fosse today on the train (I knew most of the story already)! The newscaster talking over probably wasn't that unusual, but in the book, Wasson notes that Fosse was there and that the show was so well received (I believe he says it had 10 curtain calls) that the audience's clapping and whooping drowned out Merrick's announcement, so the news station probably missed the full audio too.

I saw this the day it happened on a local NYC news channel and believe me, the cast onstage was thunderstruck. I did not like seeing their reaction because it was painful and to learn afterwards that it was orchestrated by Merrick only made it worse. Sorry, but that's not theater .... that's cruelty.