# Eugene Fodor, 1950 - 2011



## Library Bob

Just read in today's _New York Times_ where American violinist (and fellow Coloradan) Eugene Fodor, whose promising career during the 70's had burnt itself out in a haze of drug and alcohol abuse by the late 80's, has just died after a brief illness, leaving a wife and three grown children, at the age of 60.

A proud son of the Colorado high country, whose image as something of a classical John Denver the media of the time (and his label, RCA, which was trying _anything_ to make classical music appeal to the youth market at the time) was hot to embrace, he seemed to have it all after being the second American, at the height of the Cold War, to take top honors in the 1974 Tchaikovsky Competition. He was a frequent guest on _The Tonight Show_ during that period, and even became, as far as I know, the only classical musician to appear on _Hee-Haw._

Instead, he became a poster boy for the effects of too much, too soon. Criticized for flash over substance, his superstar status had melted within a decade. He stayed busy, when he wasn't in rehab, but the venues were less and less prestigeous, and, last year, in despair over his personal and professional fortunes, he stopped playing altogether.

RIP, Mr. Fodor. May you know more peace in the next life than you had in this one.

Here's an album cover shot of Mr. Fodor as I think most of us would like to remember him:


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## Library Bob

Shows how well he's remembered, I guess. The truly great endure beyond death. Guess, in the end, you could say Mr. Fodor was to masters of the violin what David Helfgott was to the piano and Ofra Harnoy to the 'cello.


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## tdc

I've never heard of him, but R.I.P. Eugene Fodor.


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## Chi_townPhilly

Somber news- but still, thanks for the post, neighbor.

Yeah, I knew of Eugene Fodor, but wasn't really familiar with the story of his struggles with that all-too-common personal demon of substance-abuse episodes.

It's a coincidence that has nothing to do with anything, probably- but I immediately noticed that his birth and death years are exactly 100 years after the birth and death years of Mahler.


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