CURT DEMPSTER, 1935-2007
Curt Dempster, a 20-year member of the AAC’s New York Section, died suddenly in his home in New York in January. He was 71. Dempster was best known as the founder and artistic director of Manhattan’s Ensemble Studio Theater, which he created in 1971. He produced or developed over 6,000 new plays include those of Arthur Miller, Wendy Wasserstein, David Mamet, and Tennessee Williams, some of which he directed and acted in. Rich Gottlieb of New Paltz was quoted about his friend Curt on the New York Section’s website (www.nysalpineclub.org): “Curt Dempster was not a great climber. He wasn’t even a good climber, but he needed to climb. He couldn’t cope with his day to day without having some of the adventure, beauty, and peace that he knew he would find in the mountains…. Both art and climbing have the potential to prove to the world that life has a heart and what is in that heart can be expressed.”