Music mogul Clive Davis, who owned a 17-acre estate in Pound Ridge and was a major supporter of the Bedford Playhouse Arts Center in Westchester’s Town of Bedford has died at age 94. David died June 22 at his Manhattan home.
The former Bedford Playhouse movie theater was named after Davis as the Clive Davis Arts Center when it was transformed into a nonprofit arts center. He had made a major financial gift to support the center.
At the time of the arts center’s opening, Davis said, “I love this community and I strongly endorse the expanded mission of the playhouse. This all seems like a perfect fit and I can hardly wait for it to open!”
The legendary music producer during his career was the head of industry giants such as Columbia Records, RCA Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Davis won five Grammy awards and is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He is credited with discovering some of music’s biggest stars, including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana, Billy Joel and Whitney Houston.
“Clive Davis is a living legend in the music industry,” said Sarah Long, founding chair of the arts center.
John Farr, leader of the movement to save the playhouse and transform it, said, “Our ability to brand the Clive Davis Arts Center will help us convey that we’re not just a beautifully renovated movie house, but also a vibrant cultural center.”
Davis’ family, in a statement posted on social media said, “Today, we celebrate not only a towering figure whose influence changed music forever, but the man who led our family with grace, generosity, and kindness. We will miss him greatly, cherish him always, and carry his love with us for the rest of our lives.”
On August 22 of last year, Davis appeared at the Arts Center for a special screening of the documentary “Do You Remember?” The film reviewed the career of Davis. It was produced by Mark Ronson and co-producer Erich Bergen. Following the screening, Davis appeared on stage alongside co-producer Bergen for a question and answer session. Davis talked about the challenges, risks, and successes he experienced in the music industry.
In a 2018 interview with Westfair’s lifestyles magazine WAG, Davis talked about his involvement with the transformation of the Bedford Playhouse into the arts center it is today.
“I learned, with great dismay, that the theater was going to be closed,” Davis said. “I live in Manhattan and I spend every weekend there in Bedford/Pound Ridge. I was not on the board. I had no role there. When the length of time kept growing that our community did not have a movie theater in it, it was tremendously disappointing. I had learned of the efforts to reopen the theater. When I was first in discussion with Deborah and Bill Zabel, two residents there, I was asked if I had any ideas. I said, ‘There are so many residents of this area, both full-time and weekend residents, that have a strong interest in the arts and film and have been so admiring of the efforts of the Jacob Burns (Film Center) in Westchester to encourage filmmakers that there are communities out there that are interested in films of merit, documentaries and serious work. It would seem like a very good opportunity to attempt to do just that in this Bedford/Pound Ridge area.’ That’s how my discussions began — to not just open the theater, but to expand its role artistically, creatively. In this day and age, when commercial interests are encouraging large spectacle films that are doing so well out of comic books and what have you, hopefully communities can grow across the country that would provide opportunities for those of us to encourage Hollywood filmmakers so that the role of the arts continues to grow throughout our country. That’s when those discussions began more formally with John Farr (founding board president) and Sarah Long (board chairman).”
Davis said that he had friends in Bedford and always liked the town.
“It was accessible enough to Manhattan that I would come out to this area. Before I ever lived here, I would go to Banksville and go to restaurants such as La Crémaillère. There were a few artists and painters that I knew that lived there. I liked that the area was attracting some of the residents that I knew as friends, as well as the accessibility to New York. Back in 1991 … I saw a home in Pound Ridge that seemed to be ideal for me. In spotting a home that Vuko Tashkovich, the well-known architect for the Westchester/ Connecticut area (designed), I drove out to check it out and fell in love with the house. It was a brand new home, just the kind of contemporary architecture that I love. I said, ‘This will provide me an all-year-round opportunity to spend weekends in ‘the country.’”
