Providence Hollander

Providence Hollander, age 84 of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Loving mother of Julia Hollander Campbell Steven of Jersey City, New Jersey, Naomi E. Hollander Andrew Sakiewicz of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Beloved grandmother to Luca and Audrey Sakiewicz. Dear sister of Charles Pedone of Streetsboro, Ohio, Frances Bennett of S. Pasadena, Florida, Savatore J. Pedone Mary of Shaker Heights, Ohio, James Pedone Ann of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the late Anita Evans. Daughter of the late Salvatore Pedone and Rose Bucchieri Pedone. The family prefers that those who wish send contributions to the Alzheimer's Association 23215 Commerce Park Drive, Suite 300, Beachwood, OH 44122 or to Providence House, 2037 W. 32nd st., Cleveland, OH 44113. Friends may call at Brown-Forward, 17022 Chagrin Blvd, Shaker Heights, OH on Tuesday, September 14 from 3-5, 7-9pm. Funeral Mass will be held at 10am on Wednesday, September 15 at the Church of St. Dominic's 3450 Norwood Road Shaker Heights, OH. "Providence Hollander, 'magical' singer, dies" Tony Brown Plain Dealer Theater Critic Providence Hollander sang two indelible solos in the most famous musical ever produced in Cleveland. One was "Marieke," an elegy for a young woman. It rarely failed to stop the show with a standing ovation. The other was "Old Folks," about the infirm trying to "escape the old silver clock" that "waits for us all." It rarely failed to leave 'em in tears. The relatively young woman who sang those songs in the lobby of PlayhouseSquare's State Theater in the 1970s died Friday afternoon at Cleveland's Judson Park care facility. She was 84 and is the first of the four original cast members of "Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living In Paris" to fall victim to that old silver clock. Ray Shepardson, the man credited with saving the five historic PlayhouseSquare theaters from the wrecking ball by producing "Jacques Brel" for 522 performances from 1973 to 1975, broke down in tears when he heard the news. "She was like Edith Piaf, she had that 'catch' in her voice," Shepardson remembered. "She would sing 'Marieke' straining for every note because she smoked, and crying, and it was just amazing, one of those rare, magical theatrical moments that left you breathless." Born in Cleveland on May 9, 1926, Hollander started her career in the 1960s as a "celebrity mom," in the words of daughter Julia Hollander Campbell. In addition to performing in "Jacques Brel" - a cabaret celebrating the music of a Belgian singer-songwriter who died in 1978 - Hollander appeared at Music Carnival, Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, Karamu Theatre, the Cleveland Play House and Cain Park, Campbell said. Hollander also made many appearances throughout Ohio with the Kenley Players, daughter Naomi Hollander said, performing with Vincent Price in "Damn Yankees," Billy Crystal in "Cabaret" and Tony Randall in "The Man Who Came to Dinner." She did two productions of "Fiddler on the roof," one each with William Conrad and Ed Ames. In 1980, she earned a screen credit in "Those Lips, Those Eyes," a film set at an Ohio summer stock theater that starred frank Langella, Tom Hulce and Jerry Stiller. In addition to being celebrated for what Shepardson called her "huge voice," Hollander was known for throwing great cast parties and for ad-libbing her way out of mishaps on stage without missing a beat. "Once, when she was doing 'South Pacific' and singing 'I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,' her wig came off," Campbell recalled. "She worked with it and brought down the house. Then she incorporated the wig coming off in every performance after that." Arrangements are incomplete; Brown-Forward Funeral Service is in charge. In addition to daughters Campbell, of Jersey City, N.J., and Naomi Hollander of Shaker Heights, Hollander is survived by her former husband, I. Bernard Hollander of Cleveland; and two grandchildren, Luca and Audrey Sakiewicz of Shaker Heights. She is also survived by "Jacques Brel" director Joe Garry and fellow original cast members Theresa Piteo, Cliff Bemis and David O. Frazier. And by the memories of those who heard her sing.


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