Letter to the Editor: Van der Schelling’s voice
Bart van der Schelling, Paul Robeson, Moe Fishman, and Art Landis. Tamiment Library, NYU, ALBA Photo 66, box 1, folder 3.
Dear Editor,
Fine piece about Bart van der Schelling in the September issue. I recall going along with Alvah and Bart on two occasions, somewhere between 1949 and 1951, where Alvah spoke about Spain, and Bart sang. The place where one was held was at the old mission in Santa Barbara, California. I vividly recall Bart’s singing, because it stirred me enormously. It was clear then that his voice was perhaps not as strong as it had once been, but still enormously powerful.
—Dan Bessie
Dan Bessie is the son of Alvah Bessie (1904-1985): journalist, screenwriter, Lincoln vet, and one of the Hollywood Ten.
