Notable Alumni in the Arts

Fadiman, Clifton (1904 - 1999)
Literature
Writer, Editor, Critic
'25CC

Fadiman is best known as a radio host from the 1930s and '40s, particularly Information, Please, on which contestants attempted to stump a panel of experts with trivia questions. Fadiman was a longtime editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and the editor of over two dozen anthologies on subjects ranging from poetry to mathematics. He wrote introductions for the Modern Library editions of such works as Moby Dick and War and Peace. Fadiman was especially proud of his World Treasury of Children's Literature, and advocated for the consumption of good literature via his popular Book-of-the-Month and Reader's Clubs. In 1993, he was honored with the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

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Farley, Walter (1915 - 1989)
Literature
Juvenile Fiction Writer
'41CC

Walter Farley was still an undergraduate at when he published The Black Stallion in 1941. The popularity of his debut led to a series of twenty-one books published over forty years, six of which were Junior Literary Guild selections. Farley later wrote stories of other characters and horses, including a biography of the famous American thoroughbred, Man O'War. Farley's thirty-four published titles have sold over twelve million copies in the United States, and are in print in fourteen other countries. The films The Black Stallion (1979) and The Black Stallion Returns (1983) were adapted from Farley's books. Learn more.


Farrelly, Peter (1956 - )
Film, Literature
Director, Screenwriter, Novelist
'86SOA

Along with his brother Bobby, Peter Farrelly is one half of the writing/directing duo known as the Farrelly brothers. In 1994, Farrelly wrote and directed his first hit film, Dumb and Dumber, a comedy starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. The Farrellys' comedies combine grotesque humor with affectionate romance; they include Kingpin (1996), There's Something About Mary (1998), Shallow Hal (2001) and Fever Pitch (2005). Farrelly has also written for television and published two novels, The Comedy Writer (1998) and Outside Providence (1988). Learn more.


Ferrer, José (1912 - 1992)
Film, Theater
Actor, Director, Producer
33-34CC

Ferrer demonstrated his flair for villainous roles as Iago opposite Paul Robeson in the landmark 1943 production of Othello. His first Tony Award came in 1946 for his performance in Cyrano de Bergerac. At the height of his stage career he directed and starred in Twentieth Century (1950) and the Pulitzer-Prize winning drama The Shrike, which brought him Tony Awards for best actor and best direction. Ferrer's film performances in Joan of Arc (1948), with Ingrid Bergman, and as Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge (1952) were nominated for Academy Awards. Ferrer directed seven films in the ‘50s and ‘60s, including The Great Man (1956) and I Accuse (1958), and continued to act for television and film through the 1980s.

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Fields, Herbert (1897 - 1958)
Music, Theater
Librettist
CC

Among his accomplishments, Fields wrote librettos for many of Cole Porter's musicals, including Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929), The New Yorkers (1930) and Pardon My English (1931). Fields wrote the books of more than twenty shows, the most-frequently revived being Annie Get Your Gun (1946), which became a vehicle for such stars as Ethel Merman and Bernadette Peters (1999). Fields had just completed the original story for Redhead when he passed away; the musical, with Gwen Verdon in the lead role and choreography by Bob Fosse, won five Tonys, including best busical, in 1959. Learn more.


Florida, Richard
Urban Studies Theorist
1986GSAS

Richard Florida—(Ph.D. 1986) Author, "Rise of the Creative Class" GSAS 1984 and 1986.

Director of Martin Prosperity Institute, professor at the Rotman School and founder of a global think tank, Richard Florida, urban sociologist, influenced public policy thinking with three best sellers: “The Rise of the Creative Class,” “The Flight of the Creative Class,” and “Who’s Your City." Florida theorized that cities with high concentrations of high-tech workers, artists, musicians, gays, and "high bohemians," attract high levels of economic development.  A former scientist at Gallup, he’s taught at George Mason University and Carnegie Mellon, lectured at MIT and Harvard, and published extensively (The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, The Economist, Harvard Business Review, etc). He’s also appeared on MSNBC, CNN, BBC, NPR, and CBS.

Foch, Nina (1924 - )
Film, Theater
Actress, Director
BC

Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress Nina Foch made her Broadway debut in Rogers and Hammerstein's John Loves Mary (1947). Other theater appearances include Twelfth Night (1949) and King Lear (1950) on Broadway, and Tonight at 8:30 (1966), which she also directed, at the National Repertory Theater. Foch played her first of more than sixty film roles in Wagon Wheels West (1943), and went on to perform in as many as six films a year in the ‘40s.  Her films include Shadows in the Night (1944) and Strange Affair (1944). Foch's other notable films include Johnny Allegro (1949), An American in Paris (1951), The Ten Commandments (1957), Spartacus (1960), and Pumpkin (2002).

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Foner Gyllenhaal, Naomi (1946 - )
Film, Television
Screenwriter
'66BC, GSAS

Gyllenhaal is the mother of actors Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal, also Columbia alums. She began her career as Eugene McCarthy's media director in his bid for the presidency in 1968. Later, she produced children's programs for PBS, including Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Her screenplay for Running on Empty (1988) brought her Golden Globe and PEN Awards for best screenplay and an Oscar nomination. Her other titles include A Dangerous Woman and Losing Isaiah (1995), with Halle Berry and Jessica Lange. Learn more.


Forte, Allen
Musicologist
1950GS

Allen Forte is currently Battell Professor of Music Theory at Yale University.  His publications include 12 books and 80 articles that appeared in Journal of Music Theory, Music Theory Spectrum, Music Analysis, Perspectives of New Music, and Journal of the American Musicological Society, and reflect his interest in pitch-class set theory, avant-garde music, Heinrich Schenker, and other aspects of music theory.  He’s also recorded music of his own.  His 1958 monograph on the development of diminutions in American jazz was the first detailed analytical study of that repertoire.  Forte was founding President of the Society for Music Theory and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2000 Yale established an endowed professorship in his name. 

Fox, Matthew (1966 - )
Film
Actor
'89CC

Matthew Fox first gained recognition for his role as the older brother and patriarch Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, a critically acclaimed 1990s teen television drama. He currently stars as Dr. Jack Shephard on the hit ABC drama series Lost, for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination. His role on Lost also won him the 2005 Satellite Award and the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In 2006, Fox co-stared with Matthew McConaughey in the sports drama, We Are Marshall, and in 2007 starred in the thriller, Vantage Point. Learn more.


Foy III, Eddie (1935 - )
Film, Television
Casting Director


Eddie Foy III has had a hand in the casting of such popular television shows as Happy Days, Cheers, Three's Company, and I Dream of Jeannie, along with numerous movies. Foy tours the country conducting seminars and workshops for casting professionals. He has been honored by the National Organization for the Advancement of Hispanic Actors and Nosotros for his efforts to advance Latino actors in the industry. Learn more.


Frager, Malcolm (1935 - 1991)
Music
Pianist
'57CC

Malcolm Frager gave his first piano concert at the age of six; at ten, he made his solo debut with Vladimir Golschmann and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17, K.453. Frager participated in a series of competitions in the late ‘50s, taking highest honors at the Geneva, Leventritt and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium competitions. He toured internationally, performing a range of works from Haydn to modern composers. Frager was known for performing the Schumann piano concerto and Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto in their rare, original versions.

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