Al Sklar

[imanut]

FYI---Mark had posted on another website that Al Sklar, of Absco Products, G-cups, etc died June 15th. In case anyone knew him, and for those that didn't, he was a true gentleman. He'll be missed in the industry. He died at 83, after beginning tube bending at the age of 20 he was a journeyman. And back in thsoe days it was NOT a 4 week school to being a journeyman !!! He did alot of pioneering with crackle tubes, plasma balls, etc. Alot of neon signs in California bear his trademark neon work.

gn

[TelfordDorr]

FYI---Mark had posted on another website that Al Sklar, of Absco Products, G-cups, etc died June 15th. In case anyone knew him, and for those that didn't, he was a true gentleman. He'll be missed in the industry.

gn

I was one of those privileged to be able to call Al Sklar a friend.

Some of my happiest memories are those of sitting in his office, discussing the state of the industry, and generally shooting the bull. He was truely the Energizer Bunny - always working on something new, or improving something already existing. He created a machine to automatically cut multiple lengths of small diameter tubing into short nibs suitable for making crackle tubes. He also developed a modified oven for processing them. You all probably know of /use borosilicate glass 'G-cups', used for making bulletproof outdoor neon connections to electrodes (here in San Diego, salt spray contamination is a problem.) They were his invention. The list goes on.

I offer my condolences to Barb and his family. He will be missed.

With great respect,

Telford Dorr

[TelfordDorr]

FYI---Mark had posted on another website that Al Sklar, of Absco Products, G-cups, etc died June 15th. In case anyone knew him, and for those that didn't, he was a true gentleman. He'll be missed in the industry.

gn

I was one of those privileged to be able to call Al Sklar a friend.

Some of my happiest memories are those of sitting in his office, discussing the state of the industry, and generally shooting the bull. He was truely the Energizer Bunny - always working on something new, or improving something already existing. He created a machine to automatically cut multiple lengths of small diameter tubing into short nibs suitable for making crackle tubes. He also developed a modified oven for processing them. You all probably know of /use borosilicate glass 'G-cups', used for making bulletproof outdoor neon connections to electrodes (here in San Diego, salt spray contamination is a problem.) They were his invention. The list goes on.

I offer my condolences to Barb and his family. He will be missed.

With great respect,

Telford Dorr

[B.O.P.]

Thanks for posting this, Gary. I wanted to get to it today, but after I posted it to the list I got covered up with trivial stuff and unfortunately didn't get back to it.

Btw, the email I posted to the list for Barb is still good. I sent her an email and she replied.

[Erik Sine]

I don't know of him but found this in my local paper, very interesting individual and sounds like he lived a fulfilled life

Al Sklar, 83; actor appeared on local stages for decades

By Michael Kinsman

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 25, 2007

Al Sklar was a part-time actor who worked a full-time acting career into his busy schedule.

Mr. Sklar operated a neon-sign company during the day but found a way to star in dozens of theater productions during the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s in San Diego.

“There was a time he seemed to be everywhere,” said Welton Jones, former theater critic for The San Diego Union-Tribune. “In his era, there was nobody bigger in San Diego theater.”

Mr. Sklar died June 15 at his home in Sun City West, Ariz., from complications of pulmonary disease. He was 83 and had moved from La Mesa four years ago because of his illness.

In San Diego, he performed in productions as varied as “The Sunshine Boys,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Odd Couple,” “Guys and Dolls” and “Kiss Me, Kate” at theaters such as the Old Globe, Starlight Opera, the Circle Arts, the Fiesta Dinner Theatre and the Welk Resort Theatre.

“He was a fine actor, but he also had this great singing voice,” said Frank Wayne, former producing director of the Fiesta Dinner Theatre and artistic director of the Welk Resort Theatre. “That gave him an advantage over others. I could have put him in a dozen other shows through the years, but he had the sign business and he just couldn't work all the time.”

Mr. Sklar demonstrated uncommon energy levels at times. He was known to work an eight-hour shift, nap in the late afternoon, eat dinner and head to the theater for a show that night. Occasionally, he would do seven shows a week while holding down a full-time job.

Mr. Sklar was born Feb. 2, 1924, in Philadelphia to parents who had emigrated from Russia. His father was a carpenter and part-time actor with the Yiddish Theatre in Philadelphia.

“I think Al was born to act,” said his wife, Barbara. “I don't think there was a moment of his life when he didn't want to be an actor.”

Mr. Sklar joined the Army Air Forces during World War II and became one of the few white instructors at a Florida air base who trained black aviators to be aerial gunners.

At the time, the Army was segregated, and Mr. Sklar said in 2005 that he hoped the gunners he taught and their war experience helped to break down the Army's segregation policy.

In 1947, he moved to Los Angeles and started a neon-sign business; 12 years later he moved to San Diego.

Mr. Sklar distinguished himself in his first performance in San Diego, a 1962 production of “The Music Man” at the Starlight Opera.

He worked regularly and was one of the first actors in San Diego to join Actors' Equity, the union for stage actors.

“I told him that if he got an Equity card, it would be very hard to get a job in San Diego, but he was determined to get it,” Wayne said.

Mr. Sklar still got jobs and held his union membership as one of his most important achievements, his wife said.

“He believed that actors should be paid as professionals for the work they did,” she said. “That's why he wanted to join the union.”

Barbara Sklar said her husband was immensely proud of being a union member.

Earl Cantos, former president of the Starlight Opera, remembers Mr. Sklar as an inspiring actor who made everyone around him feel better.

“He was one of those people you meet in life who just exuded the joy of living,” Cantos said. “He was a pleasure to be around, and everybody in the crew enjoyed having him around.”

Mr. Sklar is survived by his wife, Barbara; and daughter, Ruth Enyeart of Estero Beach, Baja California.

A memorial service and burial were held June 18 at El Camino Memorial Park in Sorrento Valley.

The family suggests donations to The Actors Fund, 729 Seventh Ave., 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019; or the House of Rachel, care of Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, 349 Cedar St., San Diego, CA 92101.

[slowdncr]

Albert_Sklar.BMP

.... Al Sklar, of Absco Products, G-cups, etc died June 15th. In case anyone knew him, and for those that didn't, he was a true gentleman. He'll be missed in the industry...

gn

I received word of Al's passing via the California Sign Association, of which Al and Barbara Sklar were active members and gracious supporters. It was one of those moments which causes one to reflect, like a flash of gas filled tubing gone dead, recognizing that one of the great ones had fallen. In today's sign environment, there are very few qualified to take his place.

In my lively discussions with Al, I had always held him as a consumate man of his craft and a true innovator. In the bustling isles of the trade shows, I would bow before him in gratitude for running the U.L. gauntlet in getting the G-Cup and Conduit Plug Assembly approved, freeing us to finally install border tubing in a manner that was both safe and clean, and for a while (before Electrobits were approved for inside letters) allowing us to get rid of those confounded Hage and PK Housings.

My sincere condolances to Barbara, daughter,son-in-law and family.

Skip

Edited July 3, 2007 by slowdncr