AT 100, EVA'S STILL ACTIVE SONGBIRD.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Eva Epstein celebrated her 100th birthday Tuesday the way she's celebrated most of her life: getting up on a stage and belting out a few songs, including ``Love is a Many Splendored Thing.'' Life is a many splendored thing when you're still singing - and getting a hand - at 100. This remarkable woman came to California for her health in 1925 and stayed to have a wonderful career and life. ``I was 19 and already had pneumonia twice, so the doctor in Minneapolis recommended moving to a warmer climate,'' she says while sitting backstage at the West Valley Jewish Community Center's annual variety show, awaiting her curtain call. When she arrived in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. 80 years ago, Eva Samet landed a day job in a collection agency. At night, she studied singing with Lady Rose, a voice coach. Within three years, she had earned fourth billing as Bersi the Creole in the opera ``Andrea Chenier'' performed by the Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Company. It was 1928 and Eva never looked back. For the next 20 years, she toured with the Columbia, Chicago and San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is the second largest opera company in North America. It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881-1953). The Opening Night Gala of the San Francisco Opera is widely considered to be one of the most memorable events of the year for opera patrons. companies and worked steadily in background movie choruses. She was one of the beauties singing behind the zany Marx Brothers Marx Brothers, team of American movie comedians. The members were Julius (1890?–1977), known as Groucho; Arthur (1888?–1964), originally Adolph and known as Harpo; Leonard (1887?–1961), known as Chico; and two other brothers, Milton (Gummo) and in the 1935 movie ``A Night at the Opera.'' ``I made a lot of overtime on that movie,'' Eva says. ``Groucho would always drop his pants in the middle of a scene, and they'd have to stop and reshoot Verb 1. reshoot - shoot again; "We had to reshoot that scene 24 times" motion picture, motion-picture show, movie, moving picture, moving-picture show, pic, film, picture show, flick, picture - a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of it.'' When the 1950s rolled around, Eva was married to Robert Cohen Robert Cohen may refer to:
``She felt he had supported her in her career traveling with the opera and being away from home, and now it was time to support him,'' said Roger Cohen, 68, Eva's younger son. Her other son, Stephen, is 71. A few years later, Robert and Eva moved to the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and went into partnership with Sully Josephson in Nate's Deli in Sherman Oaks. In 1961, they opened the Holiday Deli on Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Canoga Park. ``Mom cooked and made the best strudel (character) strudel - Common (spoken) name for the commercial at sign, "@", ASCII 64. ever,'' Roger says. ``She loved to take care of the customers and sing to them. Not a waking hour in the day went by that she wasn't humming or singing a song.'' After Robert died, Eva sold the deli in 1973, and later married Louis Epstein. After Lou passed away, Eva moved back to the Valley and got in touch with a family friend, Jack Nye, who was pianist and personal conductor for such greats as Sammy Davis Jr., Liberace and Milton Berle. He was retired by then and had put together a variety act known as Jack Nye and Friends that played the senior circuit in the Valley - the veteran's hospital, senior centers and convalescent con·va·les·cent adj. Relating to convalescence. n. A person who is recovering from an illness, an injury, or a surgical operation. convalescent 1. pertaining to or characterized by convalescence. 2. homes. ``Eva joined us and was an immediate hit,'' says Loretta Ehrig, who with her husband, Richard, took over running the variety act after Jack died a few years ago. ``Eva's such a character. She called me one day not long ago and said Jack had just stopped by and they did a duet together. I said, 'Eva, Jack's gone.' ``She said, 'So shoot me for hallucinating hal·lu·ci·nate v. hal·lu·ci·nat·ed, hal·lu·ci·nat·ing, hal·lu·ci·nates v.intr. To undergo hallucination. v.tr. To cause to have hallucinations. .''' It's been a couple of years since Eva has traveled with the act full time. She decided to cut back a little when she hit 98. But there she was again Tuesday up on stage, belting out a few of her favorite songs to a packed house at the West Valley Jewish Center before they rolled out her birthday cake. Yeah, life is a many splendored thing when you're still singing and getting a hand at 100. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Eva Epstein belts out a song during her 100th birthday celebration at the West Valley Jewish Community Center. (2) In this 1928 photo, Eva Epstein, center, is in costume for the Los Angeles Grand Opera. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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