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Sullivan summer: Familiar faces, familiar places By Steve Israel Times Herald-Record Woodstock reunions. Richie Castellano. Sid Bernstein. Spring is here and the Sullivan County summer is on its way. Check it out: Make no mistake. The Woodstock pilgrims are journeying to Bethel in August. Just like they do for every Woodstock anniversary. And just like every summer since Alan Gerry bought the site of the 1969 festival, the pilgrims won't be allowed to camp on the undulating hills of the field. So just like the past few summers, the pilgrims will probably head up the road, to the homestead of Max Yasgur, who owned the Woodstock site in 1969. Roy Howard and Jeryl Abramson, who own it now, have hosted a few thousand of these pilgrims the past few years. Some of their guests camped on their land and entertained themselves with music, much to the dismay and confusion of town and county officials. Sure, thousands of the pilgrims have had peaceful, fun times in the fields and woods of Yasgur's old homestead. But lawsuits have been filed. People have been arrested. Neighbors have complained. Maybe, just maybe, things will be different this year. Town of Bethel Supervisor Allan Scott recently met with Howard and Abramson to see what can be done about the August gathering. Abramson and Howard aren't talking about the meeting. Scott isn't getting into detail. He called the meeting "a feeling-out session." But at least the two sides are talking. ä So I opened the Daily News on Sunday and almost dropped it. There was a picture of a gaunt-looking Richie Castellano, the "Analyze This" actor who was sent to jail for conning Sullivan County residents out of money in exchange for Screen Actors Guild cards he never delivered. "How to finish a movie when your star's behind bars" was the headline. The story, written by Denis Hamill, is about director Paul Borghese trying to make a movie while its star – Castellano – is in jail. The movie is "Four Deadly Reasons," which was shot in Sullivan County and features lots of locals. It was supposed to debut at the Narrowsburg Independent International Film Festival in the summer of 2000. The festival was produced by Castellano's wife, Jocelyne. But instead of the film, the audience saw a 10-minute trailer. That ticked off the crowd that included many locals making their film debuts. According to the Daily News, the film was never finished because Castellano ran out of money. After Borghese raised the money, the Castellanos gave him the movie so Borghese could complete it. By now, Castellano was in jail. So Borghese finished the film without him. Now, he's shopping it. By the way, Castellano is not in the sequel to "Analyze This." He told folks around here he was going to star in the movie that's now called "Analyze That." ä Sid Bernstein, who brought the Beatles to America and tried to bring Woodstock celebrations to Bethel, returns to Sullivan County tomorrow. Bernstein will appear at the Oracle Bookstore in Liberty, where he'll sign copies of his book, "Not Just the Beatles." The fine singer-songwriters from Spirit of Bethel Records will perform some of their moving acoustic music. The artists include the Cosmic Duo, Clint Partridge, EC Lorick, Gaia Wolf, Chuck Smith and Chakulla. The performance is free and nonperishable food will be collected and donated to the Interfaith Council of Liberty and St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Liberty. The Oracle Bookstore is at 10 S. Main St., Liberty. The concert and book-signing begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free. More info: 292-2934. Steve Israel is a reporter in The Times Herald-Record's Sullivan County bureau. He can be reached at sisrael@th-record.com.
Copyright 2002 Orange County Publications, a division of Ottaway Newspapers Inc., all rights reserved. |
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