Len Berkman
Shy child from Brooklyn discovers 'inner rebel' at school
Linda Lee
Issue date: 12/9/04 Section: Features
"I was aware that if you do well you'll always be looked to do well," he said upon recollection. Feeling pressured by his teachers to excel, Berkman decided to blatantly rebel against a certain teacher in the sixth grade. With an assignment to write a thank-you letter and forbiddance to mention food within the letter, Berkman completed this assignment - with a special mention of food. His teacher asked him to read his letter to the class; he did, and consequently caused a shooting of hands in the air with yells of "He mentioned food! He mentioned food!" Calmly, his teacher asked the students to notice how Len Berkman mentioned food. "She made a rule, and I found a way to break it and still be praised," he said. That day in class set the mode of Berkman's outlook on learning and teaching: "You can break rules and be praised."
Hobbies and letters
With a smile, Berkman admits that he had odd hobbies. He used to flip across radio stations to give a score on every singer, just to see who was most broadcast. At age 11, he counted 50 purple cars and vowed that the first woman to say "Hello" to him would be his wife. That young woman currently lives in Amherst, unaware of the miraculous coincidence. He adds with a smile that his wife, with whom he's been happily married for 42 years, knows this bit of fun information.
Berkman would also memorize baseball players' batting averages and use his extensive knowledge to win prizes for his mother. He also ranked the interviews of players, and decided that the team with most interviews would be his favorite - as a result he became a statistical St. Louis Cardinal's fan.
Though struck by how odd all his hobbies seem, I'm also surprised that none are related to theater. So how did he become influenced to pursue theater? Berkman credits two people to have influenced his passion for theater: the playwright Robert Anderson ("Tea and Sympathy") and actress Kim Stanley.
"They showed me that what happens on stage can reach out to the audience in a personal way," he said. As a shy person seeing a play by Robert Anderson, he felt that he had "found someone [he] could talk to." And so he did talk to Robert Anderson - through letters. He wrote to him and many other playwrights, and surprisingly received letters from them and sometimes photos as well.
Hobbies and letters
With a smile, Berkman admits that he had odd hobbies. He used to flip across radio stations to give a score on every singer, just to see who was most broadcast. At age 11, he counted 50 purple cars and vowed that the first woman to say "Hello" to him would be his wife. That young woman currently lives in Amherst, unaware of the miraculous coincidence. He adds with a smile that his wife, with whom he's been happily married for 42 years, knows this bit of fun information.
Berkman would also memorize baseball players' batting averages and use his extensive knowledge to win prizes for his mother. He also ranked the interviews of players, and decided that the team with most interviews would be his favorite - as a result he became a statistical St. Louis Cardinal's fan.
Though struck by how odd all his hobbies seem, I'm also surprised that none are related to theater. So how did he become influenced to pursue theater? Berkman credits two people to have influenced his passion for theater: the playwright Robert Anderson ("Tea and Sympathy") and actress Kim Stanley.
"They showed me that what happens on stage can reach out to the audience in a personal way," he said. As a shy person seeing a play by Robert Anderson, he felt that he had "found someone [he] could talk to." And so he did talk to Robert Anderson - through letters. He wrote to him and many other playwrights, and surprisingly received letters from them and sometimes photos as well.