i miss John, yes.  of course.  but i miss his work.  i loved his scenic design - his care for actors and story telling.  sumptuous and detailed when it had to be; simple and streamlined when it served.  i'll never forget watching him dress his sets - the detail, the care.  no one better.

Singing Happy Birthday.

I love that John called this: "The Girl? With the oranges". He laughed about it ... but it was also quite masterful.

i have no specific story.  but i just miss him.  i was in conversation with another designer about him two nights ago as we sat in tech and afterwards it hit me how much of a hole there is for all of us without him here.  he comes into my mind randomly throughout the days - sometimes more acutely, sometimes almost un-noticeably.  but he's there.  he's here.  he's smiling.  impishly ... like he's getting away with something.  i keep circling back to that line in Richard II:  For sorrow ends not when it seemeth done.  

happy birthday, John.

John Iacovelli was the Scenic Designer for 19 shows at The Pasadena Playhouse and was winner of three FRED Awards. John was always a strong voice and advocate for theatre, and The Pasadena Playhouse in particular. John was always a great friend to the Friends of The Pasadena Playhouse. We miss you greatly John!

Was so sorry to miss this celebration.  Lifting a glass in Johns honor in Rome. Such a loving and inspirational friend and colleague. 

JOHN WOULD HATE THIS.

ITS YOUR OWN FAULT JOHN.

ITS YOUR FAULT THAT WE ARE ALL HERE.

ITS YOUR FAULT FOR BEING A LOVING BROTHER AND UNCLE.

ITS YOUR FAULT FOR BEING A PATIENT AND INSPIRATIONAL TEACHER AND MENTOR.

YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO BLAME FOR BEING SUCH AN AMAZING SPONSOR OF THE YOUNG AND TALENTED. I ALWAYS TELL YOUNG PEOPLE THAT THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE IS TO BE SOMEONES’ FIRST BREAK. THIS THEATER, THIS BUSINESS , IS FULL OF PEOPLE THAT YOU GAVE THAT FIRST BREAK, AND IT’S YOUR FAULT.

ITS YOUR FAULT FOR REACHING OUT AND CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE WHEREVER YOU WENT, COLLEAGUES, CAREGIVERS AND CARGIVERS.

ITS YOUR FAULT FOR BEING SUCH A COLLABORATIVE ARTIST AND DESIGN PARTNER.

IN MY CASE, ITS YOUR FAULT FOR BEING A BRILLIANT ROAD TRIP PARTNER. WE SPENT HOURS IN THE CAR TO AND FROM MANY TRIPS TO SANTA YNEZ, AND MANY HOSPITAL TRIPS. EACH AND EVERY TRIP WAS A MASTE CLASS IN ART HISTORY, ARCHITECTURAL STYLES, MOULDING DETAILS, HOLLYWOOD HISTORY AND BROADWAY TRIVIA.

JOHN, ITS YOUR FAULT THAT WE ARE MOVED TO COME TOGETHER AND SEND YOU ON YOUR WAY WITH ALL OF THE LOVE AND GRATITUDE THAT YOU CREATED.

THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE TO SHARE OUR TIME TOGETHER.

VIA CON DIOS MY FRIEND.

“How to begin…”

Pencil to trace, pause.

Virtuoso marks, preciously placed,

Smile, teach, tweak, play.

John always had “his way”.

Kindness, excitement, open to any and all,

Worldwide joy, love that sparked.

Pure magic to behold.

His gift to all, a heart of gold.

John was mentor, colleague, fellow NYUer and like so many others, gave me my “break” as a PA in my first Art Department. The summer I transplanted myself from NYC to work with him in LA he would invite & include me on so many of his projects, theater events, dinners, gatherings, etc. Always teaching via osmosis in his one-of-a-kind, most humble, gentle & generous way.

It’s always the good ones! 

What beautiful event last night! Thank you to John's family and dear friends for bringing us all together in such a unique celebration of such a one-of-a-kind human being. Some years ago, John gave me a beautiful fabric bag, and into one of the little pockets he had slipped a tiny card: "You are loved" he had written on it. Dearest John, YOU are indeed loved, missed, cherished and remembered. Your presence was certainly felt last night, as your ashes sat in a glowing spotlight. Perfect! God bless.

Another Opening — with John Iacovelli and Gina Farina

I only worked with John for two brief years at UC Davis, but he changed my brain chemistry in a profound way. John changed the way I look at the world. When I see a show, visit a museum, or notice any detail of the world, I hear his voice discussing the details and nuances. Every design choice I make in my profession is influenced by him. His spirit will be in my life for many years to come. 

Loved John so much. We met on a show that went from the Pasadena Playhouse to Broadway in 1993- The Twilight Of The Golds. His beautiful set along with John, our PSM Artie Gaffin, Playwright Jon Tolins and a cast that included Raphael Sbarge, David Groh, Judith Scarpone, Jennifer Grey and myself traveled throughout the country with stops at the The Pasadena Playhouse, Marines Memorial in San Francisco, The Lobero in Santa Barbara, The Kennedy Center in DC. and finally the Booth Theatre in NYC. It has been 30 years since this show debuted but John and the cast and crew never let go of our love for each other. John had the most beautiful heart and soul. The Golds family will miss him always. I will miss him always.

I think what i most learned from John, in all the times I worked with him, was not so much his genius and his industry, which were givens, but his artistic generosity. He always gave more than you asked, and gave it from the heart.

Generosity. That's what leaps to mind. That, and his impeccable design sensibility. We helped each other out back in the day when the derelict building that was to be Playwright's Horizons on 42nd Street's new theatre row still had mushrooms growing through the 'orchestra' floor. I assisted him and he assisted me. We shared some awful and good times back then. We became life-long friends. Later, after John had settled in Los Angeles, I helped him on a few TV productions back in New York, or rather, he was generous enough to invite me in. He would always introduce me to his colleagues in the most embarrassing and flattering way. I learned from him that this was a generous and kind thing to do and made a point thereafter of  doing it too, of accentuating the positive, and it felt good and true and generous every time, and I owe that to him and will always be grateful for the example. The ripples from his kind and generous spirit will continue to spread.  John's students were blessed to have such a caring teacher, a titan of design, a worldly-wise sophisticate who was never above getting his hands dirty. Like John, I was fortunate to have a few great teachers, but I'll always remain jealous of John's students. Oh! what they must have learned! Just like everybody attending this colorful celebration of John's life, I admired and respected him, I trusted him.  I loved him . It was my good fortune to have this warm, inspired and generous man as a friend, and I must now accept that I won't get to hear his insightful, well-considered and probably funny take on getting old. I look forward to seeing what he does with his corner of heaven. It will be fabulous, I know.

John designed many of the best productions Rogue Machine did - the work was always excellent - and sometimes more than excellent - I was always impressed by his attention to detail and his knowledge of what details mattered but I was more than impressed that this consummate professional was always so kind - he was a gentle spirit that illuminated wherever he was - and we miss him - 

John was a dear friend, and to my wife, Maggie Morgan, also a colleague in design and teaching.  We stayed with John often; he was not only gracious but enthusiastic when I asked if I could document the house using my skills as an architectural photographer.  The place was an art-piece and he was always iterating - as an artist does.  I have posted a large number of images from 2014 and 2021 on my site, which anyone can see:

• https://barryschwartzphoto.co…

Miss the guy terribly.