After chronicling Broadway and its greatest performers for the past 76 years,
renowned caricaturist Al Hirschfeld will now see his name up in lights. On June 21,
2003, the artist's 100th birthday, the Martin Beck Theater on West 45th Street in
New York, will officially become the Al Hirschfield Theater, making him the first
artist to have a theater named after him.
Hirschfeld penned his first caricature in 1926 of actor Sacha Guitry. Since that
time, he has sketched stars such as Alfred Lunt, Kevin Spacey and Madonna,
among innumerable others. From the time his daughter Nina was born in 1945, Hirschfeld
has creatively hidden her name within the sketch, creating a sort of hide-and-seek
game for his many followers.
