Daniel Jagendorf

Jagendorf, Daniel

Daniel Zachary Samuel Jagendorf, 49, of Brooklyn, NY, died in his sleep, unexpectedly, on January 20, 2014. The cause was sleep apnea. Born September 6, 1964 in Baltimore, MD, he was the son of André and Jean Jagendorf. He is survived by his parents; by his wife, Patricia; his sisters, Suzanne and Judith; five nieces, three nephews, three great-nieces and three great-nephews, and many friends. He was one of the initiators of the New York City Fringe Festival, and ever since an adjudicator helping to select plays to be performed. He designed and built scenery and props for many off- and off-off-Broadway plays and operas. Working for the Spaeth Corp., he fabricated props and back-drops for the Christmas store windows of Macy's, Lord and Taylors, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Dan's theater friends are organizing a memorial gathering in New York City, which will be in lieu of a funeral service. There are many tributes on Dan's Facebook page and elsewhere, but the following tribute from one of his friends, Travis Stewart, was the most poignant: "Dan Jagendorf was as good as they come. In a very short time he became a trusted friend and adviser, the kind of person who would come in and save your bacon time and time and time again, without a word of admonition or complaint. In the most fraught and tense of situations, the extent of his ruffled feathers would be a small, ironic laugh. In my three years or so of getting to work with him off and on I really began to feel that that would have been his reaction to any set-back , any crisis. You've been marching through the desert, you're dying of thirst and the oasis has turned out to be only a mirage? A small shrug - and keep walking then. Where's the logic of a big to-do? He was good at what he did, he knew it, and he liked helping people. Also, I think he would have been the first to agree (and admit) that it can be awfully entertaining to watch other people lose their cool. I first met him at NY Fringe in 2010; he'd long been a pillar and an aid to the Fringe manager and he became that to me, as well. The following year he was combination set/prop/lighting designer, production manager and tech director for my vaudeville show in the Fringe Festival. After that, he bailed me out many a time in much the same capacity, most recently our show in in the Burlesque Blitz at the Kraine Theatre last summer. What's particularly poignant is that he was working towards a very specific goal, working to get a Masters Degree through a combination of classes at CUNY and City Tech, as though he weren't already indispensable with his existing skills. Still he was beefing up his resume. He was moving in a definite direction, and now that's over. Ultimately, he was just a nice guy to be around. He was dry and funny and pleasant, and (a word that doesn't get used enough — because it doesn't exist enough) he was decent. It really hurts to lose someone like that. The day I met him he was wearing a bicycle helmet and sunglasses with small rear-view mirrors attached — a striking first impression. Subsequently I've always pictured him with that gear on his head, because he almost always WAS wearing it. He rode his bike EVERYWHERE. It's unthinkable to me that he wouldn't be riding it right now, wherever he's headed."