Walter Scheuer

SCHEUER-Walter. An investor, philanthropist, and producer of documentary films, died on Monday, September 20, 2004, after a period of decline. Wally will be remembered with great love by his devoted wife, Marge, his children, David, Jeffrey, Susan, and Judith, their spouses, his seven grandchildren, and his many friends and associates. Wally was born in New York City in 1922, and attended The Ethical Culture School, Fieldston School, and Swarthmore College, from which he graduated with high honors. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, in the South Pacific, including New Guinea and the Philippines, aboard The U.S.S. Blue Ridge. In 1979, in the middle of a successful career on Wall Street, he produced a documentary film about the violinist Issac Stern's tour of China, the first by a major Western classical musician. The film ``From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern in China'' won an Academy Award in 1981 for best documentary. In addition to ``From Mao To Mozart'' Walter Scheuer produced a number of other documentary films, including ``High Fidelity'' (1988) about the Guarneri Quartet, ``November's Children'' a 1991 film about the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, ``Dancemaker'' about The Paul Taylor Dance Company, and ``Small Wonders'' a film about Roberta Tzavaras and Opus 110 an organization devoted to teaching music to inner city children which was an Academy Award nominee in 1995, and became the basis for the feature film ``Music Of The Heart.'' Mr. Scheuer served on the Boards of Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, and The Paul Taylor Dance Company. He privately sponsored many young students from around the world to come to study in New York and supported other documentary filmmakers. In 1999, Mr. Scheuer was awarded his most cherished honor: an Honorary Degree from his alma mater, Swarthmore College. Services will be held on Thursday, September 23, at Riverside Chapel, West 76Street at 2:30 PM.