Stephen E. Livernash

1941 - 2019

Stephen Edward Livernash, 77, a resident of Arlington and long- time projectionist of films at the Harvard Film Archive and Harvards Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, died on May 14, 2019 at the Elizabeth Evarts De Rham Hospice home in Cambridge, MA. The cause of death was a rare form of cancer of the liver. Steve was blessed with a prodigious memory, wide-ranging interests, a generous heart, and a salty personality. Though fiercely independent and inclined toward solitude, he rarely declined a dinner or party invite. He remains a well-known figure at the Harvard Film Archive and will be greatly missed by many beloved friends and colleagues, including Steffen Pierce, Heidi Bliss, and his longtime friend Margot Niederland. Born on June 20, 1941, he grew up in Concord and was educated in the Concord public schools. He graduated from Swarthmore College, studied economic s and business at the University of Chicago, and received a masters degree in cinema studies from New York University. His connection to Harvard was initially established by his father, Edward Robert Livernash, who had a distinguished career at the Harvard Business School. After completing his studies at NYU, he returned to Cambridge in 1973. He sought a position with the Boston projectionists union and was hired. His first job took him into Bostons Combat Zone. I was hired to work from midnight to 5 a.m., four nights a week, at a pay of $4.75 an hour, he said in a profile published in the Harvard University Gazette in 2001. His career as a projectionist took him to just about every movie theater in the Boston area. Id do a drive-in in the summer months, and then Id do Harvard in the spring and fall, and Id take a vacation in January, he told the Gazette. He retired from the Harvard Film Archive in 2009. In his retirement years he particularly enjoyed spending time at the family vacation cottage in the Rangeley Lakes in Maine, as well as assiduously attending the concerts presented by the Boston Early Music Festival . He is survived by his brother, Robert Livernash, of Alexandria, Virginia. In his memory, the family suggests making a contribution to the Boston Early Music Festival (43 Thorndike St., Suite 302, Cambridge, MA 02141). We also are grateful for the kind and caring support he received at the De Rham hospice home. Services will be held at a later date.