BARBARA S. WISE

WISE--Barbara S., known to friends and family as Barbi, died in Las Vegas, NV on March 23rd. She was a significant fixture of the downtown art and theater worlds for decades. Barbi was born in Waco, Texas on November 20, 1929. In 1952, while performing as Desdemona at the Cleveland Playhouse, she met her future husband, Howard Wise. In 1960, Howard opened the Howard Wise Gallery on 57th Street, and the family moved to New York. Barbi returned to the theater in the 1970s, performing in many avant garde productions in New York and Provincetown. In 1989, Barbi became president of the board of EAI, a nonprofit started by Howard in 1971 to support video as an art form. She also served on the boards of the Castle Hill Center for the Arts in Truro, MA and Theatre for a New City in New York. Barbi is survived by her son, David Wise, daughter Juliet Ruiz, stepsons Daniel Wise, and Jeremy Wise as well as granddaughters Johanna and Benna Wise-Levine, Brooke DeMarco, and step-granddaughter Rebecca Matalon. A memorial service will be held at a later date.