Nikolai Volkoff obit

Nikolai Volkoff, who played a villainous Soviet wrestler, dies at 70

 

He was not on the list.

 

Nikolai Volkoff, the burly wrestler whose brash Soviet persona and physical embodiment of Communism made him one of the most hated figures in professional wrestling, has died at the age of 70, World Wrestling Entertainment said.

Volkoff was considered a heel, the wrestling term for a character who plays an enemy figure and riles up crowds. Amid the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, Volkoff antagonized American audiences by wearing all-red Soviet outfits, waving a Soviet flag and insisting that the crowds stand for the Russian national anthem and then loudly singing along.

“As one of the greatest villains sports-entertainment had ever seen, Volkoff’s infamous rendition of the Soviet National Anthem before his matches made him an instant icon in the eyes of the WWE Universe as a Superstar they truly loved to hate,” WWE said.

Volkoff, often wearing the Russian ushanka hat, became a dastardly Soviet villain and faced off against heroic American wrestlers like Hulk Hogan.

He tag-teamed with the Iranian heel Iron Sheik, and together they won the first-ever Wrestlemania in 1985, waving Iranian and Soviet flags in the ring. Volkoff later teamed up with Boris Zukhov to form a team of Soviets called The Bolsheviks.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, he switched to supporting the United States and teamed up with American wrestler “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, WWE said. Volkoff was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2005, WWE said.

“Volkoff will go down in history as one of the greatest villains of all time,” WWE said on its website. “Although Volkoff’s actions can be imitated, they will never be duplicated.”

Despite his character, Volkoff – whose real name is Josip Nikolai Peruzović – was actually born in then-Yugoslavia, WWE said.

Several professional wrestlers fondly remembered Volkoff on Twitter, including WWE’s Natalya.

WWE’s Drake Maverick said on Twitter that Volkoff was “the first real bad guy I watched Hulk Hogan vanquish … RIP to another one of the greats.”

Brian Christopher obit

Brian Christopher passes away at 46 years old

 

He was not on the list.

Brian Christopher (Brian Christopher Lawler) has passed away at 46 years old.

WWE announced his passing on their website: "WWE is saddened to learn that Brian Christopher Lawler, who is best known in WWE as Too Cool’s Grandmaster Sexay, has passed away. Lawler, who is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Jerry 'The King' Lawler, competed during the height of the Attitude Era. WWE extends its condolences to Lawler’s family, friends and fans."

Christopher had been pronounced brain dead earlier this morning after hanging himself in his jail cell at the Hardeman County Jail in Tennessee. A family friend reported to us that they were waiting for Jerry Lawler to come to the hospital to say goodbye before Christopher's life support was pulled.

Christopher was arrested for DUI on July 7 after failing to immediately stop when police tried to pull him over. He was being held on a $40,000 bond. His father and a family friend had been working on getting him to a rehab center, but Christopher didn't know when he was going to be released from prison.

After starting his career at 16 under a mask in Tennessee, Christopher joined the WWF in 1997. He went on to hold the WWF Tag Team titles once with Scotty 2 Hotty in 2000, with the two of them part of the popular "Too Cool" trio with Rikishi.

Paul "Triple H" Levesque also tweeted about Christopher's death: "Incredibly sad news about the passing of Brian Christopher. A tragic loss of life. Both @StephMcMahon and I are thinking of Jerry Lawler and the entire Lawler family this evening."

Bruce Lietzke obit

Bruce Lietzke, 67, succumbs to brain cancer

 

He was not on the list.

Bruce Lietzke, who won 13 PGA Tour events with a reliable and famously low-maintenance fade, succumbed to brain cancer on Saturday. He was 67.

Lietzke originally was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive malignant tumor, on April 12, 2017. It was similar to the brain cancer that claimed the life of Cathy Bryant, wife of golfer Bart Bryant, that same month.

The diagnosis shocked Lietzke and his family, “going from a perfectly healthy specimen, to finding out there’s a life-threatening tumor in my brain,” he told Golf World’s Tim Rosaforte last year.

He underwent surgery to remove what he described as a golf ball-sized tumor. Afterwards, he underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments, while resuming something of a normal life that included one of his favorite hobbies, fishing, as well as traveling in March to Washington, D.C., to attend the National Prayer Breakfast.

In April, Lietzke, a native of Beaumont, Texas, suffered a setback in his battle with the cancer, according to a story in The News, a Port Arthur, Texas, newspaper.

“Then vertigo hit,” Bob West wrote. “He could not stand up on his own. Subsequent testing revealed tumors had returned along the vestibular nerves in his brain. That meant more chemo and radiation treatments, and his body rebelled. He couldn’t keep food down and lost roughly 25 pounds.

“‘It’s been a tough stretch,’ Lietzke said Monday. ‘Nausea has been a real problem. I have lost ground from where I was. It does appear tumor cells are floating around in the brain. They are not forming and growing, but there are enough to require radiation.

“‘I had five radiation treatments last week to try to reduce those new cancer cells. They don’t want to do more chemo because my blood has had enough. The MRIs look okay, but the doctors think they could be better. My goal at this point is to get past the nausea, keep food down and starting gaining weight.’”

Lietzke played college golf at the University of Houston and turned professional in 1974. He began his career playing mini-tour golf in Florida.

“I accidentally started coming over the top, trying to hit the ball low,” he told the Houston Chronicle in 2013, this his strategy to counter the Florida wind. "All I know is that after about a month in Florida, all I could do was hit a fade. I didn't know why, but it was working pretty well, so I decided not to fight it.”

It became the signature shot in a career memorable not only for its successes, but for how little effort was required to maintain the repetitive action. A story frequently told was how, at the end of the 1984 season, he told his caddie Al Hansen to remove everything from his golf bag but his clubs, that he wouldn’t be needing them again until his planned return to the PGA Tour the following January, a span of three months.

Hansen did not believe him. So to test his notion he put a banana inside the headcover to his driver and put the clubs in a travel bag. Lietzke put the clubs in a corner of his garage that housed his collection of old muscle cars.

The following January, Lietzke grabbed his clubs and flew out to Palm Springs to start his season at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. On the range there, he discovered the banana.

“You should have smelled it,” Lietzke said. “Al couldn't believe that I'd go the whole off-season and not practice. He figured he'd have the last laugh. Well, nobody was laughing. The banana was just nasty, all black and covered in fungus. It did something to the driver. It was a real wooden club, and I could never use it after that week. Then I had to throw the bag away. Every time I threw something away I just glared at him.”

Lietzke preferred fishing, tending to his collection of cars and spending time with his family to practicing or even playing much. From 1983 through the end of his PGA Tour career, he played more than 22 events only once and usually played fewer than 20.

He won his first tournament in 1977, the Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open, and his last in 1994, the Las Vegas Invitational. The closest he came to winning a major was the 1991 PGA Championship, when he finished second to John Daly.

Lietzke won seven times on the PGA Tour Champions, including the U.S. Senior Open in 2003, when he defeated Tom Watson by two strokes.

He also played for the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1981.

Alan Bennion obit

Well-known Castle actor Alan Bennion dies aged 88

 

He was not on the list.

A NORTHWICH actor who went from appearing in local chapel concerts to becoming well known for his work in live theatre and television has died.

Alan John Bennion died on Friday at the age of 88.

He grew up in Castle with his parents Edna and Jack Bennion and a close-knit family of uncles, aunts and cousins living nearby.

Edna’s father John Littlemore was the head of the family, a patriarchal figure and a staunch Methodist Sunday School Superintendent of the local chapel.

He encouraged the family to follow his example, and as a result Alan spent his early years in church activities such as youth clubs and Scouts. When he was 11 he won first prize for a Swiss roll in the baking class.

A feature of church life was the annual concert and pantomime in which Alan and Edna were enthusiastic participants.

One memorable evening a large portion of the ceiling fell down mid performance - no-one was hurt but it signalled the end for the old Chapel Street building. It merged with the nearby Zion Street Chapel, the basis of the present Castle Methodist Church was formed.

The disaster did not deter Alan. A scholarship boy at Sir John Dean’s Grammar School, he chose a career in the civil service.

During National Service in the RAF the theatre bug struck again and he appeared in several productions.

The civil service was history as the bright lights of London beckoned.

He acquired a highly-coveted Equity card and an agent gradually built up his reputation.

To quote programme notes he ‘made his West End debut in Mother’s Boy at the Globe Theatre’, claiming to have played almost every theatre in Great Britain, and forays to Zimbabwe, Vienna and a tour of the United States with the National Theatre.

He achieved recognition on TV appearing in three series of Dr Who as a most spectacular chief ice warrior, hidden under a mass of very uncomfortable make-up.

Other roles were in Z Cars, Coronation Street, Sherlock Holmes and many other programmes.

His cousin Jean Foster said: “Alan enjoyed the variety but his first love was live theatre, often in majestic Shakespearian roles.

“Alan was proud of his mid Cheshire roots and of his family background. He was well liked and loved by many.

“Retiring to Brighton, he remained independent and self-sufficient to the end, maintaining his connections with theatre people and family.

“He will be sadly missed, particularly by those who followed his career with interest and rejoiced in the many successes in his chosen way of life.”

 

Actor

Next of Kin (1995)

Next of Kin

8.1

TV Series

Mr. Beaumont

1997

1 episode

 

David Tennant in Holding the Baby (1997)

Holding the Baby

6.0

TV Series

Doctor Marsh

1997

1 episode

 

B & B (1992)

B & B

7.0

Councillor

1992

 

Spatz (1990)

Spatz

6.7

TV Series

Philip

1992

1 episode

 

Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1990)

Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less

6.9

TV Movie

Ritz Doorman

1990

 

Tim Bentinck, Brett Fancy, and Lise Ann McLaughlin in Square Deal (1988)

Square Deal

TV Series

Colonel Drake

1989

1 episode

 

The Moneymen (1987)

The Moneymen

7.8

TV Movie

Sir John

1987

 

Richard O'Sullivan in Me and My Girl (1984)

Me and My Girl

6.4

TV Series

Doctor

1987

1 episode

 

God's Outlaw (1986)

God's Outlaw

6.8

Archdeacon Bell

1986

 

Jeremy Brett in The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

8.7

TV Series

Bates

1986

1 episode

 

Ronnie Corbett in Sorry! (1981)

Sorry!

6.7

TV Series

Smollett

1986

1 episode

 

Patsy Rowlands in The Collectors (1986)

The Collectors

6.2

TV Series

Hilditch

1986

1 episode

 

Oliver Twist (1985)

Oliver Twist

7.3

TV Mini Series

Magistrate

1985

1 episode

 

Events in a Museum

TV Movie

Chief Electrician

1983

 

Wilfred and Eileen

8.7

TV Series

Sergeant

1981

1 episode

 

Juliet Bravo (1980)

Juliet Bravo

6.7

TV Series

PC Ted Williams

1981

1 episode

 

Pig in the Middle

5.1

TV Series

Waiter

1981

1 episode

 

Jill Gascoine in The Gentle Touch (1980)

The Gentle Touch

6.6

TV Series

Sir Robert Loder

1980

1 episode

 

Armchair Thriller (1978)

Armchair Thriller

7.4

TV Series

Praed

1980

4 episodes

 

Julia Foster, Patrick Newell, and John Stride in Wilde Alliance (1978)

Wilde Alliance

7.5

TV Series

Charlie

1978

1 episode

 

John Carlisle and John Woodvine in New Scotland Yard (1972)

New Scotland Yard

7.3

TV Series

Pathologist

1974

1 episode

 

Anthony Valentine, Margaret Lockwood, and John Stone in Justice (1971)

Justice

7.9

TV Series

Dr. Green

1974

1 episode

 

Paul McGann, Colin Baker, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, William Hartnell, Sylvester McCoy, Jon Pertwee, and Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who (1963)

Doctor Who

8.4

TV Series

Slaar

Izlyr

Azaxyr

1969–1974

13 episodes

 

Brian Blessed, Diana Dors, Sinéad Cusack, Don Henderson, Freddie Jones, Nyree Dawn Porter, Robert Powell, and Dennis Waterman in Thriller (1973)

Thriller

7.8

TV Series

Mr. Carter

1974

1 episode

 

Six Days of Justice (1972)

Six Days of Justice

7.6

TV Series

Mr. Hawkes

1973

1 episode

 

Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1973)

Orson Welles' Great Mysteries

7.9

TV Series

Parson

1973

1 episode

 

The Death Wheelers (1973)

The Death Wheelers

5.7

Constable

1973

 

Norman Bowler, Stratford Johns, David Lloyd Meredith, and Frank Windsor in Softly Softly: Task Force (1969)

Softly Softly: Task Force

7.6

TV Series

Pearson

1972

1 episode

 

James Ellis and John Slater in Z Cars (1962)

Z Cars

7.0

TV Series

Harcourt

Tom Winchester

Constable ...

1968–1972

6 episodes

 

The Organization (1972)

The Organization

8.5

TV Series

Leslie Harbord

1972

1 episode

 

A Family at War (1970)

A Family at War

7.8

TV Series

Brent

1971

1 episode

 

Ian McKellen, Faith Brook, James Cairncross, Susan Fleetwood, and John Woodvine in Hamlet (1970)

Hamlet

7.5

TV Movie

Voltimand

1970

 

Big Brother

8.4

TV Mini Series

2nd Watcher

1970

1 episode

 

Ray Barrett, Geoffrey Keen, and Philip Latham in Mogul (1965)

Mogul

7.2

TV Series

Willington

1970

1 episode

 

Francis Matthews in Paul Temple (1969)

Paul Temple

7.4

TV Series

Hotel Manager

1970

1 episode

 

Peter Adamson, Jean Alexander, Johnny Briggs, Margot Bryant, and Doris Speed in Coronation Street (1960)

Coronation Street

5.6

TV Series

Bernard Fielding

1969

2 episodes

 

The Expert (1968)

The Expert

8.1

TV Series

Terry Warren

1969

1 episode

 

Carry on Up the Khyber (1968)

Carry on Up the Khyber

6.8

Burpha (uncredited)

1968

 

John Gregson in The Jazz Age (1968)

The Jazz Age

7.0

TV Series

Mr. Wilkinson

1968

1 episode

 

The First Lady

7.7

TV Series

Baker

1968

1 episode

 

Late Night Horror (1968)

Late Night Horror

7.2

TV Series

The Doctor

1968

1 episode

 

Meeting Point

TV Series

Joseph

1967

1 episode

 

Roger Foss and Laurence Payne in Sexton Blake (1967)

Sexton Blake

6.9

TV Series

The Scorpion

1967

3 episodes

 

Send Foster

TV Series

Police Constable

1967

1 episode

Frank Clarke obit

Former receiver Frank Clarke, a member of the original Cowboys team of 1960, dies at 84

 

He was not on the list.

Former receiver Frank Clarke, a member of the original Cowboys team of 1960, died Thursday morning in McKinney at 84, according to his son Gregory.

Clarke was the last original Cowboy to retire. The NFL Championship Game of 1967, the storied Ice Bowl, was his final game.

According to a 2008 SportsDay profile of Clarke, he was the first black football player at the University of Colorado. He was the first black star on a Cowboys team playing in racially divided Dallas. He then became the first black sports TV anchor in Dallas and the first black NFL analyst at CBS.

Clarke was 26 when he arrived to play for the Cowboys who selected him from Cleveland in the expansion draft.

He went on to total 5,214 yards, 281 catches and 51 touchdowns during his eight-year Cowboys career. His team record for touchdowns in a season (14 in 1962) held up until Terrell Owens broke it in 2007.

He is survived by his two sons and a daughter.

Clarke was named after Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. He attended Beloit Memorial High School where he received All-state honors in football and track. He clocked 49.9 seconds in the 440-yard dash.

After attending Trinidad State Junior College for two years, where he had a successful career, he became the first African-American varsity football player at the University of Colorado at Boulder, joining the Buffaloes in September 1954. He had to sit out the season after transferring. He was joined by John Wooten the following year and because this was before the civil rights movement, the pair often had to endure open racism outside of Boulder.

As a junior, he was an honorable-mention All-Big 7 conference performer, when he was second in the league with 407 receiving yards, during a run-oriented era. He also returned kickoffs, while leading the team with 13 receptions and 5 receiving touchdowns.

As a senior, he led the team with 7 receptions for 124 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. Trailing 13-0 against the University of Missouri and needing a tie or a win to clinch a berth for the 1957 Orange Bowl, Clarke scored 2 second half touchdowns. Clemson University originally stated that they would not play in the bowl against a team with black athletes, but later changed its position and would end up losing 27-21. He was selected to play in the Copper Bowl All-Star game.

Clarke amassed 20 receptions for 532 yards (26.6 yard average), 7 receiving touchdowns and 2 blocked kicks, ending his career fifth at the time in receiving yards at Colorado. He was so well liked among his peers on campus, that he was chosen as King of the annual Days festival, Colorado's equivalent of Homecoming King. He also practiced basketball and track.

In 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame.

larke was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round (61st overall) of the 1956 NFL Draft. He played with the team for three seasons, from 1957 to 1959, even though he stood on the sidelines during the first two. He had a total of 10 catches during those three years at offensive right end and was left unprotected in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft.

Clarke was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft. His coaches at Colorado and Cleveland criticized his blocking, but the Cowboys were still intrigued by the 6-1, 215-pound player. Instead of picking at his deficiencies, Tom Landry chose to accentuate his strengths. The coach appreciated his speed, soft hands and his ability to run precise routes, so he was converted into a split end. Mostly a backup behind Billy Howton and Fred Dugan, he appeared in 8 games (3 starts), registering 9 receptions, 290 yards, 3 touchdowns and a 32.2-yard average.

He moved into the starting role in 1961, tallying 41 receptions, 919 yards, 22.4-yard average (led the league), 9 touchdowns and scored 54 points (led the team). Additionally, he began a streak of seven consecutive games with at least a touchdown reception, which still stands as a Cowboys record shared with Bob Hayes (1965–1966), Terrell Owens (2007), and Dez Bryant (2012).

He turned out to be the Cowboys' first bona fide long-ball threat—before "Bullet" Bob Hayes joined him. Hayes even credits Clarke for teaching him the proper way to catch "the bomb"—the long pass. He is also credited as the first African American star athlete, on a Cowboys that played in a then racially divided Dallas.

In 1962, His opening day performance against the Washington Redskins was one for the ages. His 10 receptions for 241 yards, remains the best opening day performance in terms of most yards receiving, of any wide receiver in the history of the NFL. On September 23, Clarke was part of an infamous play where, for the first time in an NFL game, points were awarded for a penalty. The Cowboys were holding in the end zone on a 99-yard touchdown pass from Eddie LeBaron to Clarke, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were awarded a safety, helping them win the game 30-28. He was close to breaking the NFL season touchdown receiving record until missing the last 2 games with an injury. That year would be his best, becoming the first player in team history to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season (ground or air) and recording 47 passes for career high numbers in yards (1043) and touchdowns. In addition to leading the NFL with 14 touchdowns and a 22.2-yard average per reception.

In 1964, he caught 65 passes (franchise record) for 973 yards, 5 touchdowns and received All-Pro honors.

In 1965, he was moved to tight end and was second on the team with 41 receptions for 682 yards and 4 touchdowns. In 1965, he was a backup to Pettis Norman, but remained productive and became a clutch third down receiver, recording 26 receptions for 355 and 4 touchdowns. The next year, his production fell to 9 receptions for 119 yards. He announced his retirement on July 17, 1968.

Clarke led the Cowboys in yards and touchdowns from 1961 to 1964, and catches in 1963 and 1964. He held the franchise record for most touchdowns in a season by a receiver with 14 from his 1962 season, which stood for 45 years until 2007, when it was broken by Terrell Owens. He also had the team record for the most career receiving multi-touchdown games with 9, until it was broken by Dez Bryant in 2014.

He retired after the 1967 NFL Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers, in what is now known as the “Ice Bowl”, won by the Packers, 21-17. He left with most of the franchise's records for receiving, finishing with 281 receptions for 5,214 yards and 51 touchdowns in 140 NFL games, which ranks sixth in receiving yards in Dallas Cowboys history.

Clarke began his career as a sportscaster for WFAA-TV (Channel 8). He became the first African American sports anchor in a Dallas television station and at CBS. On weekends, he anchored sports reports for WFAA-TV when not working NFL games for CBS.

His nephew is former sheriff David Clarke of Milwaukee.

Glen Roven obit

Composer, Conductor and Producer Glen Roven Passes Away at Age 60

 

 He was not on the list.

Two-time Emmy Award winning composer, lyricist, conductor, pianist, and producer Glen Roven, has passed away at the age of 60.

A funeral will be held for Roven this week in New York City, with a memorial tribute is being planned for this fall.

Roven was a veteran of the music and entertainment industry. He wrote songs for, conducted and produced for Julie Andrews, Melissa Etheridge, Aretha Franklin, Leon Fleisher, Kenny G., Whitney Houston, Dick Hyman, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Kermit the Frog, Patti LaBelle, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, Paul Shaffer, Martin Short, TRAIN among others.

He conducted Frank Sinatra's last concert on television and Sammy Davis's final television appearance, as well as four presidential inaugurations.

Roven began his Broadway career as a rehearsal pianist for Pippin while still in high school, and at nineteen was the musical director of Sugar Babies on Broadway.

He also wrote the scores for John Guare's, Lydie Breeze and Gardenia, Christopher Isherwood's A Meeting By the River and Larry Gelbart's Mastergate, plus was a contributing composer to A...My Name is Alice. He wrote the score for the musical adaptation of The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, which was aimed for Broadway in the early 2000s.

His musical Norman's Ark, played the Ford Theater in LA, directed by Peter Schneider with a cast of 200. His first musical, Heart's Desire, written with Armistead Maupin, played the Cleveland Playhouse and a one night gala at the Shaftesbury Theater in London.

According to his bio, he was at work on a new movie-musical for Dolly Parton on Netflix and had just completed, a new symphony "Symphony of Songs", a new opera, Addressee Unknown, a new Broadway Musical, World War Me, producing an all-Verdi aria CD for Hui He and SONY, recorded live in Verona.

He was the creator and Artistic Director of RovenRecords. He produced "Hopes and Dreams" a CD with Universal and Carnegie Hall based on their Lullaby Project with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Natalie Merchant, Diane Reeves, Patti LuPone, Joyce DiDonato, Fiona Apple, Rosanne Cash, Natalie Merchant, Dianne Reeves, and more: the CD hit Number 1 on both the Amazon Classical Chart and Pop Chart.

Roven composed "The Hillary Speeches," a setting of Mrs. Clinton's speeches performed by opera stars Lawrence Brownlee, Isabel Leonard, Nathan Gunn, Matthew Polenzani and 26 others which aired around the world on January 20, 2017.

Roven made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting his Violin Concerto based on The Runaway Bunny, with Glenn Close and the American Symphony Orchestra; Catherine Zeta-Jones recorded the Piano Trio Version. He also recorded the piece with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Brooke Shields for Sony/BMG.

His 36 Song Cycles and Art Songs are routinely performed all around in the world. He has conducted the National Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, The Munich Philharmonic, The Radio Luxembourg Orchestra, as well as many others, and made his Israeli conducting debut in 2001 conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in two sold-out concerts honoring Leonard Bernstein.

He co-produced An AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope, an all-star CD benefiting amfAR featuring Joyce DiDonato, Jamie Barton, Isabel Leonard, Matthew Polenzani, Susanne Phillips Yo-Yo Ma, Ansel Elgort, Sharon Stone and more.

As a CD producer, Roven produced (for GPRrecords) : Jason Alexander, Christine Baranski, Thomas Bagwell, Jamie Barton, Charles Busch, Ann Hampton Callaway, Charles Castronovo, Tom Cipullo, Alan Cumming, Tyne Daly, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Douglas, Nathan Gunn, Lauren Flanigan, Leon Fleisher, Andrew Garland, David Garrison, Joanna Gleason, Ricky Ian Gordon, Joel Grey, Daron Hagen, Dick Hyman, Jake Heggie, Florence Henderson, Rob Kapilow, Barry Humphries, Isabel Leonard, Lowell Liebermann, Wynton Marsalis, Jorge Martín, Susanne Mentzer, Patti LuPone, Gilda Lyons, Kate Mulgrew, Cynthia Nixon, Daniel Okulitch, Chris Parker, Patricia Racette, Chris Sarandon, Paul Shaffer, William Schimmel, Noah Stewart, Paulo Szot, Talise Trevigne, Kathleen Turner, Catherine Zeta-Jones and many others.

As a translator, Roven has translated all three DaPonte/Mozart Operas: Figaro, Cosi and Don Giovanni. He translated Mahler's Ruckert Lieder, Songs of a Wayfarer, Kindertotenlieder and Des Knaben Wunderhorn. He has also translated Schubert's Wintereisse and all of Hugo Wolf's Italian Songbook.

For children, Roven produced the Sharon, Lois & Bram album, Candles, Snow and Mistletoe (1993), which was also at the Palace Theatre, New York City. He also wrote the theme the 1990 television series The Baby-Sitters Club.

Roven served as a contributing author to the books Games We Play, published by Simon & Schuster, and City Secrets. He has written articles for The New York Times, The LA Review of Books, Broadwayworld.com and many more.

Roven and Marc Shaiman appeared together as the two News Theme Writers in James L. Brooks's Broadcast News.