Art Garfunkel Art Garfunkel secured his place in musical history as one half of Simon and Garfunkel. His angelic voice and ability to harmonize with Simon contributed greatly to their success. His later solo career hasn’t reached the same level of popularity, but Garfunkel still has a loyal core of fans to his name. He has also made an impression in a number of movie performances in some well received films. Garfunkel was born in 1941, in Queens, New York. He formed a duo with his buddy Paul Simon, calling themselves Tom & Jerry. Art Garfunkel and Simon performed without much commercial success for six years and then re-formed as Simon and Garfunkel. Their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M was released in 1964. The album received little attention but stardom was just around the corner. A remixed version of “The Sound of Silence” was released as a single and it went on to the #1 position on the Billboard charts. Simon and Garfunkel had a string of successful records during the 1960s with their mellow folk pop. Paul Simon’s song writing maintained a high standard throughout. In 1970, their last album together was released. Bridge Over Troubled Water was another triumph, notably for the title track on which Art Garfunkel sings the soaring, lead vocal. But cracks in the duo’s personal relationship had appeared and they decided to pursue their separate interests and careers.
The solo career of Art Garfunkel has had peaks and troughs. He has released a number of solo albums and has recently focused on his own song writing. He had single success with the standard, “I Only Have Eyes For You” and with “Bright Eyes,” which was the theme song for the animated movie, Watership Down. Simon and Garfunkel fans were delighted when Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel came together to perform in Central Park in 1981. It was a very emotional occasion. After that, Garfunkel took a long break from music, but started recording again in 1988. He released a critically praised live album, recorded in Ellis Island in 1996, called Across America. The album featured guest musicians including James Taylor and Garfunkel’s own wife, Kim, and son James. In 2003 and the following year, Garfunkel and Simon re-united again to go on tour. In 1970, Art Garfunkel was cast as Captain Nately in the Mike Nichols movie of Catch-22. The satirical war movie was adapted from the cult novel by Joseph Heller. The film featured Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, and Orson Welles. The same director cast Garfunkel again, in Carnal Knowledge, starring Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, and Ann-Margret.
Nicholas Roeg chose Art Garfunkel in 1980 for a role in his dark, erotic tale, Bad Timing. The stars were Theresa Russell and Harvey Keitel. He was cast in the 1990 family, musical TV movie called Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme. It had a stellar cast playing characters from nursery rhyme stories. It featured Cyndi Lauper, Bobby Brown, Shelley Duvall, Woody Harrelson, Little Richard, and Paul Simon. Art Garfunkel was also picked for the dark thriller, Boxing Helena which opened to controversy in 1993. Directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, it starred Julian Sands, Sherilyn Fenn, and Bill Paxton. In 1998, he appeared in 54, directed by Mark Christopher. It told the story of the famous nightclub from the 1970s. The impressive cast featured Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, and Mike Myers. Art Garfunkel has been divorced once and is currently married to Kim Garfunkel. They have two children, including son, James Garfunkel. His previous girlfriends include Penny Marshall and the late actress, Laurie Bird. YUDDY |
