Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1533995
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 61 Farewell David. Yes, it was a good visit. I will miss you, my friend. You were a great Foley artist with a stellar career, but your greatest achievement was being an exceptional human being who never wavered from kindness and love. Count those raindrops... –Gregg Barbanell avid Fein's contribution to Foley is well known and appreciated by his peers in our community. His creativity and artistic sensibilities are what guided him throughout his career and are part of what's responsible for its success and longevity. David Fein was an excellent Foley artist and a good guy. That is how most people knew him. But I want to talk about what he was even more successful with in his life. David was an exceptionally rare and special human being. Although I was fortunate enough to be his partner for a few years at Warner Bros., I was truly blessed to be his friend. Actually … describing David as my friend falls far short. David was the most loyal, authentic, sincere, pure and true friend I have ever had. And for that, I loved him. David WAS a really nice guy. But again, describing him as a nice guy falls far short. He was literally the kindest, sweetest, most considerate and most generous person I have ever known. He was honorable, empathetic and decent all rolled into a package of quiet humility. What really set David apart is his absence of negativity. In the decades that I knew him, I never saw David exhibit anger, bitterness, spitefulness or jealousy. These and other negative emotions were so foreign to his nature, that he had diƒculty seeing them in others, even when they were directed at him. It's as if all of his kindness, warmth and love left no room for anything else. Truly exceptional and rare. I have never known anyone else quite like that and probably never will. In that respect, we should all be a little more like David Fein. After David retired and I was still working, we got together once a month for lunch at Public School 818. We would catch up on the latest gossip, talk about cars and simply enjoy each other's company. He would always show me his latest (stunning) book of photographs from recent travels with his beloved companion Lan. Good times at PS 818.‹ I miss those lunches. After I retired and moved to Santa Fe, David started sending me letters. These were not your typical "How are you?" letters. These were a hilarious stream of consciousness ramblings that were funny and sharp, reflecting his rapier intellect and sly humor. For two years, I received these cherished letters on a regular basis. The last letter I got from David was postmarked just 16 days before he passed. Like all his letters, this one was true to form, both funny and entertaining. But at the end of this letter, he signed o" with an unusual philosophic flair. He wrote: "Welp - gotta be moseying. Rain's falling. Gotta go count the drops. This was a good visit - yeah?" D Dave on the Foley stage. Gregg Barbanell and David Fein enjoying their last lunch together at Public School 818.