Darwin R.
Apel 1927-2010
Chicago Singer,
Actor, Film Editor
Darwin R.
Apel, 83, of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood died in Midwest Care Hospice
Center in Skokie on Friday, October 8, 2010. His wife of 46 years, Carol Apel,
was at his side. Mr. Apel was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1995 and after
successful initial treatment he survived leukemia in 2000 and a mitral valve
replacement in 2005. Mr. Apel had fought the metastasis of the prostate cancer
since late October 2009.
Born on the
west side to Helene (Miller) and George Apel on April 22, 1927, he was the youngest
of three children. As a young boy, Mr. Apel's mother toted him around the city
so that he could sing at different synagogues. "I've been performing professionally
since I was seven years old," Mr. Apel would tell people. "Sometimes
the money I made supported the family," he said, "but there was always
a little left over for me to buy some candy or ice cream, and once I was able
to buy the chemistry set I'd coveted from the corner pharmacy."
Throughout
his life Mr. Apel was well-known in many social and theatrical groups.
Following
in his father's footsteps, Mr. Apel joined the Navy in the 1940s and served
in World War II. Upon his return he enrolled in college at Actors Company, a
theater college in Chicago. He was near graduation when the Navy called him
up again to serve in the Korean War as a hospital corpsman.
In the mid- to late-1950s Mr. Apel worked on the New York stage, as both an
actor and stage manager. It was during this time that Mr. Apel toured the country
with a production of Inherit the Wind with Melvyn Douglas. He spoke of this
tour for years as he was tickled by the fact that in the show he carried a sign
reading "Down with Darwin." Later in the 1950s he worked for WGN television
as the voice of Homer the Horse. As a singer of Jewish, Yiddish and Hebrew music,
Mr. Apel's beautiful voice made him a popular choice for weddings and Bar Mitzvahs
throughout the 1970s and 1980s, singing with the Jewish Musicians Club and sometimes
with his sister, who sang under the name Joy Marlowe. He later paired up with
longtime friend and fellow entertainer, the late Marvin Zelonky, to create the
guitar playing, singing folk duo Darwin and Marv. Their act was a coffee house
and party favorite for many years.
Television
viewers will remember the work of Darwin R. Apel as film editor of the wildly
popular 1970s television program Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins. In the 1990s
Mr. Apel played the role of Doc in Marriot Lincolnshire's production of West
Side Story, Al Lewis in The Sunshine Boys at Drury Lane Theatre with Byrne Piven,
Dr. Angoff in the Chicago Theatre Company's 1990 production of Fathers and Other
Strangers, starred as Sammy the Angel in Love in the Catskills, and directed
the stage play Courage Untold at the Avenue Theatre. For more than a decade
and as recently as July of this year audiences have enjoyed Mr. Apel's portrayals
of many old time radio characters in AFTRA/SAG Senior Radio Players' live radio
shows at the Cultural Center, formerly the old Chicago Library. Most notable
was his portrayal of The Lone Ranger. Mr. Apel was a long time member of both
AFTRA and SAG and The Three Sheeters Entertainers Club and The Showmen's League,
and served as president of Equity Library Theatre (ELT) .
He spent many
years doing mock trials for the benefit of the law students at Loyola University's
School of Law. For the past five years Mr. Apel worked meticulously at keeping
the books for The Paintbrush, the Lakeview-based children's art studio owned
by his daughters, Melanie and Mindy.
Mr. Apel's youngest fans knew him as "Mr. Darwin" or "Mr. Saturday
Night" in reference to "Everybody Loves Saturday Night," the
song he was so well known for singing every Monday morning for the past several
years with his good friend, Lincoln Park Zoo's Professor Boonie (Michael O'Toole).
Mr. Apel was president of the local IATSE union (the labor union representing
technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry) in the
mid- 1970s. In the 1980s he became the first president of the Lincoln Elementary
School Band Association (now called ALESMA).
Friends of
Mr. Apel say he was an honest man who lived by the rules. He always wanted to
improve things, not tear them apart, says his wife. With an unmistakable twinkle
in his eye, Mr. Apel's presence would immediately warm and brighten any room.
He always had a joke ready, and a quick smile, and a story for anyone who had
the time to spare. The patriarch of the Apel Family, Mr. Apel is survived by
his wife - the love of his life for 46 years - Carol (nee Davies); his daughters,
Melanie Ann and Mindy S. Apel; his young grandsons Hayden Seth and Alec Noah
Apel; four nieces and two nephews and their spouses; two great nieces and five
great nephews, their spouses and children; and the most loving group of friends,
many of whom go back more than 60 years.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Apel's name may be made to the Actors Fund,
203 N. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60601, a nonprofit umbrella charitable organization
that assists American entertainment and performing arts professionals through
a broad spectrum of programs.
by Melanie Ann Apel