Dean Gitter

{{Infobox person | name = Dean Gitter | birth_date = {{birth date|1935|9|21}}{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} | death_date = {{death date and age|2018|11|21|1935|9|21}} | death_place = Taos County, New Mexico, U.S. | education = Phillips Academy | alma_mater = Harvard College (B.A.) <br /> London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art <br /> Harvard Business School (MBA) }} '''Dean L. Gitter''' (September 21, 1935 – November 21, 2018) was an entrepreneur, musician, and real estate developer in the Catskills in New York.<ref name=dean>[http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2002/05/current/artofbusiness/index.html ''Chronogram'': "Dean Gitter, The Catskills' Last Resort?" by Josh Ripps, May 2002]</ref><ref name=bd>[http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2007/11/View+From+the+Top/Local-Luminary-Dean-Gitter ''Chronogram'': "Local Luminary: Dean Gitter", by Brian K. Mahoney, October 2007]</ref>

== Biography == Gitter was a graduate of Phillips Academy, Harvard College, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and the Harvard Business School.<ref name=har>{{Cite web |url=http://www.emersonresort.com/execteam.php |title=Profile of Dean Gitter |access-date=2009-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317035412/http://emersonresort.com/execteam.php |archive-date=2009-03-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 1950s, Gitter produced recordings for Riverside Records, notably Odetta's debut album, ''Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues''. Under the pseudonym of Dean Laurence, he produced Sam Gary's only album for the Esquire (UK) and Transition (US) labels.<ref name=sg>[http://www.wirz.de/music/garyfrm.htm Sam Gary Discography]</ref> In 1958, Gitter recorded a folk album titled ''Ghost Ballads'', released by Riverside Records.<ref name=gb>[http://www.jazzdisco.org/riverside-records/catalog-600-series/album-index/ Riverside Records Catalog]</ref>

In 1969, Gitter's University Cinema Association opened the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge, Massachusetts.<ref name=ow>[http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Life/27239-Harvard-Square/?page=2 ''Boston Phoenix'': Harvard Square, by Lloyd Schwartz, November 15, 2006]</ref><ref name=hc>[http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=210310 ''Harvard Crimson'', Parade, City Council Proclamation Greet New Orson Welles Cinema, by Frank Rich, April 8, 1969]</ref> Other business ventures included starting a Kingston-based regional TV station (WTZA), co-founding the Big Indian Spring Water Company, and running Catskill Corners, including the Emerson in Mount Tremper, New York. The Emerson is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and Country Store at the Emerson features the world's largest kaleidoscope.<ref name=bd/><ref name=cat>''The Catskills Alive!'', by Francine Silverman</ref><ref name=nytk>[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/20/nyregion/field-visions-his-dream-catskills-man-sees-tourist-draw-world-s-largest.html ''New York Times'', A Field of Visions Is His Dream, Andrew C. Revkin, July 20, 1996.]</ref>

Gitter was the Managing Partner of Crossroads Ventures, LLC, a venture capital company located in Shandaken, New York.<ref name=dab>[http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_8hzvk7 Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., 2009]</ref><ref name=cah>[http://www.catskillheritage.org/directory/ Catskill Heritage Regional Directory]</ref> He later taught meditation in Big Indian, New York, where his spiritual teacher was Albert Rudolph.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} In 2013, he released the album "Carl Sandburg's American Songbag 2.0".{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} In 2016, Gitter retired from the company and relocated to Taos County in Northern New Mexico,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.taosnews.com/stories/an-invitation-to-american-song,40433|title=An invitation to American song|work=The Taos News|access-date=2018-11-23|language=en}}</ref> where he owned a farm, raised horses, and recorded music.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/at-dean-gitter-steps-down-as-managing-member-of-crossroads/article_1b5b64b5-66fc-521c-b292-872b27bc757d.html|title=At 81, Dean Gitter steps down as managing member of Crossroads Ventures|work=Daily Freeman|access-date=2018-11-23|language=en|archive-date=2018-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124055122/https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/at-dean-gitter-steps-down-as-managing-member-of-crossroads/article_1b5b64b5-66fc-521c-b292-872b27bc757d.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, Gitter released ''Old Folkies Never Die'', his first studio album of original material since ''Ghost Ballads'', making it the all-time longest gap between two consecutive studio albums at 57 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1943105/64-more-acts-that-took-20-or-more-years-between-albums/franchises/list/|title=64 More Acts That Took 20 Or More Years Between Albums|date=2018-05-30|work=Stereogum|access-date=2018-11-23}}</ref>

On November 21, 2018, Gitter died at the age of 83.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/local-news/catskills-developer-dean-gitter-dies-at/article_c3f2e834-ee08-11e8-b159-ef93f14b6b85.html|title=Catskills developer Dean Gitter dies at 83|last=staff|first=Freeman|work=Daily Freeman|access-date=2018-11-23|language=en|archive-date=2018-11-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125154251/https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/local-news/catskills-developer-dean-gitter-dies-at/article_c3f2e834-ee08-11e8-b159-ef93f14b6b85.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gitter, Dean}} Category:American businesspeople in the real estate industry Category:2018 deaths Category:People from the Catskills Category:1935 births Category:Harvard Business School alumni Category:Phillips Academy alumni Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Category:Harvard College alumni

Dean Gitter

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