Arnold Clapman and I go back 70 years, when we were classmates at The Talmudical Academy on Cottage Avenue (“The Many Lives of Arnold Clapman,” June 19). In classes together from kindergarden through City College ’57, his artistic talent was evident and amazing early on. But more important was his warm personality and easy smile. I fondly recall his welcoming family — parents, young twin sisters and older sister Nanette — when I visited their home on Menlo Drive.
Arnold never made a big deal about his talent in those days, and very few of his classmates knew of his abilities. We lost contact after high school, but I would sometimes learn of his accomplishments, both musically and with film colorization technology. I have met with Arnold a few times since his return to Baltimore, and he never mentioned anything about the myriad of wonderful artistic endeavors in which he participated these past 50 years. However, I must say that he was very proud, and rightly so, of his classes and projects with disadvantaged youth in California. The article about Arnold recognized a very deserving individual.
