Dean Gitter
{{Short description|American businessman (1935–2018)}}
{{multiple issues|
{{cleanup rewrite|date=November 2018}}
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}}{{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.)
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
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.[http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2002/05/current/artofbusiness/index.html Chronogram: "Dean Gitter, The Catskills' Last Resort?" by Josh Ripps, May 2002][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]
Biography
Gitter was a graduate of Phillips Academy, Harvard College, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and the Harvard Business School.{{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 }}
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.[http://www.wirz.de/music/garyfrm.htm Sam Gary Discography] In 1958, Gitter recorded a folk album titled Ghost Ballads, released by Riverside Records.[http://www.jazzdisco.org/riverside-records/catalog-600-series/album-index/ Riverside Records Catalog]
In 1969, Gitter's University Cinema Association opened the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Life/27239-Harvard-Square/?page=2 Boston Phoenix: Harvard Square, by Lloyd Schwartz, November 15, 2006][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] 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.The Catskills Alive!, by Francine Silverman[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.]
Gitter was the Managing Partner of Crossroads Ventures, LLC, a venture capital company located in Shandaken, New York.[http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_8hzvk7 Dun & Bradstreet, Inc., 2009][http://www.catskillheritage.org/directory/ Catskill Heritage Regional Directory] 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,{{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}} where he owned a farm, raised horses, and recorded music.{{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}}
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.{{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}}
References
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Category:American businesspeople in real estate
Category:People from the Catskills
Category:Harvard Business School alumni
Category:Phillips Academy alumni
Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art