Saturday, November 9, 2024

“Beautiful Mind” Subject John Forbes Nash and Wife Dead in Car Accident: “The economy will recycle itself”

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John Forbes Nash, 86, and his wife, Alicia, 82, died yesterday on the New Jersey Turnpike in a taxi accident. Nash was the brilliant award winning subject of Ron Howard’s Oscar winning movie “A Beautiful Mind.” What an ignominious end for such a celebrated genius and a lovely couple.

I had the pleasure of meeting the Nashes in October 2012 during the Hamptons Film Festival. At a reception at the home of Silver Cup Studios’ chief Stuart Match Suna, the Nashes were low key but extremely engaging. As I wrote then, Nash was like a “low talker” from Seinfeld. You had to get up close to hear him.

At the time, the economy was dire straits. But Nash told me “the economy will recycle itself. That’s what it does.” He was certainly right. He also said that his wife was a fan of Mitt Romney, but at the time he had not yet decided between Romney and Obama for president.

Sylvia Nasar wrote the book upon which the movie about Nash was based. The Nashes had divorced, which was not in the movie, but eventually found each other again. They remarried in 1970. What I remember about Alicia was that she was also soft spoken and lovely. What a tragic end for them. Condolences to their family.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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