Clifford Bell, the cabaret impresario, director and producer affectionately generally known as “Lawrence of Cabarabia,” died Sunday of pure causes at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Heart, publicist Steve Moyer introduced. He was 68. “Clifford Bell was a power of nature!” Moyer mentioned in an announcement.
“He lived and breathed music day by day of his life to the very finish.” A 40-year present enterprise veteran, Bell wrote and directed selection performances that includes the likes of Walter Cronkite, Colin Powell and Michael Eisner on the Honda Heart in Anaheim and toured with Katey Sagal and her band. As a cabaret director, he helmed reveals for singers Gregg Marx, Todd Murray, Lois Bourgon, Carol Whitener, Joanne Tatham, Bonnie Gilgallon, Lauren White, Quinn Johnson, Chase Masterson, Lee Lessack, Bobbie Norman and Katrina Aguilar.
He produced albums for singers Betsyann Faiella, Eileen Barnett and Judy Butterfield and directed one-person reveals starring Beth Lapides, Joan Hotchkis, Juliette Marshall, Craig Laforest, Deborah Pearl and Paul Jacek. With frequent collaborator and Tony-nominated actress Lara Teeter ( On Your Toes) , Bell co-created the touring present Direct From Broadway, which starred Tony winners Debbie Gravitte ( Jerome Robbins’ Broadway ) and Michael Maguire ( Les Misérables ). He dealt with selection evenings and showcase shows, usually for charitable causes like Our Identify Is Barbra, an annual celebration of Barbra Streisand’s.