Honoring the life of Al Hirschfeld and his legacy.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, and I would like to thank the leadership of both sides for bringing it to the floor today.

As a sponsor of the resolution and as the Member of Congress representing the Broadway community, I appreciate the bipartisan support this resolution has received.

Madam Speaker, this resolution is in honor of a beloved member of the American theater community who passed away in his sleep this past January 20.

Throughout his long and extraordinary career, Al Hirschfeld's drawings conveyed to millions of people the excitement and glamour of live theater. Al Hirschfeld was born on June 21, 1903, in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved to New York City with his family at the age of 12. He discovered his artistic talents early on; and by age 18, he had already been hired as art director for Selznick Pictures, drawing the posters for such important movies as the Marx Brothers' ``A Night at the Opera.''

It was a night at the theater, however, that was the turning point in his life. In 1926 Hirschfeld attended a Broadway show with press agent Richard Maney, who was impressed by the sketch Hirschfeld had doodled on his program. Maney convinced him to submit the sketch to the New York Herald Tribune, which printed it on its front page. Periodic drawing assignments from the Herald Tribune lead to an invitation from the New York Times to contribute a drawing for its drama pages. Thus began one of the most fruitful partnerships in history as Al Hirschfeld's drawings became a critical element of the New York Times's drama coverage for the next 75 years.

Hirschfeld drew nearly every important figure in the American theater and popular culture from Charlie Chaplin to Jerry Seinfeld. His drawings were caricatures. They captured the essence of a performer in just a few lines. They were never mean-spirited and never meant to hurt a subject. In fact, it was a mark of respect and an honor to be captured in a Hirschfeld. Many a performer reticent to give an interview to the New York Times could be convinced when a Hirschfeld drawing was promised if he would give the interview.

No tribute to Al Hirschfeld could be complete without mention of his daughter, Nina, whose name has appeared in nearly every Hirshfeld drawing since her birth in 1945. It became a popular activity for regular readers of the Times to locate the one or many Ninas hidden throughout in his drawings.

In this Hirschfeld, for example, you will observe that the Nina is throughout the tie and that next to his signature the number 23 is put in, which is the number of times Nina's name is in the caricature.

Throughout his life, Hirschfeld gained wide recognition for his work which appeared in numerous books and museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, and the St. Louis Art Museum. He also earned countless honors such as receiving two special Tony awards for excellence in the theater and for being named a living New York City landmark.

Shortly before his passing he learned that he had been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was to have been presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Bush at the White House later this year. And as an ultimate tribute from the theater community to which he contributed so much, on June 21st of

this year, which would have been his 100th birthday, he will have a theater named after him.

But while all of this recognition is well deserved, Al Hirschfeld was most at home at his drawing board, sitting on the barber's chair he liked to use. He was still working until the day he died, drawing a picture of his good friends, the Marx Brothers.

We will never forget Al Hirschfeld. His work will endure for many, many generations. But there is a big hole in the Sunday Times these days with no Hirschfeld drawings to liven up the drama pages and no Ninas to search for.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution. I hope we pass it unanimously.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, today we honor the life and legacy of Al Hirschfeld, the pen and ink illustrator who chronicled some 75 years of American theater and entertainment history who died on January 20 in Manhattan at the age of 99.

Hirschfeld, who was born June 21, 1903 in St. Louis, earned a special Tony award for his drawing of theater people. As my colleague, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), has mentioned, he often featured the word Nina for his daughter in thousands and thousands of his drawings. In fact, it is kind of fun to find the Ninas in a particular drawing and Hirschfeld made more than 10,000 caricatures in his career.

At the tender age of 11, Hirschfeld's art teacher in St. Louis told his mother, ``There is nothing more that we can teach him here in St. Louis.''

The family promptly moved to New York where he enrolled in the Art Students' League. At age 17, Hirschfeld became an art director at Selznick Pictures. He held that position for about 4 years; and then in 1924 he moved to Paris to work, led a Bohemian life, grew a beard, which he retained until his death.

Although Hirschfeld is best known for his illustrations on the New York Times's theater pages, he also turned out posters for Broadway shows and drew for ``TV Guide,'' ``The Washingtonian,'' ``Play Bill,'' ``Rolling Stone'' and many, many other publications.

In 1991, Al Hirschfeld became the first artist in history to have his name on a U.S. postage stamp booklet when the United States Postal Service released five stamps they commissioned Hirschfeld to design. The stamps portray Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Abbot and Costello, and Fanny Brice.

The Hirschfeld postage stamps were so successful that in 1994 the U.S. Postal Service again commissioned Hirschfeld to portray Hollywood's celebrated stars of the silent screen era. This series of commemorative Hirschfeld stamps honors Rudolf Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and the Keystone Cops.

In a 1999 interview with Reuters, Hirschfeld is quoted as saying, ``After 70 years of drawing you have to improve, otherwise you are a dolt. It is a question of elimination and understanding, of trial and error, and suddenly something happens, an epiphany.''

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 46, honoring the life and legacy of Al Hirschfeld.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 46) honoring the life of Al Hirschfeld and his legacy.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, House Resolution 46, introduced by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), honors the life of legendary illustrator Al Hirschfeld.

Madam Speaker, Al Hirschfeld passed away at his home in New York City on January 20 at the age of 99. During his remarkable career that spanned three-quarters of a century, Al Hirschfeld drew caricatures of giants of the performing arts world that appeared primarily in the New York Times, but also in a variety of books and periodicals. An A-list of museums and galleries feature his works, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the St. Louis Art Museum, which is in his hometown.

His drawings, easily recognized by their distinctive flowing lines and the hidden word ``Nina,'' the name of his daughter that appeared in each of his works, turned generations of his own fans into connoisseurs of all art and theater. Indeed, in June of 1990, I had the opportunity to meet some of his family members to observe and admire his work firsthand and even to go on a search for some of those Ninas that were hidden in his caricatures when his exhibit was at the Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center in Nashville.

By passing this resolution, this House can express the sadness of the City of New York, and indeed all of America, from Al Hirschfeld's passing last month. Therefore, I urge all Members to support the adoption of House Resolution 46.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler). I simply urge adoption of this measure.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to remember the much- beloved New York artist, Al Hirschfeld, who brought the vibrant world of Broadway alive for 75 years--longer than most of us live.

This singular talent drew the actors, composers, choreographers, directors who made it all work--the talented people who are responsible for what we collectively call ``the theater,'' but what we also recognize is one of the unique contributions of American culture. For a mild-mannered and gentle soul, he was a veritable force of nature.

Hirschfeld's curvy, single line drawings that appeared to be so spare, so simple, held within them all the awe with which he--and we the audience--felt for this original and talented artistic community-- and he did it over the generations. His work, his memory, and the theatre he loved will live on, and we will appreciate it more because of a prolific ability to share his vision of it with us.

I urge all my colleagues to support the resolution that remembers and commemorates Al Hirschfeld--a giant in the business of making magic happen before your very eyes, on the New York stage.

Mr. Speaker, on February 25, 2003, I was unavoidably detained and unable to vote on H. Res. 46, honoring the life of Al Hirschfeld and his legacy, and H. Con. Res. 40, permitting the use of the Rotunda of the Capitol for a ceremony as part of the commemoration of the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on both measures.