In Memoriam: Nathan J. Sonnenfeld
IESNYC 73rd President
1981-1982
Tributes from numerous industry sectors poured in during the weeks following Nathan (Sonny) Sonnenfeld’s passing in February at the age of 96. The widespread remembrances are a testament to Mr. Sonnenfeld’s 70-plus-year career in lighting, during which he became known as a legendary salesman, educator, mentor and consultant.
Mr. Sonnenfeld’s career began in 1940 when he was appointed technical director at the 92nd Street YMCA in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he became a sales manager for Century Lighting (now Strand), and later a manufacturer’s representative for companies including Architectural Lighting, Day-Brite McPhilben Omega and Electronic Theatre Controls.
Renowned designer and consultant Howard M. Brandston recalls first meeting Mr. Sonnenfeld in the early 1950s, when Brandston was a student at Brooklyn College: "The college was building a new theater complex and Sonny was the salesman for Century Lighting, responsible for getting the order for the equipment. Sonny was the ultimate salesman, a master with a great team, a veritable who’s who in theater lighting circles—Stanley McCandless and George Izenour. A more remarkable team did not exist."
Mr. Sonnenfeld was an IES Member Emeritus, having joined the Society in 1946. He also served as the 73rd president of the IES’s New York City Section (1981-1982), where he drew on his experiences in theater, architectural lighting and sales to unify the separate disciplines. Peter Jacobson, lighting specialist at Con Edison and IESNYC Board member, added: "Sonny was the one person that brought together architectural, engineering and theater design disciplines together to make the New York City Section what it is today."
In addition to his IES involvement, Mr. Sonnenfeld authored many articles on lighting design, taught architectural lighting at Pratt Institute, and founded the New York Area Regional Section of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT). He was inducted as a USITT Fellow in 1997 and went on to receive the organization’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Lighting Design and Technology in early 2016.
Brandston continues, "Sonny’s passing marks the end of an era of the greatest advancement in theater lighting technology in history. Sonny was a needle that kept advancing the search for better products and systems at Century Lighting. He is another legend of theater that will be sorely missed."
Watch an interview of Sonny at LiveDesign as part of the Strand Centennial Video Project
In Memoriam article from the April 2016 issue of LD+A
