Bob told many stories about Jessye Norman, but the one that always brought him and his listeners to tears was of the great singer attempting to get through a Winterreise concert just after 9/11. During the third song, Norman began to cry and had to stop singing. When she regained control, she stood for 10 minutes, motionless, in silence, while the audience wept.
Bob’s vast social network also included socialites and celebrities, and those stories are filled with irresistible gossip: Marlene Dietrich divulged the name of the only contemporary American performer she completely admired (spoiler alert: it was Tina Turner); Diana Vreeland swallowed vials of cod liver oil to act as a buffer for vodka before an evening out; Samuel Beckett claimed that his lead actress in Happy Days was so brilliant because she didn’t understand a word she said.
In June of 2025, Bob went to Lithuania to stage rehearsals of a new production and then to Ljubljana, Slovenia, to direct Tristan and Isolde. When he was away, he sent me emails with story topics for our next session: “Ask me about my boat trip in the Middle East with Helen de Rothschild,” “Ask me about Louis Malle offering me the lead in Pretty Baby.”
When Bob returned to Watermill in July, we were to meet for final interviews, although by that time, I had all the material needed for the book. Shortly before my travels, I received a message that Bob’s health had declined, and he would be unable to see me. He died a week later on July 31 in his Watermill apartment.
Months after Bob’s death, I was still listening to and transcribing our taped conversations. In one conversation, recorded when we were having dinner at an Indian restaurant, Bob was telling me a story about being dressed as Santa Claus and handing out presents in Bali, where he spent every Christmas. Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence and after a short silence, said, “I love you, Keith.”
I love you too, Bob, you changed my life.
THE SPACE BEHIND THE FACE, a memoir by the visionary theater director and visual artist, Robert Wilson, is published by Penguin Press and arrives on November 3.
