In Memoriam: Richard "Nook" Schoenfeld Lighting&Sound America has learned of the death of the lighting designer, writer, and editor Richard "Nook" Schoenfeld on December 14; he was 65. The cause of his death has been reported as liver failure, following a yearlong bout with pancreatic cancer. According to Projection, Lights & Staging News (PLSN), Schoenfeld was born in Hawaii, and lived in various locations with his father, who was in the Coast Guard. He studied audio engineering and English literature at University of San Francisco. After school, he started working at the gear supply house See Factor, located in Queens, New York, where, he said in an interview with Chauvet Professional, "they had more lights than audio. To stay employed, I learned lighting. I was in the right place at the right time when moving lights were invented. I transferred out of audio in the '80s and started wiggling lights. People didn't yell at me as much in lighting as they did in audio." He subsequently worked at Showlites in Los Angeles, serving on the crew of several tours. He struck out as a designer in 1994 on The Eagles' Hell Freezes Over Tour. Kid Rock was his longest-running client; other included Sugar Ray, No Doubt, 311, John Legend, and Sheryl Crow. "Classic rock bored me, and I was fortunate to avoid it for the most part of my career," he said in the Chauvet interview. "In classic rock, you always know when the big look is coming. I felt like I could make my own rules lighting alternative rock." A fluent writer, Schoenfeld became a columnist for PLSN in 2006, ultimately being named editor of the publication in 2014. Through his writing, he solidified his role as an industry sage. "I can't walk into any venue without someone introducing themselves to me," he said. "That's because of my caricature and writing a column for ten years. Otherwise, they wouldn't recognize me from my lighting." He remained at PLSN until 2021, and, working with the industry publicist Joe Fucini, published The Old Man's Musings -- 45 Years of Gigs: Short Stories from the Road, which is available through Amazon. A beloved industry figure -- a fact attested to by the condolence messages currently on social media -- Schoenfeld is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, and sons Lenny and Hunter, as well his father, stepmother, two brothers, a sister, and nieces and nephews. If anything, Schoenfeld is likely to be remember for his generosity of spirit "I don't think I'm any great designer," he said in the Chauvet interview. "I can fake it with the best of them, but I know so many way better than myself. What I would rather be remembered for is all the people I have taught throughout my whole career. The folks I gave that one break to. I've forgotten how many people I taught to run different consoles, but I feel confident it's well into the hundreds by now." 
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