Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel is one half of the legendary folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, whose soaring tenor voice helped define a generation's soundtrack. Yet, his story stretches far beyond those iconic harmonies, revealing a multifaceted artist with deep intellectual and personal pursuits. Join us as we explore the remarkable journey of a man who found fame on stage but also sought meaning in mathematics, poetry, and film. Art Garfunkel's distinctive voice was integral to Simon & Garfunkel's iconic sound and continued to shine in a diverse solo career. Beyond his musical genius, Garfunkel pursued an impressive array of interests, including architecture, mathematics, acting, and poetry. His life has been marked by both immense success and profound personal challenges, which he often channeled into his artistic expressions.
AI Summary
Art Garfunkel is one half of the legendary folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, whose soaring tenor voice helped define a generation's soundtrack. Yet, his story stretches far beyond those iconic harmonies, revealing a multifaceted artist with deep intellectual and personal pursuits. Join us as we explore the remarkable journey of a man who found fame on stage but also sought meaning in mathematics, poetry, and film.
- Art Garfunkel's distinctive voice was integral to Simon & Garfunkel's iconic sound and continued to shine in a diverse solo career.
- Beyond his musical genius, Garfunkel pursued an impressive array of interests, including architecture, mathematics, acting, and poetry.
- His life has been marked by both immense success and profound personal challenges, which he often channeled into his artistic expressions.
The Voice of a Generation
Arthur Ira Garfunkel, born in Forest Hills, Queens, in 1941, would become one of music's most recognizable voices. His talent for singing blossomed early, setting him on a path that would eventually intertwine with a childhood friend and lead to global stardom.
A Childhood Friendship
Garfunkel's musical journey began almost as soon as he could speak. He discovered the magic of acoustics at a young age, loving the echo in stairwells and recording his voice on a wire recorder to perfect his sound. It was in elementary school, during a production of 'Alice in Wonderland,' that he first met Paul Simon.
That initial encounter sparked a bond, and by the mid-1950s, the two friends were performing together. They idolized The Everly Brothers, meticulously imitating their close two-part vocal harmonies, which would become a hallmark of their future sound.
From 'Tom & Jerry' to College Man
Before they were Simon & Garfunkel, they were 'Tom & Jerry,' a moniker given to them by their record label. In 1957, their single 'Hey, Schoolgirl' even hit number 49 on the pop charts, a remarkable achievement for two high schoolers.
Despite this early taste of fame, Garfunkel pursued higher education with a voracious appetite. He enrolled at Columbia University, initially studying architecture, then art history, and eventually earning a Master's degree in mathematics education.
During his time at Columbia, a poignant incident occurred: his roommate, Sanford Greenberg, went blind from glaucoma. Garfunkel dedicated himself to reading textbooks aloud to Greenberg, helping him graduate with honors—a testament to Garfunkel's compassionate nature. It was Greenberg who later provided $500 to fund a demo for a song called 'The Sound of Silence.'
Simon & Garfunkel: A Sound That Resonated
After a brief split and initial failure of their first album, 'Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.,' fate intervened. A producer named Tom Wilson overdubbed electric instruments onto their acoustic track 'The Sound of Silence,' releasing it as a single that soared to number one.
This unexpected success brought Paul Simon back from a solo stint in the UK, reuniting the duo. They went on to release four more critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums, including 'Sounds of Silence,' 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme,' 'Bookends,' and the monumental 'Bridge over Troubled Water.'
Their music became synonymous with the times, especially their contributions to the 1967 film 'The Graduate.' The iconic song 'Mrs. Robinson,' originally almost titled 'Mrs. Roosevelt,' perfectly captured the film's mood and became a cultural touchstone.
While Paul Simon was the primary songwriter, Garfunkel's artistic contributions were profound. He was the vocal arranger, meticulously crafting the harmonies and deciding how each line would be sung. He also penned the poetic 'Canticle' for 'Scarborough Fair/Canticle' and created the evocative 'Voices of Old People' sound collage on 'Bookends.'
Despite their monumental success, personal differences and diverging interests led to their split in 1970, following 'Bridge over Troubled Water.' Yet, the magic of their collaboration was too strong to be entirely broken, leading to occasional, highly anticipated reunions, like the 'My Little Town' single and their legendary 1981 Central Park concert.
Their enduring impact was recognized with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. A 2004 reunion concert in Rome drew an astonishing 600,000 people, proving their music still resonated deeply with audiences worldwide.
A Solo Path and Diverse Talents
After the duo's initial breakup, Garfunkel plunged into acting, starring in Mike Nichols' films 'Catch-22' and 'Carnal Knowledge,' earning a Golden Globe nomination for the latter. Interestingly, he also spent a brief period teaching geometry at a high school in Connecticut.
His solo musical career began in earnest with 1973's 'Angel Clare,' featuring the hit 'All I Know.' Subsequent albums like 'Breakaway' in 1975, which included the UK number one 'I Only Have Eyes for You,' solidified his individual artistry.
In 1977, his album 'Watermark' featured a cover of Sam Cooke's '(What a) Wonderful World,' with backing vocals from Paul Simon and James Taylor, which became a huge Adult Contemporary hit. Later, his single 'Bright Eyes' from the album 'Fate for Breakfast' soared to number one in the UK, showcasing his continued global appeal.
Loss, Recovery, and Resurgence
The late 1970s brought personal tragedy with the suicide of his girlfriend, Laurie Bird, which plunged Garfunkel into a deep depression. This period of withdrawal was reflected in his more introspective work, including the album 'Scissors Cut,' dedicated to Bird.
He largely stepped away from music for several years, a hiatus broken by his marriage to Kathryn 'Kim' Cermak in 1988 and the release of his album 'Lefty.' A resurgence began in the mid-90s, with a live album 'Across America' and appearances on TV shows and film soundtracks.
In a significant artistic evolution, Garfunkel made his debut as a songwriter in 2002 with 'Everything Waits to Be Noticed.' He collaborated with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock, transforming many of his own poems into songs, revealing another dimension of his creative depth.
Vocal Challenges and Lasting Legacy
In 2010, Garfunkel faced a serious challenge when he developed vocal cord paresis after a choking incident. His powerful tenor, a defining feature of his career, was temporarily compromised, leading to canceled tours and a period of intensive recovery.
Through perseverance and quitting smoking, his voice gradually restored, allowing him to resume touring in 2014. Despite announcing a halt to touring in 2023, Garfunkel continues to create, with a new duets album 'Father And Son' with his son, Art Garfunkel Jr., released in late 2024, proving his artistic spirit remains vibrant.
The Philosopher-Poet
Beyond music and acting, Art Garfunkel is a dedicated bibliophile and a published poet. His interest in literature truly blossomed at Columbia University, where he began to devour countless books.
His poetic career took off in the early 1980s, leading to the acclaimed 1989 collection 'Still Water.' This prose poetry explored deeply personal themes, including his struggles with depression, the loss of Laurie Bird, his complex friendship with Paul Simon, and the joy of reconnecting with music.
Garfunkel's intellectual curiosity is famously documented on his website, where he maintains a year-by-year list of every book he has read since 1968—a list that now numbers over a thousand titles. He even once read the entire Random House Dictionary, a testament to his profound love for words and knowledge.
The Actor's Craft
His acting career spanned several decades, moving beyond his initial roles in Mike Nichols' films. He took on complex characters, such as the American psychiatrist Alex Linden in Nicolas Roeg's 'Bad Timing' (1980), a film that garnered international critical acclaim.
Later roles included a Washington, D.C. journalist in 'Good to Go' (1986) and a supporting role in Jennifer Lynch's 'Boxing Helena' (1993). His most recent film appearance was in 'The Rebound' (2009), where he played a charmingly senile father figure, showcasing his range even in comedic relief.
A Unique Vocal Signature
Art Garfunkel is a tenor, known for delivering the higher harmonies in Simon & Garfunkel's intricate arrangements. His voice remained remarkably consistent for decades, only beginning to deepen slightly in his late fifties, a change he openly attributed to years of smoking.
His commitment to his craft, particularly during his vocal cord paresis, led him to quit smoking around 2010. This dedication underscored his lifelong relationship with his voice—a voice that, despite challenges, continues to be cherished by millions around the world.
Article
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainted with Simon through an elementary school play, a production of Alice in Wonderland. Their combined presence in music began in the 1950s, and throughout the 1960s the duo of Simon & Garfunkel achieved great chart success with tracks such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson" (written for the 1967 film The Graduate), "Scarborough Fair", "The Boxer" and "Bridge over Troubled Water". The last song's title also served as the name of Simon & Garfunkel's final album in 1970. Simon & Garfunkel split for personal reasons, but the pair have occasionally reunited in the years since. Both men, in particular Paul Simon, experienced success in solo careers in the years following the duo's breakup.
Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career in the US include one top 10 hit, three top 20 hits, six top 40 hits, 14 Adult Contemporary top 30 singles and five Adult Contemporary number ones. He also scored two UK number ones and a People's Choice Award. Through his solo and collaborative work, Garfunkel has earned eight Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1990, he and Simon were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2008, Garfunkel was ranked 86th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
Early life
Art Garfunkel
Garfunkel was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, to Rose (née Pearlman) and Jacob "Jack" Garfunkel, a traveling salesman. Art was a middle child with two brothers, the older Jules and the younger Jerome. Jacob's parents had emigrated to the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century and settled in Manhattan. Before his career in sales, Jacob worked as an actor in Dayton, Ohio. Garfunkel is of Jewish-Romanian descent, his paternal grandparents having emigrated from the city of Iași. When he was young, he often sang in synagogue. His maternal cousin was Lou Pearlman, who ran one of the biggest Ponzi scams in history, and was founder of the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.
According to the Across America DVD, Garfunkel's love of singing originated in the first grade. "When we were lined up in size order, and after everyone else had left, I'd stay behind and enjoy the echo sound of the stairwell tiles and sing 'Unchained Melody' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone', learning to love this goosebumps song from the tender age of five." Later, Garfunkel's father bought him a wire recorder, and from then on, Garfunkel spent his afternoons singing, recording, and playing it back, so he could listen for flaws and learn how to improve.
At his bar mitzvah in 1954 in the Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills, Garfunkel performed as a cantor, singing over four hours of his repertoire for his family. As a young teen, Garfunkel became ill with a lung infection, leading to a love for basketball. He explained in a 1998 interview: "In the summer of '55, I had a lung infection. I couldn't run around, but I loved basketball and there was a hoop nearby. Much of the summer I spent methodically hitting 96, 98 foul shots out of 100. Then 102! I never played on a team after junior high school. Just 3 against 3, half court pick up games in the schoolyard." He met future singing partner Paul Simon in the sixth grade at PS 164, when they were both cast in the elementary school graduation play, Alice in Wonderland. It has been said by Garfunkel that Simon first became interested in singing after hearing Garfunkel sing a rendition of Nat King Cole's "Too Young" in a school talent show.
Between 1956 and 1962, the two performed together as "Tom & Jerry", a moniker coined by their label Big Records, occasionally performing at school dances. Their idols were The Everly Brothers, whom they imitated in their use of close two-part vocal harmony. In 1957, Simon & Garfunkel recorded the song "Hey, Schoolgirl" under the name Tom & Jerry. The single reached number 49 on the pop charts. After Tom & Jerry came to a close, Garfunkel released two singles under the name Artie Garr: "Dream Alone"/"Beat Love" and "Forgive Me"/"Private World" with Warwick and Octavia Records respectively. Both singles would fail to chart.
After graduating from Forest Hills High School alongside Simon, Garfunkel initially majored in architecture at Columbia University, where he was a brother in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity and lived in Carman Hall. Garfunkel was a team member in tennis, skiing, fencing, and bowling at the college and also joined the all-male a cappella group on campus, the Columbia Kingsmen. While at Columbia his roommate, Sanford Greenberg, developed glaucoma and went blind. Garfunkel assisted him in his homework by reading his textbooks to Greenberg, who went on to graduate with honors. Another roommate of his was Tishman Speyer founder Jerry Speyer. Greenberg later gave Garfunkel $500 to go and record a demo of "The Sound of Silence". Garfunkel ultimately earned a BA in art history in 1965, followed by an MA in mathematics education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1967. He also completed coursework toward a doctorate in the latter discipline at Teachers College, Columbia University during the peak of Simon & Garfunkel's commercial success; however, he later dropped out.
Career
Simon & Garfunkel
Garfunkel with Paul Simon at Madison Square Garden, 1972
In 1963, Garfunkel and Simon (who graduated from Queens College before dropping out of Brooklyn Law School) reformed their duo under their own names as "Simon and Garfunkel". They released their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. on Columbia Records in October 1964. It was not a critical or commercial success, and the duo split. The next year, producer Tom Wilson lifted the song "The Sound of Silence" from the record, dubbed an electric backing onto it, and released it as a single that went to number one on the Billboard pop charts.
Simon had gone to the United Kingdom in 1965 after the initial failure of Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., to pursue a solo career. He briefly teamed with songwriter Bruce Woodley of The Seekers. After "The Sound of Silence" had started to enjoy commercial success, he returned to the US to reunite with Garfunkel. The duo recorded four more influential albums: Sounds of Silence; Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme; Bookends; and the hugely successful Bridge over Troubled Water.
They contributed to the soundtrack of the 1967 Mike Nichols' Academy Award-winning film The Graduate (starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft). While writing "Mrs. Robinson", Simon originally considered the title "Mrs. Roosevelt". When Garfunkel reported this indecision over the song's name to the director, Nichols replied, "Don't be ridiculous! We're making a movie here! It's Mrs. Robinson!" Simon & Garfunkel traveled together to England in the fall of 1968. They made a concert appearance at Kraft Hall, which was broadcast on the BBC and featured Garfunkel's solo performance of "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her". He received a standing ovation.
While Garfunkel was not a songwriter, he did write the poem "Canticle" as a re-write of Simon's "Side of A Hill" from his debut album, for "Scarborough Fair/Canticle". He worked as the vocal arranger for the duo, working out by whom the songs would be sung and how each song was produced. He is also credited as having written the arrangement on "The Boxer" and creating "Voices of Old People" (an audio montage) on Bookends.
Citing personal differences and divergence in career interests, they split following the release of their most critically acclaimed album, Bridge over Troubled Water, in 1970. Each pursued solo projects after 1970. They occasionally reunited, as in 1975 for their Top Ten single "My Little Town", which Simon originally wrote for Garfunkel, claiming Garfunkel's solo output was lacking "bite". The song was included on their respective solo albums: Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years and Garfunkel's Breakaway. Contrary to popular belief, the song is not autobiographical of Simon's early life but of Garfunkel's childhood in Queens. In 1981, they got together again for a concert in Central Park, followed by a world tour and an aborted reunion album Think Too Much, which was eventually released, by Simon without Garfunkel, as Hearts and Bones. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
In 2003, they reunited when they received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, leading to a US tour: the acclaimed "Old Friends" concert series. It was followed by another in 2004, which culminated in a free concert at the Colosseum in Rome. The concert drew 600,000 people.
1970–1975: Hiatus and first album
During a three-year hiatus after Simon & Garfunkel's breakup, Garfunkel starred in two Mike Nichols films, Catch-22 (1970) and Carnal Knowledge (1971). He also spent late 1971 to early 1972 working as a mathematics teacher teaching geometry to high school sophomores at the short-lived Litchfield Academy in Connecticut.
In late 1972, with Simon & Garfunkel having released their Greatest Hits album and briefly reuniting to perform a benefit concert for presidential candidate George McGovern, Garfunkel felt ready to return to his musical career. His first album was 1973's Angel Clare, which contained "All I Know", "I Shall Sing" and "Travelling Boy" as singles. The album was received with mixed reviews, reaching number 5 in the U.S. In 1974, Garfunkel released the hit single "Second Avenue".
On his next album, 1975's Breakaway, Garfunkel briefly reunited with Simon for the 1975 hit "My Little Town". The album also included the singles "Break Away" (B-Side: "Disney Girls") and "I Only Have Eyes for You" (a 1934 song written by Harry Warren), which is noted as Garfunkel's first UK number one.
1976–1979: Solo efforts
In 1976, Garfunkel recorded both background and duet vocals for several artists, including Stephen Bishop's Careless album, James Taylor's In The Pocket album and JD Souther's Black Rose album. From December 1976 to September 1977, Garfunkel worked on his next album.
Garfunkel's next release was the 1977 album Watermark (US No. 19, UK No. 26). It failed to make an impression on the public upon release. Its main single, "Crying in My Sleep" ("Mr. Shuck 'N' Jive") (UK No. 25) didn't reach the US Top 40. After a two-month hiatus, it was re-released in January 1978, with Garfunkel's cover of Sam Cooke's "(What a) Wonderful World" (B-Side: "Wooden Planes"), reaching number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and seventeen on the pop chart. Paul Simon and mutual friend James Taylor had contributed backing vocals to the song, which was a huge hit on the US A.C. charts. In 1978, Garfunkel toured the U.S. and Canada extensively with noted guitarist Arlen Roth, John Barlow Jarvis on piano, and Leah Kunkel on second vocals.
Garfunkel's last release of the 1970s was the 1979 album Fate for Breakfast (US No. 67, UK No. 2). It was his first US flop. The album's first single, "In A Little While (I'll Be on My Way)" (B-Side: "And I Know") (US AC No. 12) failed to break the top forty, as did his second single, "Since I Don't Have You" (B-Side: "When Someone Doesn't Want You") (US No. 53, US AC No. 5, UK No. 38). The album was a huge success in the UK, scoring a number one hit with "Bright Eyes" (B-Side: "Sail on a Rainbow") (US AC No. 29, UK No. 1) (a song written by Mike Batt). A version of "Bright Eyes" also appeared in the movie Watership Down.
Garfunkel's girlfriend since 1974, Laurie Bird, died by suicide in June 1979 at their Manhattan apartment, three months after the album's release in March. Garfunkel later admitted that the incident left him in a deep depression.
1980–1995: Depression and withdrawal
Garfunkel in a concert in Dublin, c. 1982
In 1980, he sang on the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song "Daylight Again", featured on the album of the same name.
Garfunkel's next album was a low point in his career. The 1981 album, Scissors Cut (US No. 113, UK No. 51) (dedicated to Bird), contained three singles, "A Heart in New York" (B-Side: "Is This Love") (US No. 66, US AC No. 10), "Scissors Cut", and "Hang On In". The latter two failed to chart.
Following disappointing sales of Scissors Cut, Garfunkel reunited with Simon for The Concert in Central Park and a world tour. They had significant disagreements during the tour. In 1984, Stereo Review Magazine reported that Simon mixed out Garfunkel's voice from a new album. It was initially slated to be a Simon & Garfunkel studio reunion, but was ultimately released as a Simon solo album (Hearts and Bones). In 1986, Garfunkel played the part of the butcher on the Mike Batt concept album The Hunting of the Snark.
Garfunkel released his first compilation album in 1984, The Art Garfunkel Album (UK No. 12), never released in the US, which contained the minor hit "Sometimes When I'm Dreaming" (UK No. 77, US AC No. 25).
Garfunkel again left the music scene when his father died. In the fall of 1985, he met his future wife, Kathryn "Kim" Cermak; they were married in September 1988. Garfunkel's retirement lasted until his 1988 album, Lefty (US, No. 134), which produced three singles, "So Much in Love" (US No. 76, US AC No. 11), "When a Man Loves a Woman", and "This Is the Moment".
1996–2006: Resurgence
Garfunkel's live 1996 concert Across America (UK No. 35), recorded at the registry hall on Ellis Island, featured musical guests James Taylor, Garfunkel's wife, Kim, and their son James.
Garfunkel performed the theme song for the 1991 television series Brooklyn Bridge and "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" for a 1998 episode of the children's educational television series Arthur, where he was depicted as a singing moose. Garfunkel's performance of Monty Python member Eric Idle's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was used in the end credits of the 1997 film As Good as It Gets.
In 2002, Garfunkel made his debut as a songwriter on his Everything Waits to Be Noticed album. Teaming up with singer-songwriters Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock, the album contained several songs which were originally poems written by Garfunkel.
In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel reunited again for a successful world tour that extended into 2004. That same year, his song "Sometimes When I'm Dreaming" from The Art Garfunkel Album (1984) (written by Mike Batt) was re-recorded by ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog on her album My Colouring Book.
In 2006, Garfunkel signed with Rhino Records (revived Atco Records), releasing his first Rhino/Atco album Some Enchanted Evening in the United States on January 30, 2007. The album was a dedicated celebration of pop standards of Garfunkel's childhood.
2008–present: Recent events and vocal problems
Art Garfunkel in New York City, 2013
In 2009, Garfunkel appeared as himself on the HBO television show Flight of the Conchords episode entitled "Prime Minister".
Garfunkel continued to tour in 2009 with four musicians and his son.
On February 13, 2009, Simon and his band re-opened New York's Beacon Theatre, which had been closed for seven months for renovation. As an encore, Simon brought out "my old friend, Art Garfunkel". They sang three songs: "Sound of Silence", "The Boxer", and "Old Friends".
On April 2, 2009, the duo announced a tour of Australia, New Zealand, and Japan for summer 2009. In late October, they participated together in the 25th anniversary of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. Other artists on the bill included Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, U2, Metallica, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Crosby, Stills, & Nash.
In January 2010, Garfunkel developed vocal problems following damage to his vocal cords as the result of an incident in which he had briefly choked on a piece of lobster. In March 2010, Simon & Garfunkel announced a 13-date tour. According to a press release, the set list would focus on their classic catalog as well as songs from each of their solo careers. The first date in the tour was on April 24, a headlining set at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Due to his vocal cord injury, singing proved difficult for Garfunkel. "I was terrible, and crazy nervous. I leaned on Paul Simon and the affection of the crowd", he told Rolling Stone several years later. Several months later on June 10, they performed "Mrs. Robinson" at an AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to director Mike Nichols, in what proved to be their last performance together to date. On June 17, Simon & Garfunkel canceled the tour, previously rescheduled for July 2010, which was postponed indefinitely while Garfunkel attempted to recover from a vocal cord paresis.
In November 2010, Garfunkel said that because of quitting smoking he was recovering from paresis and would be touring in 2011.
He tried to resume touring in August 2012 just after releasing a 34-song retrospective, The Singer. Garfunkel scheduled 19 solo shows in the United States and Sweden between August and December 2012. 16 of the shows were canceled. Garfunkel was due to perform at Night of The Proms in Gothenburg and Malmö, Sweden, on September 28 and 29, 2012, but canceled at the last minute due to an "unforeseen vocal issue". Speaking about his voice in February 2013, Garfunkel said "It's getting mostly better; I'm pretty much there" and that he was starting to book small shows again. In 2014, he resumed touring, with Tab Laven accompanying him on acoustic guitar, his voice restored.
On the September 30, 2015, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Garfunkel took part in the spoof "Black Simon & Garfunkel" skit with members of The Roots.
The Simon and Garfunkel song "America" was used by Bernie Sanders during his 2016 presidential campaign; Garfunkel appreciated Sanders' fight against wealth inequality.
On September 26, 2017, Knopf Doubleday published in hardcover Garfunkel's memoir What Is It All but Luminous: Notes from an Underground Man. Penguin Random House has published it in softcover and audiobook. On April 10, 2023, Garfunkel canceled his remaining concert dates and his management announced "that he has decided not to return to touring for the foreseeable future."
In the fall of 2024, Garfunkel announced the release of a new studio album, "Father And Son", a duets album with his son, Art Garfunkel Jr. "Father And Son" was released on November 8, 2024. The album features twelve cover songs, including "Blackbird", "Blue Moon", "Vincent", and one Simon & Garfunkel song, a new recording of "Old Friends".
Poetry
Garfunkel, an avid reader and bibliophile, has said that while growing up the Garfunkel household was not a literary family and that it was not until entering Columbia University in 1959 that he began to "read a million books and became a reader." Thus began his interest in poetry.
Garfunkel's poetic career began in 1981 while on the Simon & Garfunkel 1981–1982 tour in Switzerland. He was riding a motorcycle and began writing a poem describing the countryside. In 1989, Still Water, Garfunkel's collection of prose poetry, was released to acclaim. Topics included his depression over the loss of his father; Laurie Bird, his companion who committed suicide; his friendship with Paul Simon; and the joy of returning to music.
Garfunkel's website contains a year-by-year listing of every book he has read since 1968. Currently the list contains more than 1,000 books. He has also read the entire Random House Dictionary. Garfunkel has an interest in the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, having read his book Confessions at least three times (according to Garfunkel's website, the book was the 1st, 252nd, and 1,000th book he read).
Acting
Garfunkel pursued an acting career in the early 1970s, appearing in two Mike Nichols films: Catch-22 (1970), in which he played a supporting role as the 19-year-old naive Lieutenant Nately, and Carnal Knowledge (1971), a co-starring role in which he played the idealistic character Sandy. His role as Sandy secured him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 1972 Golden Globe Awards.
He later appeared in Nicolas Roeg's Bad Timing (1980) as Alex Linden, an American psychiatrist who serves as the film's main antagonist. The film received the Toronto Festival of Festivals' highest honor, the People's Choice Award, and the London Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Director.
He appeared in Good to Go (1986), directed by Blain Novak, starring as a Washington, D.C., journalist who struggles to clear his name after being framed for rape and murder. Garfunkel then appeared in the medical crime drama Boxing Helena (1993), directed by Jennifer Lynch, as Lawrence Augustine.
Garfunkel's most recent film is The Rebound (2009), directed by Bart Freundlich. He played Harry Finklestein, the slightly senile and comic-relief father of the film's main character.
Voice classification
Art Garfunkel
Garfunkel is a tenor who usually sang the higher parts in Simon & Garfunkel's harmonies. His voice changed almost imperceptibly until his late fifties, when it began to lower after years of smoking. He quit smoking around 2010 to aid his recovery from vocal cord paresis.
Personal life
Art Garfunkel
Garfunkel married Linda Marie Grossman (b. 1944), an architect, in Nashville on October 1, 1972, and they divorced in 1975. He has claimed that not only did he not love her, he did not even like her much.
He was romantically involved with actress and photographer Laurie Bird from March 1974 until her suicide in 1979 from an overdose of Valium in the New York apartment they shared. Garfunkel was deeply affected by her death, and said: "She was beautiful, in a lonesome, haunted way, and I adored her. But I wasn't ready for marriage and she was not very comfortable being Laurie. She wasn't happy with herself. Her mother committed suicide at 26, and so did she."
In late 1985, Garfunkel met former model Kathryn (Kim) Cermak (b. 1958; Czech spelling Čermák) while shooting Good to Go. They married on September 18, 1988, and have two sons born in 1990 and 2005, via surrogate mother. Arthur Jr. is also a singer, and released two German-language tribute albums with Simon & Garfunkel's greatest hits. Garfunkel and his namesake collaborated on "Father and Son" in 2024; "My dad chose more of the songs from the 1940s," the younger singer explained, "and I was more of the 1980s selection. The 'Father and Son' recording was my suggestion, and my father did a great job with it."
Garfunkel has undertaken several long walks in his lifetime, writing poetry along the way. In the early 1980s, he walked across Japan in a number of weeks. From 1983 to 1997, Garfunkel walked across the United States, taking 40 excursions to complete the route from New York City to the Pacific coast of Oregon. In May 1998, Garfunkel launched an instalment walk across Europe, from a start in Ireland to his final stop in Istanbul in 2015.
Despite being a native New Yorker, Garfunkel is a lifelong Philadelphia Phillies fan, having written on his website: "I never followed the crowd. So as a Queens kid, I didn't want to be a Dodger, a Yankee, or Giant fan. One day when I was 8 I went to Ebbets Field and saw the Phillies with their red pinstripes, Robin Roberts, Pudinhead Jones. Somehow this was for me. The rest is loyalty. Decades of pain."
Garfunkel has been arrested twice for the possession of marijuana: once in early 2004 and again in August 2005.
Nominations
Art Garfunkel
• 1972 Golden Globe Awards, Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, for Carnal Knowledge • 1998 Grammy Awards, Best Musical Album for Children, for Songs from a Parent to a Child
Awards
Art Garfunkel
• 1969 Grammy Awards, Record of the Year, for "Mrs. Robinson" as part of (Simon & Garfunkel) • 1969 Grammy Awards, Best Contemporary Pop Performance, for "Mrs. Robinson" as part of (Simon & Garfunkel) • 1970 Grammy Awards, Album of the Year, for Bridge over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel) • 1970 Grammy Awards, Record of the Year, for "Bridge over Troubled Water" • 1970 Grammy Awards, Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), for Bridge over Troubled Water • 1977 Britannia Award, Best International Pop LP and Single, 1952–77, for "Bridge over Troubled Water" • 2015 German Sustainability Award
Work on Broadway
Art Garfunkel
• Rock 'N Roll! The First 5,000 Years (1982) – revue – featured singer for Mrs. Robinson • Mike Nichols and Elaine May: Together Again on Broadway (1992) – concert – performer • The Graduate (2002) – play – featured songwriter
Discography
Art Garfunkel
• Angel Clare (1973) • Breakaway (1975) • Watermark (1977) • Fate for Breakfast (1979) • Scissors Cut (1981) • The Animals' Christmas (1986) (with Amy Grant) • Lefty (1988) • Songs from a Parent to a Child (1997) • Everything Waits to Be Noticed (2002) (with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock) • Some Enchanted Evening (2007) • Father and Son (2024) (with Art Garfunkel Jr.)
Filmography
Art Garfunkel
<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Film or television series</th><th>Role</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1970</td><td>Catch-22</td><td>Lieutenant Edward J. Nately III</td><td>Debut screen role</td></tr><tr><td>1971</td><td>Carnal Knowledge</td><td>Dr. Sandy Kaufman</td><td>Nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture</td></tr><tr><td>1973</td><td>Acts of Love and Other Comedies</td><td>Nick</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>1975</td><td>Saturday Night Live</td><td>Himself</td><td>Episode: "Season 1 Episode 2"</td></tr><tr><td>1980</td><td>Bad Timing</td><td>Dr. Alex Linden</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1980</td><td>Laverne & Shirley</td><td>The Mighty Oak</td><td>Episode: "The Beatnik Show"</td></tr><tr><td>1986</td><td>Good to Go</td><td>S.D. Blass</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1990</td><td>Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme</td><td>Georgie Porgie</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>1993</td><td>Boxing Helena</td><td>Dr. Lawrence Augustine</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1994</td><td>Frasier</td><td>Chester (voice)</td><td>Episode: "Adventures in Paradise: Part 1"</td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>54</td><td>Himself</td><td>Cameo</td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>Arthur</td><td>Singing Moose (voice)</td><td>Episode: "The Ballad of Buster Baxter"</td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>Longshot</td><td>Himself</td><td>Cameo</td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>American Dreams</td><td>Mr. Greenwood</td><td>Episode: "False Start"</td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Flight of the Conchords</td><td>Himself</td><td>Episode: "Prime Minister"</td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>The Rebound</td><td>Harry Finklestein</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Beatles Stories</td><td>Himself</td><td>Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>Cecile on the Phone</td><td>Dr. Saltzman</td><td>Short film</td></tr></tbody></table>