Clifford Bell:  A Very Fond Farewell
September 17, 1957—September 22, 2024

By Elliot Zwiebach

Clifford Bell rarely hugged someone without asking permission, albeit in his own special way. “May I embrace you fondly?” he would say. Bell was embraced fondly by hundreds of members of the Southern California cabaret community in the days after he died September 22 following a brief illness. He was 67 and died just five days after his birthday. Reflecting on birthday messages he had received, Bell wrote on Facebook, “Mostly, I feel very loved.” The feeling was certainly mutual — he was very much loved and admired, as reflected in the comments his friends made in emails to Cabaret Scenes and on Facebook.

Shelly Goldstein Clifford was a champion of artists and the art of cabaret. He loved talent, and he loved talented people who loved cabaret. He was the little cabaret engine that could.

Mary Bogue Clifford’s passion for cabaret was palpable, and he   orchestrated acts with flair and daring. He could roar, jump through hoops of fire, or simply purr. He was the ringleader, ringmaster, lion tamer, acrobat, and even the pretty girl wearing a boa riding backwards on a horse. He was a friend who left us amazed, enchanted, unified, and now alone to figure out life for ourselves now that the circus has left town.

Lexi Marman Cowden (on FB) He had the beautiful gift of bringing people together, giving singers a stage and just making music happen. Thank you for seeing beauty and talent in people that needed to be heard.

Robyn Spangler Clifford understood the art of cabaret performance. He wanted to work with everyone and made no judgment about where you were in your journey, whether a newcomer or a seasoned pro. He’d put everyone on stage and made it work.

Catte Adams (on FB) Clifford was one of the kindest men in show business, and for those of us that have been around the sun a few times, that means everything.

Todd Schroeder Clifford always brought a plethora of song knowledge, wit and good stories to the conversation.  And he absolutely loved the cabaret community, and his support and passion for that performance genre made him a legend.

Betsy Parker (on FB) Clifford had a gift for making everyone feel included and at home. While he may not have been the Barbra Streisand belter he dreamed of being, there was a joy, emotion and depth that poured out of him when he sang that was unlike anything else. Joy literally radiated out from him when he performed.

Charlo Crossley Fortier (on FB) Relocated to Heaven’s Gate. No cover. No minimum.

For more than 40 years Bell inspired and encouraged cabaret performers through a concept he called Cabarabia — the junction of cabaret, Broadway and jazz. He described his ideas about cabaret in a 2012 interview with Cabaret Scenes.

“Singing in a cabaret doesn’t mean someone has to be Barbra Streisand,” he explained. “Cabaret has nothing to do with voice — it has to do with communication and expression. The biggest part of the cabaret process is finding the right material and developing music that goes with that material. People often tell me they think their lives are boring, but after talking with them for five minutes, I usually find many things that make them interesting. So creating a show is about finding out who somebody is, finding out what makes them unique and then finding a way to communicate that human experience.”

Anne Marie Valdivia Clifford always talked to singers in his Cab Lab performance workshop before each new session started to find out what was going on in your life, and then he would either suggest some songs for you or accept the songs you wanted to sing. And because he spoke to you in advance, he knew how to weave what was going on in your life into your performance. And even though we were sometimes reluctant to go there, it always worked.

Ava Nicole Frances  I met Clifford when I was 14. I had performed for the previous four years with my dad, but I never had much solo time on stage, so when Clifford took a chance on me and let me have a solo set in a show, I was over the moon. He always gave me room to direct myself, which gave me an added layer of confidence in myself as a performer.

Kiki Ebsen Clifford came into my world about eight years ago, when he helped me produce an early version of the tribute I do to my dad [Buddy Ebsen]. He had a great eye for the big picture and was a master at directing the energy of singers and musicians to create truly entertaining shows.

Mitch Kaplan Clifford helped so many of us navigate the challenges of a career as a performer or musician. He made artists believe in possibilities for themselves and changed lives.  He was always a big connector of people and took joy from doing that. He introduced me to Beth Lapides because he thought I could help her add music to her comedy performance, something she had never given thought to, and now she’s my partner.

Beth Lapides (on FB) Clifford created community. For me, he was a change agent, guardian, confidante, collaborator, cheerleader and cupid. I’m so grateful he waltzed into the club where I was teaching one afternoon and suggested we work together to add music to my comedy act. I was skeptical, but now here I am — living with my music man, singing on stages and knowing the seat on the back left will never have Clifford on it again.

Todd Murray (on FB) Clifford directed the first incarnation of my show, Croon, and contributed one of its best theatrical ideas: starting the show acoustically in the audience, then stepping onto the stage and up to a microphone to show the stark difference between what singing sounded like before amplification and how intimate it sounded with a microphone.

Alex Mohajer (on FB) Clifford really invested in mentoring and supporting me. He really believed in me and taught me to cultivate my art when I didn’t always believe in myself.

VanNessa Hulme Silbermann (on FB) He loved the stage, and anyone who dared to go on it became engulfed in his support, praise, and assistance. I felt that support in 2017 in my first performance after coming out of the dark days of cancer, and he held my hand when I wasn’t sure I could do it at all.

Dana Meller Clifford helped me discover myself.  Having him in my corner gave me confidence I may not have discovered otherwise. Every young performer should be so lucky to have a Clifford Bell in their corner. As a friend he was the best listener, and he held on to stories and remembered details. And he gave love freely.

Diane Spurlock Clifford was music, he was love, he was generosity. He did a season where he worked with four teenagers — including my then 13-year-old daughter Alex — and taught them the importance of the story and how to make their performances interesting. Through that work, Clifford made his mark on many talented young performers who will never forget him.

Karen Fineman Roberts (on FB) We met in 1999 when I needed a director for my cabaret act. But Clifford was more than just a director. He was a mentor and loving supporter who knew quickly how to draw out parts of me he felt I needed to incorporate in the show. He was patient, understanding and loving. He mastered the art of listening and then lifted you up.

Francesca Amari When I moved to California in 2010, I was scared and nervous about ‘starting over’ with my music career in a new state. Clifford was one of the very first people I met, and he put me at ease quickly. We spoke the same cabaret language, so we started working together immediately, and his input was invaluable,

Sandra Piller I met with Clifford a few years ago to get his input on what direction I should go with my music. He inspired me to put some shows together. He wanted to produce them with me, but at the time I thought I could do it on my own. Later I asked him to do it with me, and he brought many great ideas to the table.

Jane Kinsey (on FB) Clifford literally got me off the couch and back onto the stage. His gentle but determined coaxing took me to creative places I would never have gone without him. I often told him, “Clifford, stop pressuring me,” but I realize pressure creates a diamond, and he helped me soar.

Mark Arthur Miller (on FB) If you could sing and had a story to tell, Clifford Bell wanted to know you. Hell, even if you’d never sung before but you always wanted to and you thought you had a story, Clifford Bell wanted to know you. I truly believe Clifford thought everyone had a song inside of them, and he spent almost every day of his life working toward that belief.

Kimberley Scott-Moseley Clifford had a gift for gently pushing you to step out of your comfort zone and try something you never would have tried on your own. He guided singers to perform at their best. And if something wasn’t working, he had a way of suggesting change without making you feel small or insecure.

Diane Walton He taught me so much about how music and song can touch people and hearts and to hear the difference when a performance is a way to be open, to invite, to touch and when it is not. He was a hunter and a gatherer of moments — moments that made a difference for the performance and for the audience.

Mercedes Dauphinais Mathison Clifford was a very good friend in a time and place in which there were so few for me. I thank him for being full of love and light and welcome and for embracing so many so well.

Manette La Chance I met Clifford 40 years ago, and we were joined at the hip ever since. He was my maid of honor at my wedding, he went with me to pick out my bridal gown and he was  right there at the hospital when my daughter was born.

Lara Teeter (on FB) Clifford was the best man at our wedding. When he gave the toast, he spoke of how Kristen Teeter “dances like the wind.” Today Kristen and I both believe Clifford is one with the wind.

Bell was born in 1954 in New Jersey but grew up primarily in Portland, Oregon. His father was a symphony conductor and his mother was a concert cellist. He graduated from the School of Performing Arts at U.S. International University in San Diego with a degree in musical theater. After touring as a singer for a few years, he opted to work with performers behind the scenes — producing and directing shows for individual cabaret artists, organizing memorial concerts, producing recordings, creating a variety of special events to raise money for different causes, and hosting a podcast.

Gregory Vahanian:  As my family emerged in 2009 from eight months of leukemia treatments for my daughter Isabella, Clifford and Belle Zwerdling created a series of concerts called “Songs for Isabella” to raise money to support her care needs.  From those first concerts to years of shared laughter and music, he has been a soulful source of joy and friendship, and his legacy of loving lives on in our hearts.

Marc Saltarelli (on FB) His greatest strength was cheering on others’ talent, and he took pride in showcasing that talent.  When he found out I had a long relationship with Project Angel Food [which prepares and delivers meals to people with serious illness], he wanted to help.  Besides volunteering in the kitchen, he turned his long-running event, Our Name is Barbra, into a way to raise critical funds for the organization.

Richard Ayoub, chief executive officer of Project Angel Food (on FB) For decades Clifford poured his heart into Project Angel Food — volunteering, donating and sharing the gift of song and joy for more than a decade through Our Name is Barbra, uniting performers to celebrate Streisand’s music while raising funds for a cause he held dear.

David Zimmerman I was producing a benefit show in 2019 for performers with and without disabilities. I realized I was desperately overwhelmed and needed help, so I asked Clifford if he would direct the evening and he said yes without a blink. And within the past nine months he put together the latest benefit performance of Autism Care Today, which helps provide necessary services to assist autistic children to reach their highest potential.

Jason Graae I was putting together a memorial for Pat Whiteman, and it was overwhelming. I knew Clifford loved Pat, so I reached out to him, and he was so knowledgeable and so kind and so funny. At several events he had asked me to sing “With So Little to Be Sure Of,” and I got to sing that for him at the hospital on the last night of his life.

MaryJo Mundy Clifford was always my biggest fan and supporter — so much so that he helped me start the open mic at The Gardenia — which he named Mundy on Tuesdays — in 2000 that is still going strong. Without Clifford there would never have been that open mic that people love so much.

Amari Clifford was the first person who called me when [cabaret producer] Les Michaels died in 2022, to see what we could do to pay tribute to Les. He helped me spearhead an effort that raised $4,000 in scholarship money in Les’ name.

Despite all the show business pizzazz, Bell had a sober side — literally — which he expressed annually in Facebook posts on the anniversary of his sobriety 35 years ago. Writing in 2022, he said, “Many people often say to me, you are so calm and gentle.  How do you stay so even-keeled?  And it’s true, I do maintain a certain equilibrium in life but only because I have to, in order to survive. By nature I am an extremely overly sensitive and emotionally turbulent person. It has taken me a lot of tools to become a relatively calm and stable person. In my 20’s I buried two-thirds of the friends in my peer group, and those are heartbreaks that don’t go away. I need my practice of sobriety and recovery to stay in the game – to stay hopeful, productive and loving. I’m one of the lucky ones.  I’m forever grateful that I got the miracle, that for all these years I have kept my word to myself, and my heart and my mind have healed from life’s wounds. So many other people aren’t as fortunate.”

Bell’s favorite song was “Here’s to Life.”

Michael Collum Clifford was the glue that bound the cabaret community in Los Angeles together, and he welcomed countless performers with enthusiasm. And though I shall miss him terribly, I believe he lived his life with “no complaints and no regrets.”

Editor’s note: We at Cabaret Scenes mourn the sudden passing of Clifford Bell. He served as a contributing writer for Cabaret Scenes providing interviews that appeared in our print version edition as well as on our web site.