Vocal coach Barbara Meier Gustern attacked in NYC

Via Michael Musto’s Facebook:

As I'm sure you've heard, vocal coach extraordinaire Barbara Maier Gustern was assaulted by a crazed woman on Thursday and she is now in critical condition in the hospital. What a horror! When I met Barbara, I found her to be a lovely person with a lot of history, great clients, and a refreshing approach to all of it.

While you continue to send her your love, let me share some of the things she told me in a Paper interview in 2016:

"I knew nothing about downtown until I started working with these people. I love it. I went one night see Lady Rizo at Joe’s Pub....The whole table dared me to get up and dance on the table and I did!

"Some of these people [her clients], if you didn’t know their background, you’d think they were old maid school teachers or something. Some of them are very proper. Most of these people are genuinely sweet and generous and loving and willing to accept things. That’s why I like working with them more than maybe opera singers.

"I was born singing, almost. I didn’t come from a musical family. I was an only child and I had a couple of maiden aunts that doted on me and they both were tone deaf, but they encouraged me. Even as a little kid, I was standing on a chair giving recitals.

"I knew when I graduated college that I wanted to be a singer, but my parents were very much opposed to that. They paid for my lessons and supported me, but didn’t think it was a profession I should be going into. In high school, I was a singer with a jazz combo on Saturday nights. That’s the one Florence Henderson used to sing with. When she left for New York, I took her place. I wanted to get to New York, so I came to Columbia University, got my masters in psychology, got a job for two years at Hunter College, and to keep that job, I had to continue my education. Eventually, I knew I wanted to sing and that was it. So I quit."

"I’m not Jewish, but I got a job in a temple. I’d never even been in a temple in my life, but I said I came from a mixed marriage, and I thought that was true since my mother was a woman and my dad was a man and that was mixed enough. [laughs] That’s where I met my husband."

"Well, I thought you have to be in a union, so I auditioned for this job as a production singer and went to Albany to a big club called Barone’s. I found out I had to be a B-girl—to sit at the bar and push drinks. I was outraged. Being ethical, I gave my two weeks’ notice on the spot. The place was kind of an Albany 'Guys and Dolls', filled with bookies and other types. I then took lessons and thought I‘d be an opera singer. I did lots of summer stock, a season at NYC Opera, regional opera, cruise work, and singing in clubs wherever we went, like Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Cairo."

"I thought I was going to be a big star. I was really good with audiences. But at a certain point, my being the perpetual ingénue faded out, and being 4’ 11”, I was never quite the leading lady type and I didn’t know what to do with myself and was unhappy and fell into teaching. At a party, I talked to a teacher from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York who said 'Why don’t you teach?' I started teaching musical theater there, and eight years later, I struck out on my own. I started teaching everything."

continued…

Continued…

“ In the late 1980s, Diamanda Galas became a student after I met her through a mutual friend. As Diamanda tells it, they were in the loony bin together. Later on, Diamanda got me hooked up with the downtown scene. Debbie Harry was a big Diamanda fan and Debbie asked if she could sit in on a lesson. Diamanda asked me if it was OK. I said, 'Sure, I don’t care.' When she left, Debbie said, 'Do you think you have time for me?' I said, 'Yes, I definitely have time for you!' "

"Debbie’s a love to work with. She’s very receptive, very appreciative. She’s always open.

"At that point, in 1998, Debbie was putting the band back together. She had been on a little hiatus. It isn’t different [if they're famous]. I don’t care. A person’s a person. Somebody who’s well known or someone who’s never been before an audience and thinks they can’t sing—whatever. I love teaching a variety of people and I’m passionate about teaching and thinking people should be able to sing if they want to.

"There are certain things everybody has to learn, regardless of what they’re doing. I don’t dictate that anyone has to sound like this or that, but we take whatever their genre is and tailor the basic concepts I’ve given them to that particular sound. It can be outrageous, as long as they can do it and stay healthy.

"I have a baby grand in the living room. My neighbors put a sign on my door that I was torturing them with the exercises, so I have an extra baby grand in the bedroom. We sing in the living room and do exercises back in the bedroom."

"Do you feel maternal about your students?" I asked.

Her answer: "Yes. That’s a big yes. They’re all my family."

And finally, I wondered, "You couldn’t have possibly predicted this trajectory in your career, right?"

Replied Barbara, "No, I didn’t, but once it happened, I knew it was right. There’s a Quaker hymn that goes, ' ‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free/’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.' That’s what I think I did. I came to where I ought to be."

Poor lady. She deserved much better than that. If it wasn't a woman, you'd think the perp was a DLer.

Was the perp identified as Beanie Feldstein?

Are people still allowed to carry mace or pepper spray? I'm not a violent person, but after reading of these attacks,

I'm seriously looking for a way to defend myself if some loon decides to push or shove or stomp on me.

R5, [italic]technically[/italic] mace is illegal to carry in New York. It’s considered a noxious material and merely possessing it is an arrestable offense. Pepper spray, on the other hand, is legally considered a self-defense spray and is legal under §265.20.

Now, [italic]realistically[/italic], no cop worth their salt is going to lock you up for defending yourself with it.

Most likely a Trust Funder. Daddy will make it all go away,

A former pupil.

Daddy told me I deserved to be a star!

This was mentioned on another thread (absolutely no idea which one it was) and the photo they showed of the lady who did it made her look like some nutty 20-something. Now there's video and yep, still looks like a nutty 20-something.

She even had her mask down under her chin so her face was fully visible. Do people really not know surveillance cameras are everywhere?

I hope they find the bitch who did it and lock her up for murder. This lady isn't going to recover.

It looks like another case of a New Yorker believing since they had not been attacked yet in NYC, it wasn’t going to happen to them. The perpetrator should be punished severely. One good thing that could come of this is to remind people never to travel alone in NYC or after sunset.

She wasn't alone, she was with a friends, including Austin Pendleton. I can't remember whose FB had the post, was it her grandson's? They described the incident as Barbara leaving the building with a friend while Pendleton and one or two others stayed in the lobby, then a few minutes later the friend brings an injured Barbara back into the lobby, where they all take care of her and wait for the ambulance. She's able to tell them what happened at first, but because of brain bleed she lost consciousness after a while.

[quote] They described the incident as Barbara leaving the building with a friend while Pendleton and one or two others stayed in the lobby, then a few minutes later the friend brings an injured Barbara back into the lobby,

I am looking very closely at that friend.

The other thread this was mentioned in, I finally found it:

Perusing other social media, I’ve seen several downtown New Yorkers saying that this suspect is known around the West Village as a local nutcase/troublemaker, young, in her 20s. No names posted yet, at least that I saw. It’s just a matter of time before she’s caught.

...and released in an hour.

This woman was very popular and beloved by a lot of bigwig downtown performer and Broadway types, and some celebs. There will be a lot of attention when the suspect is caught.

[quote] This woman was very popular and beloved

Not by at least one person.

The "local trouble maker" just hit a fork in the road, mental or not.

Anyone who violently attacks another needs to be, and will be, locked up. She is a danger.

R5, if you're not a gang member or a drug dealer then the chance that you'll be violently assaulted is like a billion to one

R20 is scared of girls, lol. Female prisoners have a low recidivism rate

[quote] Female prisoners have a low recidivism rate

I don’t know about their STD rates from prison, but at least they usually don’t re-offend.

Someone did this to Rick Moranis as well.

They killed him?!

Oh jeez, I didn't know she'd died. Thankfully they probably know who the murderer is, it's just a matter of finding her.

Rick Moranis was attacked in a very similar fashion a few years ago, by a deranged person, but lived. I think on the Upper West Side. Super random attack.

The guy who attacked Moranis attacked someone else later that day, and when he was arraigned it turned out he'd attacked something like 5 other people in the previous months.

If it's true that this lady is well known in the area, she's probably also attacked others as well.

Perp looks like a former student not the typical violet subway pushing type.

How come this girl hasn’t been found yet? The fact that she’s obviously mentally disturbed, yet can afford to live in NYC suggests her parents must be loaded.

The MoMA stabber could afford NYC on just an usher's salary.

Yeah, I’m thinking trust-fund psycho weirdo. They’ll find her.

Horrible. "…the suspect, who is still at large, crossed the street, approached Gustern from behind and then shoved her, causing the head injury that led to her death."

DL is now the NYC crime blotter.

Back in the early 70s you had “Warhol Superstar” Andrea Feldman, who was stark raving mad, but also had very wealthy parents, who set her up in a penthouse which she completely demolished, because she thought the nuns across the street were wire-tapping her. I guess there have always been rich kids like that in NYC.

She'll be arrested within days. Now the poor lady is dead, someone who already knows it was her will quietly decide it's too much, whether a rich mommy and daddy are somehow protecting her or not.

According to chatter on FB by the towntown performance crowd… an arrest has been made. The suspect was apparently arrested previously for physically assaulting Hasidic Jewish children in NYC? Weird.

Can’t confirm, just FB comments… but still.

Wait, you mean this is the same lady who spat on the Jewish kids back in January?

The lady who spat on the Jewish kids in Brooklyn was Christina Darling. I mean, it could be her, I can see a little bit of a resemblance.

It was Candy Spelling.

Hmm… I wonder if people posting on FB are getting these two mixed up? Or maybe it is the same person.

R39 It does resemble her profile in the moment of the video when she turns her head to look back. Hair dyed red now.

The cheeks and lower face area do seem to be similar to the photo of Christina, Darling!

Someone on Gothamist also said they thought the lady in the video looks like Christina Darling, but it's hard to tell because the video of the lady spitting on the kids is normal speed, while the one of the lady who attacked Gustern is slowed down.

[quote] not the typical violet subway pushing type.

Would you settle for a fuchsia lunatic?

She's causing carnation in the streets!

At least she didn’t yell racial epaulettes before the attack like that other guy.

R6 Roach Spray aimed at the eyes will deter anyone and it's not illegal.

Like someone is going to walk around with a giant can of Raid in their pockets.

Pepper spray, which comes in a small, sprayable container is legal too.

If Gustern hadn’t been elderly she probably would have just been badly banged-up and maybe gone to the emergency room.

Walloping someone who is nearly 80 is nearly a guaranteed death sentence.

It sounds like the assault happened from behind, even though the suspect crossed the street to meet her. The suspect sounds legitimately mental, and appears young. Did she even know how old Gustern was?

It makes me wonder if the suspect has assaulted people like this in the past, that were younger, and maybe the police just logged it and everyone eventually forgot or chalked it up to general NYC craziness. Or maybe didn’t report it at all out of embarrassment. I’ll bet she has a record of similar assaults.

Now she’s messed with the wrong person and killed someone… and they’re coming for her.

Sick and wrong!

One of the people with her during the attack said she was conscious initially after and one of the things she said was, “I’ve never been hit so hard in my life.”

R50 she was 87 so nearing actually nearing 90.

still can't believe the Jan 6 pipe bomber is at large.

nor can i believe there isn't way more video to trace the NYC suspect gay

R52 Oh! Wow.

A clearer photo of suspect…

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

How is it possible they haven’t found her already? The victim was able to get up after the attack - she wouldn’t have realized how much trouble she was in, so it’s not like she would have immediately fled the country.

Agree that she’s probably done this before, just not to an 87 year-old.

I'm guessing that once she realized she'd pushed a famous lady who was seriously injured and in the hospital, she went into hiding.

It took them days to find the MoMA stabber and he was posting to Facebook while on the lam.

Someone or perhaps many people downtown have got to know this person and their possible whereabouts.

East River suicide

Time is of the essence

R55, it's incredible the difference a flattering angle can make.

FYI for those searching Google, OP’s original headline misspells the victim’s middle name. It’s Maier, not Meier.

She seemed like a wonderful lady and a beloved mentor. Hope they catch & quarter the cunt.

This story is in the media but not exactly major headlines. Some people don’t look at media or the internet at all.

If this suspect is truly “mental” they may have no idea what the outcome of their actions were or that they’re being searched for.

Better photo...share.

Share with who? My 5 followers, two of whom are my cats?

(They have their own accounts, you know. It’s the only way to keep them from fighting over content.)

She has the looks of a British aristocrat.

She does look a bit like Princess Bay-triss. Though these days she isn't fat. Same unfortunate teeth, though.

Funeral was this afternoon.

I don't know why this grabs me as much as it does.. Maybe because she's a fellow musician.. or a sweet, old lady still going out and enjoying life.. But I get a lump in my throat whenever I see that picture of her behind the piano.

Rest in peace, Barbara. You deserved better.

Arrested!

She was accompanied by her attorney and surrendered to police, so I'm thinking that sounds like she's not some crazy lady just walking around randomly shoving people.

I want the woman who assaulted this poor, undeserving victim of this crime to get caught and be given the stiffest of sentences for what she did.

If you shove someone on purpose and they die due to a TMI, , you’re a fucking murderer and deserve to burn in hell.

This cunt’s last name is Pazienzia?

That means PATIENCE in Spanish and Italian.

Fucking Putana. 🖕🏽

I am glad she has been arrested.

Twinkie defense. Just watch.

[quote] MEET BARBARAS KILLER - THE GLAMOROUS LAUREN PAZIEZA

[quote] Pazienza's bail is set at $500,000, which her parents are planning to pay.

Does this confirm she’s a rich bitch?

Yeah, rich white bitch who'll get a slap on the wrist by claiming she needs therapy and will willingly submit. Burn the witch.

Wow, just saw the local 5am CBS local news here in NYC. They did a small feature on the case focusing on her attorney who said she doesn't understand why she did what she did and deserves sympathy.

I'll reserve my sympathy for the dead vocal coach.

I thought the attorney was maintaining there was no evidence his client did it.

The attorney is all over the place.

Pazienza lived in an apartment building by Astoria Park according to a YouTube commenter.

Her cached LinkedIn resume confirms the suspicion she’s a rich kid: it’s all cushy marketing and communication jobs with luxury brands.

Rich people should be allowed to kill random old people.

Diamanda Galas on Facebook:

“GUILTY!

The citizens of NY know a bug when they see one. NYC has big bugs: and they are easy to see.

Do not let anyone hand you the bulls**t line, ‘We must assume Lauren Pazienza is innocent until proved guilty.’ Cowards talk like that. They are afraid of their own vacuum cleaners.

Pazienza is guilty. Let all the rich folks she hangs with protest her innocence. Let her defense lawyer say that someone tripped and Barbara died because of it. Let him say that ‘pushing someone onto the sidewalk is not the same as throwing them under a train.’

Listen to fools say that because she was 87 years old, that Barbara Maier, who walked miles every day, was frail. Wirey does not mean ‘frail.’

Don't refer to Barbara as an old lady. She was anything but an old lady. She was tough. She worked ten hours a day and worked on Broadway and the theatre, and then she would go to see a student perform at the end of the day. You call that frail?

Do not be impressed with the mewings of the crawlers who say about the perpetrator, ‘But this is her first offense. We need to understand why.’ We do not need to understand why. There is no good reason.

‘But she was a member in good standing among the cognoscenti. A sophisticate. An event planner!’ There are plenty of the cognoscenti who should be locked up.

At the drop of a hat, a poor man or woman will be arrested and thrown in jail for what? For holding some painkillers.

This is a murder.

The clothes Pazienza wore at the killing are the same clothes she wore entering her boyfriend's building hours later. She hid out at her parents' house until her lawyer convinced her that turning herself in would enable a lighter sentence.

If anyone one feels strongly about seeing her released, you have only to help with the bail money. Put up your house!

Did she forget to take her Prozac that day? That's the reason!

The Post just referred to her as a fiery redhead. I guess The Post thinks that murderesses are sex objects.

There is far too much evidence that Pazienza is a killer.

Think of the blood of an innocent woman. Think of Barbara Maier and her suffering on those last days in the hospital.

Think of how much she gave the city of New York. She is missed by hundreds of people who are wondering how to continue their lives without her.

And do not spread your ‘reasonable doubts’ around the city because you have nothing else to do. There is a jury in the city. They don't need to hear that caterwauling.

Heavy time was named after persons like Lauren Pazienza.

COME, JUSTICE.“

Natasha Lyonne as Pazienza!

Shirl MacLaine as Gustern!

Wow!

Hilarious: "Pazienza, an event organizer and scion of a lucrative cesspool empire..."

Pazi looked like she might be pregnant in a photo at R88's link. She could just be fat

The article includes her actual height wand weight - 5’7” and 175 pounds. She has been punished enough.

Just look up her lawyer. It'll tell you everything you need to know about that family.

I haven’t followed this story since the arrest, but either this woman is a danger to society (and should be off the streets), or she had one VERY BAD moment that she will pay for for the rest of her life.

I think I’m ok with either.

Diamanda Galás can write a good ol' fashion scathing letter.

Is that bitch on twitter?

[quote] scion of a lucrative cesspool empire

He manages a hedge fund?

The lunatic pled guilty. She’ll get 8 years in prison +5 probationary.