Disease
Misdiagnosed Amyloidosis - Passing of Renowned Artist Highlights Dangers
By
Dec 23, 2009 - 12:22:33 PM

Talivaldis Stubis was top designer for Broadway, movies, award-winning children’s books

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Talivaldis Stubis, the prolific graphic designer and illustrator whose works reached millions through some of the best-known Broadway posters, movie posters, and children’s books over the last 50 years, passed away peacefully after a long but painless battle with amyloidosis, a rare condition that is especially dangerous because it is so often misdiagnosed or overlooked, leading to critical delays in treatment. He was 83. Stubis sought help from Dr. Raymond Comenzo, an amyloidosis specialist now working at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, but the condition was already advanced.

Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which one or more organ systems in the body accumulate deposits of abnormal proteins. There are three major types of amyloidosis: primary amyloidosis, a plasma cell disorder that originates in the bone marrow; secondary amyloidosis, which is caused by a chronic infection or inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, familial Mediterranean fever, osteomyelitis, or granulomatous ileitis; and familial amyloidosis, a rare hereditary form of the disease.

“One type of amyloidosis can be misdiagnosed for another,” said Dr. Comenzo. “Every year in the USA there are over 3,000 new cases of the type Mr. Stubis had (AL or light-chain amyloidosis). Early and correct diagnosis is an important aspect of effective therapy. Fortunately for patients with all types of amyloidosis, treatments are improving and patients can live longer if diagnosed promptly.”

Other famous people who have been affected by amyloidosis include former Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey, Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Guthman, and Australian Prime Minister David Lange.

Perhaps the artist’s most memorable image was for the Broadway musical, “Funny Girl,” an upside-down girl on roller skates whose body spells out the title, but he worked on literally hundreds of other now-iconic posters for stage and screen. His Broadway works included Eugene Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros,” “Camelot,” “The Most Happy Fella,” “Anyone Can Whistle,” “Night of the Iguana,” and “Flower Drum Song.” From 1963 to 1980 Stubis was senior art director for a boutique agency working on many of the best-known movie poster campaigns of the 20th century, including Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” and “Barry Lyndon,” “Deliverance,” The Sting, and The Exorcist. Later he worked on many of the most popular film campaigns for Paramount Pictures, including “Airplane!” “Elephant Man,” “Reds,” “Ordinary People,” “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Witness,” “Star Trek,” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Stubis also illustrated nearly two dozen books over his long career, working with such illustrious authors as Otto Friedrich on “Sir Alva and the Wicked Wizard,” poet and editor Lillian Moore on “Sam’s Place,” and husband-and-wife team Rose Wyler and Gerald Ames, who turned out dozens of books in the 1950s, 60s and 70s such as “Prove it!” to excite children’s interest in science. His books won numerous awards and in 1962 “A Pocketful of Seasons” was named one of the New York Times’ “100 Best Books of the Year.” His books were translated and sold in foreign countries around the world. The Japanese were particularly fond of his work, which combined an elegance of line with a childlike simplicity. Of the dozens of books he illustrated, Stubis’ favorite was “Don’t Tell the Scarecrow,” a book of haikus by the great classical Japanese masters, which Stubis complemented with gauzy, impressionistic watercolors.

In 1954 Stubis married dancer Patricia Ann Thomas, who survives him. She is an accomplished cook and together they collaborated on a cookbook for children, “Sandwichery.” They have two children, Mark, a pianist and nonprofit executive, and Melissa, an editor, as well as three grandchildren, Keaton, Halley and Cameron.

To learn more about amyloidosis, go to:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000533.htm or
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec25/ch304/ch304a.html or
http://www.amyloidosis.org/whatisit.asp

Those interested in supporting amyloidosis research may make donations to:

R.L. Comenzo, M.D.
Amyloidosis and Myeloma Research & Support Fund
Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington Street
Box 826
Boston, MA 02111
617-636-6456

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