Younger brother Gregg & Paul JeffreyPaul Jeffrey Sharits was born in Denver, Colorado on February 7, 1943. His parents were Paul Edward Sharits and Florence May Romeo-Sharits. He had only one sibling; Gregg Leigh Sharits born on April 24, 1945 (The same day as my son Jeffrey).
He grew up in a nice south Denver neighborhood next door to his grandma and grandpa Romeo. While he was going to South High School he won first place with his oil painting, "WarHorses" (seen on the Sharits Gallery page).
As a young teenager, he frequented a dance hall in southwest Denver off of Lincoln Blvd. It is there that he met my mother and her sisters.
He graduated from High School in 1960 at the age of 17. He also married my mother, Frances Trujillo, that July. Florence May was...well, not happy. Paul was too young to marry, so he got a note from Paul Edward. Thus, began a very tense relationship between mother-in-law and daughter in law.
Paul went to The University of Denver's School of Art where he earned a BFA in Painting. He was primarily a painter, but he discovered 16mm films and his mentor Stan Brakhage. He made his first popular Wintercourse in 1962.
In 1964, he went to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana for his MFA in visual design. On March 19,1965 my mother gave birth to me, Christopher Sharits. On August 3, 1965, my grandmother, Florence May Romeo-Sharits, died prematurely.
After he received his MFA, we moved to Baltimore, Maryland. He went to work teaching at The Maryland Art Institute. At one point he orchestrated a magnificent art show featuring his students. He also called the police to report a rape in a bar by Paul Sharits. When they arrived, everyone in the bar said they were Paul Sharits. Those that knew him at any point of his life, knows how out of control he could get, particularly, when he drank.
Three years later, we moved to Antioch, Ohio where he was instrumental in establishing that college's Media Studies department. He also started womanizing, so my mom went back to her home in Denver, Colorado. They finalized their divorce two years later.
Dr. Gerry O'Grady at The University of Buffalo Center for Media Studies recruited experimental filmmakers from around the country. There was my father, James Blue, Hollis Framton, Tony Bannon, and Tony Conrad. The rat pack.
Throughout the 70's Paul continued to make films and paintings. Most reflected back to his film work. In 1979-80, Paul spent a year in Positano, Italy. I was lucky enough to spend February-April 1980 with him. During this year he produced a massive amount of acrylic line paintings usually titled "Posilo Series."
On September 6, 1980, his brother Gregg, also a filmmaker and illustrator, died prematurely in Berkeley, California. Paul was very close to his brother and regularly sent him support money.
Paul continued to teach, paint, and work on video pieces throughout the 80's. The 90's he became a little harder for my wife and I to deal with. It seemed that he was more depressed and more into self-medication. In late '92, he had a misunderstanding with the dean of his school over a "resignation letter" he quickly revoked. He was fired. When he called after that he was growing more and more frustrated. I was living in San Fransico. I didn't know how to help. On July 8, 1993, he died prematurely.
Paul was survived by myself, Christopher Sharits, his father, Paul E. Sharits and the rest of my family; my wife, Cheri, our two sons (now three), Gregory Paul, Jeffrey Patrick, and Robert Christopher. Paul E. Sharits passed away of a heart attack in his home on February 26, 2004. Paul Edward was 87 and almost made 88.
Why so much pain and anguish in one family? Bipolar disorder. It runs in the family. There is a lot of misconceptions about bi-polar disorder. For one, many people don't realize some of our most cherished, talented, high functioning achievers were and are bi-polar. If you wish to learn the truth about the Sharits family and others struggle with bi-polar disorder, select the "About Bipolar disorder" from the links below.
Richard Huntington, an Art Critic for the Buffalo News had a unique love/hate relationship with Paul. One time I can remember my dad cussing him out (joyfully to me when he was drunk in S.F.) for a bad review. Who knows who was right. Nonetheless, I was honored that Richard asked to write his obit. Here is how it started:
PAUL SHARITS was not one to silently tiptoe through life and art. He was driven, he wrote in one of his many notations, by "inescapable anxiety." He guessed that anxiety was what kept him working, kept him leaping from one creative project to another.
-Buffalo News July 18, 1993 Richard HuntingtonBiography/filmography
Obituaries
About Bipolar disorder
Family TreeAbout Christopher Sharits & family
Christopher's memories of PaulOther memories about Paul
Various Letters
Christopher's stories
Friend's stories
Letters/post cards
