Arlene Alda facts for kids

Arlene Alda (born March 12, 1933) is an American photographer and writer. She first played the clarinet professionally. Later, she became well-known for her photography and for writing books for children. Arlene Alda is married to the famous actor Alan Alda.

Early Life and Career

Becoming a Musician

Arlene Alda was born Arlene Weiss in the Bronx, New York City. She went to Evander Childs High School and then to Hunter College. She graduated in 1954 with a degree in music. She was a very good student, earning high honors.

She joined the National Orchestra, which is a training orchestra. She studied the clarinet with great teachers. Arlene then became a member of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. She played assistant first clarinet and bass clarinet. She performed under the famous conductor Leopold Stokowski.

Switching to Photography

While playing music, Arlene also started learning about photography. She studied with Mort Shapiro and Lou Bernstein. She loved it so much that she decided to change her career. She became a photographer and a writer.

As a photographer, Arlene Alda had many special shows where her pictures were displayed. Her photos have appeared in popular magazines like The Saturday Evening Post, Vogue, People Magazine, and Life Magazine. She even won an award for her photo story called "Allison's Tonsillectomy."

Books by Arlene Alda

Children's Books

Arlene Alda has written 15 books for children. One of her most popular books is Sheep, Sheep Sheep, Help Me Fall Asleep, published in 1992. Another book, Arlene Alda's 1,2,3 (1998), won an award from the American Library.

Some of her other children's books include The Book of ZZZs (2005) and Did You Say Pears? (2006). She also wrote Except the Color Grey (2011) and Hurry Granny Annie (1999). For many of her books, Arlene Alda used her own photographs as illustrations.

Other Books

Arlene Alda's photographs are also featured in photo collections like Women of Vision. She wrote a book called On Set in 1981, which included over one hundred of her pictures. She also co-wrote The Last Days of Mash (1983) with her husband, Alan Alda. This book also featured her photos.

Her most recent book is Just Kids from the Bronx, published in 2015. In this book, she interviewed 64 people who grew up in the Bronx. These interviews share stories from famous people like Al Pacino, Regis Philbin, Colin Powell, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Family Life

Arlene Alda is married to the well-known actor Alan Alda. They got married on March 15, 1957. They have three daughters named Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice. They also have eight grandchildren.

Awards and Recognition

In 2015, Arlene Alda was honored by The New Jewish Home at their Eight Over Eighty Gala. This event celebrates people over 80 who have made important contributions.