48 | OCTOBER 5 • 2023 J
N
L
eo Spellman’s talents as com-
poser and pianist dramatically
survived the Nazis in Poland,
and his skills and stories, recognized
as the Spellman family later lived in
Canada, are being showcased in a
movie, live concert and discussions
scheduled to fill two almost identi-
cal programs.
“The Lost Rhapsody: A World
War II Survival Story and Musical
Legacy” covers Spellman’s life that
lasted close to 100 years and will be
presented Saturday evening, Oct. 14,
in East Lansing and Sunday after-
noon, Oct. 15, in West Bloomfield.
What touched off Spellman’s wid-
ening remembrance was the man’s
determination to leave a legacy for
his descendants. Personal contacts
with musician Paul Hoffert to
accomplish that resulted in a film
recommendation to Hoffert’s film-
making and television-producing
son David.
The film The Rhapsody, made
under the direction of David
Hoffert, used the skills of David’s
own parents prominently in the
mix. Stephen Fry, English actor and
writer, did the narration.
“When we first met Leo, he was
98 years old,” said Brenda Hoffert,
Paul’s wife, an artistic photographer
who was given charge of the anima-
tion used in the film to distinguish
scenes dramatizing war conditions.
“When Leo walked in our house,
he was so amazing — extremely
vigorous, very lively and intelligent.
I immediately thought he was an
incredible subject. We knew noth-
ing about his story at first, but I just
thought that he would be a very
interesting person to know better.”
The couple learned that Paul’s
family had lived in a Polish town
close to a town where Spellman’s
family had lived with some able to
survive and others not. In travel to
Poland as part of the making of the
film, Brenda found the diary kept
by Spellman during the war, and she
went on to enlarge and animate the
pages for the film.
“
After Leo died, his family invited
us to come to his house and find
interesting material we could use,”
ARTS&LIFE
FILM & MUSIC
The Lost
Rhapsody
World premiere celebrates the
life of Leo Spellman.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Leo Spellman
at 98