Nathaniel Ayers

Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr. (born January 31, 1951) is an American musician. He is the subject of numerous newspaper columns, a book, and a 2009 film adaptation based on the columns. A foundation bearing his name was started in 2008 with an aim to support artistically gifted people with mental illness.^[1]

School and breakdown

Ayers began playing the double bass^[2] during middle school. He attended the Juilliard School in New York as a double bassist, but suffered a mental breakdown during his third year and was institutionalized. Ayers was one of the few black students at Juilliard at that time.

For some years he lived with his mother in Cleveland, Ohio, where he received electroconvulsive therapy for his illness to no avail. After his mother's death in 2000, he moved to Los Angeles, thinking that his father lived there. Homeless and schizophrenic, Ayers lived on the streets of Los Angeles and enjoyed playing his music for himself for the simple fact of improvement.

The Soloist

Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez met Ayers at Pershing Square in 2005, and discovered his background at Juilliard. Lopez wrote several columns about his relationship with Ayers, and Nathaniel's slow transition out of homelessness. Lopez's subsequent book, The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music, was based on his relationship with Ayers.

The book has been adapted into a film and a play titled The Soloist, released April 24, 2009 with Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. in the lead roles. In the film, Ayers is depicted as a cellist, rather than a bassist.^[3]

Ayers and Lopez's relationship was also nationally highlighted in the March 22, 2009 episode of 60 Minutes on CBS.

The Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation

His sister, Jennifer Ayers-Moore, is the Chairwoman and Founder of the Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation.^[4]

The Foundation, launched in 2008, began with Jennifer’s desire to help what she and Nathaniel hope will be thousands of people. An endowment will be set up to continue their ability to keep the public awareness about mental health at the forefront of the nation's consciousness. The NAAF will facilitate the appreciation of the contributions that artistic expression make to the advancement of wellness and treatment, collaborate with mental health and arts organizations to identify and exhibit the work of the artistically gifted, and to provide for grants to worthy nonprofit organizations that embody the mission of the foundation.

References

1. ^ "Schizophrenic Musician Inspires Film, Foundation" – NPR
2. ^ Lewis, Zacahary. "Nathaniel Ayers' Cleveland-area teacher remembers a gifted student - Cleveland.com". cleveland.com. http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-2/1240043636305000.xml&coll=2. Retrieved March 31, 2010. 
3. ^ http://www.cleveland.com/artsandevents/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1207481402124680.xml&coll=2^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "The Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation". http://www.naayers.org/. Retrieved April 20, 2009. 

External links

• 60 Minutes interview the 'real' Steve Lopez and Nataniel Ayers

Persondata
Name	Ayers, Nathaniel
Alternative names
Short description	American musician
Date of birth	January 31, 1951
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death