WATCH: David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch and Many Friends Remember Bingham Ray

Last Friday, friends of Bingham Ray gathered at the Paris Theater in New York for a 2 1/2-hour memorial dedicated to talking about Bingham. (Coverage here and here.) Today, a group in Los Angeles will spend this afternoon doing much the same. And for those who can't be at either event, Indiewire has collected clips from the February 9 memorial service to share with everyone.

Among those who you'll see are Patricia Clarkson and Oliver Platt; Jim Jarmusch, John Turturro, Bill Pullman and David Lynch; and friends and family including Richard Abramowitz, Randy Ostrow and Bingham's daughter, Annabel. They're simple videos that don't much resemble the movies he loved so much, but we hope you'll think they're a fitting tribute.

Not every speaker is represented here; for some, lighting was a problem; others requested that their speeches not be included online. We'll be adding to this collection with audio and text as it's made available.

There's nothing good about losing someone like Bingham Ray. However, when so many people feel so terribly sad, there's pleasure in hearing everyone talk about their memories, what a great person he was and how much he's missed.

For now, this is a good start. 

-- Dana Harris, Indiewire editor in chief

 

Remembering Bingham Ray: Part I
After a brief musical intro performed by Bingham's high school friends, Patricia Clarkson and Oliver Platt speak about loving the man who, as Clarkson said, "was a pain in the ass, but he was the independent film world's Prospero."

Remembering Bingham Ray: Part II
Longtime friends Tim Jensen, John Celeste and Randy Ostrow: Jensen remembers a 50-year friendship that included Bingham' cackling laughter and his early fear of scary movies; Ostrow says to Bingham's family: "He loved film, he loved his friends but he loved you most of all and he was always proudest of you."

 

Remembering Bingham Ray: Part III
Bingham's daughter, Annabel Ray, speaks: "I truly believe that his spirit will forever be with us."

 

Remembering Bingham Ray: Part IV
Jim Jarmusch, John Turturro, Bill Pullman and David Lynch remember their friend Bingham Ray.

 

Remembering Bingham Ray: Part V
Richard Abramowitz, who met Bingham when he interviewed for his first job at United Artists, said: "I think that those of us who knew him well came to recognize an unspoken cosmic twist, a pre-Copernican understanding of the world where the planets didn't orbit the sun; they orbited him, as we did."

Ben Barenholtz contributed a video where he addressed the camera. "After all the bluster and all the complaining and all the screaming, there was a serenity and calmness that he never really exhibited very much to anyone. And Nancy, I know that came from you and his astounding love for you and his children. Let us celebrate a great and wonderful human being. His name was Bingham Ray."

[Videographer/editor: Charles Lyons]