Michael "Max" Cantor (May 15, 1959 – October 3, 1991) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

in films such as ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Housema ...

'' (1987) and ''

Fear, Anxiety & Depression ''Fear, Anxiety and Depression'' is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by Todd Solondz and starring Solondz, Stanley Tucci and Jill Wisoff. Production The film was Solondz's first for a major studio, after his work in film school h ...

'' (1989).

Biography

Cantor's father was the theatrical producer

Arthur Cantor Arthur Cantor (March 12, 1920 – April 8, 2001) was an accomplished American theatrical producer who contributed to the presentation of over 100 productions that were displayed on stages across the globe, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, London ...

. He grew up in the

Dakota Apartments The Dakota, also known as the Dakota Apartments, is a cooperative apartment building at 1 West 72nd Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The Dakota was constructed between 1880 and 1884 in the Renaiss ...

West 72nd Street 72nd Street is one of the major bi-directional crosstown streets in New York City's borough of Manhattan. The street primarily runs through the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods. It is one of the few streets to go through Cen ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Cantor attended Collegiate School but graduated from Buxton School in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropoli ...

. He spent his summers until age 14 at Camp Hillcroft in

Billings, New York LaGrange ( ) is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 15,975 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the estate of the Marquis de Lafayette. History The town was originally established in 1821 as "Freedo ...

, alongside fellow campers such as the children of

American Federation of Teachers The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher's labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and Margaret Haley were founders. About 60 p ...

president

Albert Shanker Albert Shanker (September 14, 1928 – February 22, 1997) was president of the United Federation of Teachers from 1964 to 1985 and president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) from 1974 to 1997. Early life Shanker was born on Manhatta ...

and actor

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

. At camp, he won top roles in ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character was the book '' Wi ...

'' and ''

The Velveteen Rabbit ''The Velveteen Rabbit'' (or ''How Toys Become Real'') is a British children's book written by Margery Williams (also known as Margery Williams Bianco) and illustrated by William Nicholson. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit's desire ...

''. Cantor was a 1982 graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he lived in Adams House and starred in several productions by student director

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

Career

Cantor wrote for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' about

ibogaine Ibogaine is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance found in plants in the family Apocynaceae such as '' Tabernanthe iboga'', '' Voacanga africana'', and '' Tabernaemontana undulata''. It is a psychedelic with dissociative properties. Pr ...

as a cure for heroin addiction, and had taken an interest in the cult surrounding East Village

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

/murderer Daniel Rakowitz.

Death

He died from a heroin overdose at the age of 32. At the time he died, he was conducting research and writing a book about Rakowitz and the murder of dancer Monika Beerle.

Filmography

References

Bibliography

"The Strange Sad Death of Max Cantor", Sarah Ferguson, 'Esquire' February 1992, pp. 45 - 49.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantor, Max 1959 births 1991 deaths Harvard University alumni American male film actors Deaths by heroin overdose in New York (state) Male actors from New York City Ibogaine activists American psychedelic drug advocates 20th-century American male actors People from the Upper West Side Drug-related deaths in New York City Buxton School (Massachusetts) alumni Collegiate School (New York) alumni