Retired prof Consolo recalled as top teacher, trumpeter

GRANVILLE – An effective and popular teacher, a topnotch jazz trumpeter and the inspiration for a major Hollywood movie, Dominick Consolo, Emeritus Professor of English at Denison University, passed away on Aug. 28 at the age of 93.

Consolo’s classes at Denison were always wait-listed and cited by students as “the best class at Denison.”

Consolo joined the Denison faculty in 1958. He taught British and American Literature until his retirement in 1992 and continued to teach part-time for several years there-after.

“He had an infectious enthusiasm for literature, but also just for teaching — the process, the engagement with students,” said Fred Porcheddu, associate professor of English at Denison. Porcheddu knew Consolo both as a student in the 1980s and as a colleague.

“He wasn’t threatening. He didn’t have really terrifically high standards but he was inspiring and friendly and joyful,” Porcheddu said. “That’s the word — joyful, in a way that’s really, really rare.”

“I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be him,” continued Porcheddu. “He transformed me in many ways.”

Another of Consolo’s students was former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who graduated from Denison in 1964. Eisner thought so highly of his former teacher that he established a Denison professorship in Consolo’s name.

More famously, however, Eisner thought of Consolo as the inspiration for the lead character in the 1989 major motion picture “Dead Poets Society.” It tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry. Robin Williams played the Consolo character in the movie.

Eisner visited the Denison campus several years ago and spoke to an auditorium full of people.

“I remember this man in class with a trumpet, doing these insane things,” Eisner said pointing to Consolo in the crowd. “Who would ever remember Melville but for a trumpet? But I remember the scene. I even remember the book.”

Consolo said at the time he well remembered Eisner, too.

“Looking back on Michael’s classroom performances in all four years he was here, he was always one who was curious about ‘What if? What if? What if?’ ” Consolo said.

“He was an actor–professor,” Eisner said of Consolo in a separate interview with Hal Holbrook, also a Denison graduate. The full interview is available on YouTube.

“A script came to me called “Dead Poets Society” and the reason I liked it was because at Denison he was the character,” Eisner said, referring to Consolo.

Originally, Eisner said Dustin Hoffman wanted to play the part but Hoffman also wanted to direct the movie, which made Eisner balk. Then Robin Williams wanted to play the part, “and he really nailed it,” Eisner said.

More than an entertaining teacher, Consolo was known for his twin passions, literature and jazz. He was a serious scholar who was awarded a Fulbright Lectureship at Tel Aviv University and a Mellon grant, among other honors.

Consolo was equally passionate about jazz. He was an accomplished trumpeter who played with, among others, local bandleader and former Denison faculty member Rick Brunetto.

“He played with the Denison Jazz Ensemble for many years and then he played with my professional band for about a year,” Brunetto said. “With the jazz ensemble he was always such a wonderful influence. The kids just loved him. He was like a father figure for the band and he was always so enthusiastic. He was a wonderful talent, just a wonderful man, a wonderful musician and a joy to work with.”

A self-taught musician and second-generation American, Consolo claimed it was his talent with the trumpet that got him into college. He played in the U.S. Army and with Miami University and the Johnny Long Orchestra, which helped him pay for his degrees from Miami (B.A. and M.A.) and the University of Iowa (Ph.D.).

“When he played that trumpet it was marvelous,” said Tony Lisska, professor of philosophy at Denison since 1969. “He was a good man, a wonderful person.”

Consolo is survived by his wife Susan Richardson and daughters Kitty Consolo and Nancy Consolo.

A memorial celebration will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, in Swasey Chapel on the Denison campus.