Nathaniel Ayers Biography
Nathaniel Ayers is an American musician. He was born as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr. Ayers is subject of numerous newspaper columns, a book, and a 2009 film adaptation based on the columns. He also has a foundation bearing his name. It was started in 2008 with an aim to support artistically gifted people with mental illness. Ayers began playing the double bass during middle school.
Nathaniel Ayers Age
Ayers was born on 31 January 1951. He is 68 years old.
Nathaniel Ayers Family
His mother died in 2000. Ayers decided to move to Los Angeles in search of his father. He ended up living on the streets of Skid Row. Ayers could often be found playing the violin or double bass because he loved the music. Ayers has a sister named Jennifer Ayers-Moore.
Nathaniel Ayers Education | Breakdown | Diagnosis
Ayers began playing the double bass during middle school. He attended the Juilliard School in New York as a double bassist. He later suffered a mental breakdown during his second 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. While there he received electroconvulsive therapy for his illness to no avail. After his mother’s death in 2000, he moved to Los Angeles. He thought that his father lived there. Ayers lived and played music on the streets. Homeless and suffering from the debilitating symptoms of schizophrenia.
The Soloist
During a chance meeting in Pershing Square, Ayers met Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez. He learned about the highs and lows in Ayers’ life while forming an unlikely friendship. Lopez chronicled Ayers’ struggle in numerous columns. He wrote for the Times that soon enough inspired his readers to send the musician instruments.
The journalist decided to publish a book about Ayers called The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music. The book, a New York Times bestseller, was adapted into the 2009 movie. The Soloist starring Jamie Foxx as Ayers and Robert Downey Jr as Lopez.
Ayers was thrust into the spotlight and accompanied on several trips by his sister who was his conservator at the time. She also created the Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation (NAAF) to raise public awareness about mental health and help families who are seeking support for a loved one suffering from mental illness.
Nathaniel Ayers Sister
Movie | Jamie Foxx | Steve Lopez
The Soloist is a 2009 British-American drama film directed by Joe Wright, and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. It is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who developed schizophrenia and became homeless. The screenplay by Susannah Grant is based on the book, The Soloist by Steve Lopez.
Nathaniel Ayers Foundation
Ayers’s sister, Jennifer Ayers-Moore, is the chairwoman and founder of the Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation. The foundation, launched in 2008. It 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 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 makes 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 provide for grants to worthy nonprofit organizations that embody the mission of the foundation.
Nathaniel Ayers Book
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.
Nathaniel Ayers Musician | Cello
Ayers, Jr. is an American musician. He is the subject of numerous newspaper columns, a book, and a 2009 film adaptation based on the columns. He can play Instruments such as Double bass, Violin, Cello, Drums, Piano.
Nathaniel Ayers White House
Ten years after Hollywood made a movie about him, the life of tormented Juilliard music prodigy Ayers. Suddenly Ayers was a household name and was even invited to the White House where he met then-President Barack Obama.
Nathaniel Ayers 2019
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