Arlene Alda

Arlene Alda ( Weiss; born March 12, 1933) is an American photographer and writer. She began her career playing clarinet professionally, then moved on to photography and writing children's books. She is married to actor Alan Alda.

Early life Alda was born Arlene Weiss in the Bronx, New York City to Jewish parents. She became a member of the National Orchestra, a training orchestra, conducted by Leon Barzin. She studied clarinet with Abraham Goldstein and Leon Russianoff, becoming a member of the Houston Symphony Orchestra, playing assistant first clarinet and bass clarinet under the baton of Leopold Stokowski.

She is also represented in photo anthologies, Women of Vision, and Soho Gallery 2. Alda is the author of On Set (Fireside/Simon and Schuster 1981) illustrated with over one hundred of her photographs and The Last Days of Mash (Unicorn, 1983) with photos by Alda and co-written with her husband, Alan Alda. Her most recent book, Just Kids from the Bronx (Henry Holt and Co. March 2015.) an Oral History of 64 interviews with prominent Bronxites. The story tellers include Al Pacino, Regis Philbin, Colin Powell, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Mary Higgins Clark, Avery Corman, Chazz Palminteri, TATS CRU Graffiti Artists, Grandmaster Melle Mel, and the others, from age 93 to age 23.

Personal life Arlene is married to actor Alan Alda. She met Alda at a dinner party held by mutual friends in 1956, while they were both attending separate colleges. They wed on March 15, 1957, and they have three daughters, Eve (b. 1958), Elizabeth (b. 1960), and Beatrice (b. 1961), as well as eight grandchildren.

Awards and honors Alda was honored as The New Jewish Home's Eight Over Eighty Gala 2015 honoree.