Vocal Teacher Who Taught Blondie’s Debbie Harry Dies After Manhattan Attacker Shoves Her To Ground

On Tuesday, an 87-year-old female singing coach who counted among her students Blondie singer Debbie Harry and the cast of the 2019 Broadway revival of the musical “Oklahoma!” died in a New York hospital five days after being shoved to the pavement during an unprovoked attack in Manhattan.

Barbara Maier Gustern was traveling to watch a student to perform at Joe’s Pub when she was pushed from behind by a 30-ish red-haired woman in front of her building at West 28th Street and Eighth Avenue in Chelsea.

On Tuesday morning, her grandson posted on Gustern’s Facebook page, “Today, at 11:15 AM, we have lost one of the brightest little flames to ever grace this world. ‘I ask that you all give me a little time and space, but I want to make time for anyone and everyone who wants to know more about her final moments. … Bobbob, I love you, you are and always will be my heart.”

“Surveillance footage released Sunday shows the suspect leaving the scene towards Ninth Avenue. She is described as a red-haired woman, likely in her 30s, wearing a black jacket, black leggings, a white skirt and dark colored shoes. She has not been caught,” The Daily Mail noted.

After she was struck and lying on the ground with a gash in her head, Gustern told a friend, “I’ve never been hit so hard in my life.” “Ms. Gustern gave the police a description of her attacker and said that the woman shouted a derogatory term before assaulting her,” The New York Times reported.

While Gustern was in the hospital, Mallory Portnoy, who appeared in the “Oklahoma!” revival and had been coached by Gustern, said, “I don’t know how people come back from something like this at this age, but if anybody could it’s this woman because she is so strong and so full of life and she can overcome, it seems like, truly anything.”

A group called The Hot Sardines posted on Facebook:

I’d say rest in peace, but I can’t imagine my beloved voice teacher, friend and musical co-conspirator Barbara Maier Gustern ever sitting still. At 87, she would coach a dozen singers by day and then dash off to performances nearly every night to support all of us, beaming from the front row. That’s where she was headed when she was randomly attacked outside her Manhattan apartment Thursday night. The last time I saw her — after one of our shows — we hugged goodbye, her 4’10” frame barely reaching my collarbone, and thanked me for being in her life. That’s just who she was.

To lose her is hard enough; to lose her to a random, senseless act of evil is more than I know what to do with. I don’t get it, and I’m so angry. But Barbara didn’t spend much time on anger — as she put it, “Bad things have happened to me, but I’ve had a wonderful life.” Her spirit was a rare light in a dark world.

So grateful for Barbara. Sending light out to all those whose lives she bettered. She did so much good for so many people. The irony is that whoever did this might not have if only she’d had Barbara in her life. Whatever you do today, find the love and the joy in it. She’d want us to keep the party going.

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