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Ronald Cavalier, formerly of East Haven, died of natural causes in Marietta, Georgia on April 28. Cavalier was born in Brooklyn, New York on May 10, 1933, to Alfred and Mae Cavalier.

He studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan before being drafted into the Army. Posted in Germany, he was a radio broadcaster for the Armed Forces Radio Network with co-host Nick Clooney. After the war, he settled in Norwalk with his wife Cecelia Mary Mack (predeceased) and began his sixty-year career as a master of the trade foundryman.

He is credited with being the first to use the ceramic shell lost wax process to cast artwork in bronze. Across his career, Cavalier cast and restored works of art for some of the world’s most renowned artists, including Calder, Giacometti, Remington, and Rodin, as well as contemporary and local artists. He restored the Hirshorn Sculpture Collection before it left Greenwich for Washington, D.C, and provided services to many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian. He was also the official conservator for the Rushmore Borglum Foundation.

In addition to foundry life, Cavalier loved acting and singing. He performed in various local venues, including the Polka Dot Playhouse, Darien Dinner Theater, and Westport Community Theater, and was a member of the Neighborhood Music School Cabaret Workshop. His most current acting work was portraying various saints and popes for the Eternal World Television Network. He was also a documentary filmmaker; his company produced two films about art collector Joseph Hirshorn: The Collection that Became a Museum and the award-winning Life of Joseph Hirshorn.

A self-made renaissance man and passionate entrepreneur, Cavalier owned a dairy farm and planted and managed a vineyard at his lakeside home in Benson, Vermont, where he made wine. A die-hard New York Yankee fan, he never missed a game on TV, and was also a devoted Patriots fan. He loved boating, fishing, and dogs.

He is survived by his five children, Michele McMahon, Cathy Cavalier, and Chris Cavalier of Georgia, Ronald (Debranne) Cavalier, Jr., and Jane (Scott) Lucas of Weston; six grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; and loving dogs Maggie and Buster.

If you would like to share condolences with the family, please contact Jane Lucas, jane@brightmarkconsulting.com.