Drama School Chief Hurt by Bike, in Hospital

By Henri E. Cauvin
New York Daily News, May 29, 1998

The 64-year-old director of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts was clinging to life last night after she was struck by a bicycle messenger steps from the acting school's Madison Ave. headquarters.

Harrietta Peterka had just left the academy and was in the street between 30th and 31st Sts. when she was struck by a messenger headed north on Madison, police said.

Peterka suffered massive head trauma and was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was in critical condition last night, the hospital said.

The academy, founded in 1884, has instructed some of the finest performers of the last century, including Edward G. Robinson and Spencer Tracy to Kirk Douglas and Robert Redford.

Herself a graduate, Peterka returned to the school as a staffer two decades ago.

"I think she just had a passion for the theater, and she loved conveying that to the students," said George Cuttingham, a member of the academy's board and until several months ago, its president.

For the 250 or so students enrolled in the conservatory's three-year program, Peterka proved a powerful figure.

"She was like their mother, adviser and best friend all in one," Cuttingham said.

News of the late-morning accident swept through the school quickly, and classes for the rest of the day and for today were canceled.

The messenger, Suna Holland, 35, of 171 S. Fourth St., Brooklyn, was not immediately charged with any wrongdoing in hitting Peterka. However, Holland was charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest after she refused to answer investigators' questions about the incident, police said.

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