VALLONIA, IN — Nicholas “Space” Luysterborghs, a freelance master carpenter and stage crew supervisor, died July 13, 2016 at his home in Vallonia, IN after a heart attack. A native of New Haven, CT who worked on a freelance basis and spent many years on the road, Luysterborghs took meticulous care of the stages and sets used by top artists including Prince, Madonna, John Mellencamp and Aerosmith, among many others. He was 71.
“Space” was remembered for his intelligence, humor and as “a wonderful guy” and an “industry legend” by his friends, including Suzanne Cordes, a ground rigger who first met Luysterborghs while touring with Duran Duran in 1986, and Steve Lemon, a freelance live event producer based in the Los Angeles area.
“Space was known best for his ability to immaculately dress a stage every single day,” noted Lemon, in a lengthy tribute posted on Facebook that also took humorous note of how his passion for food could eclipse other carnal desires. Lemon also recalled Luysterborghs’ hunger for nothing less than perfection when it came to his artists’ performance spaces.
“His flooring looked like glass, the soft goods perfectly rigged and tied, any tape his crew put down had precision-cut corners, and he influenced his road crews to take pride in their work,” Lemon noted. Although his crews might have had to work harder than ever before, when “they stepped back and looked at what they had achieved under his direction, they knew they were in the presence of greatness, and he had made them better.”
