Cy Feuer

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Cy Feuer (January 15, 1911 – May 17, 2006) was an American producer, director, composer, and musician.

Born Seymour Arnold Feuer in Brooklyn, New York, he studied at the Juilliard School before joining the orchestras at Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy Theater as a trumpeter. In 1938, he headed to Hollywood, where he found employment at Republic Pictures, serving as musical director and/or composer of more than 125 mostly B-movies for the next decade, save for a three-year interruption to serve in the military during World War II. He received five Academy Award nominations for his film scores.

In 1947 Feuer returned to New York. He teamed up with Ernest H. Martin, and together they produced the 1949 Frank Loesser adaption of Charley's Aunt entitled Where's Charley? Over the next several decades, Feuer & Martin mounted some of the most notable titles in the Broadway musical canon including Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, both of which won the Tony Award as Best Musical. As of 2006, How to Succeed... is one of only seven musicals to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Feuer was also a stage director. Among his Broadway directing credits were Little Me and the ill-fated I Remember Mama.

Feuer & Martin's greatest career success was the 1972 film version of Cabaret, which won eight Academy Awards and earned them a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. They were also responsible for the 1985 screen adaptation of A Chorus Line, which proved to be one of their biggest flops.

His memoir, I Got The Show Right Here: The Amazing, True Story of How an Obscure Brooklyn Horn Player Became the Last Great Broadway Showman (ISBN 0743236114), written with Ken Gross, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2003.

Feuer served as president, and later chairman, of the League of American Theatres and Producers from 1989 to 2003. He died of bladder cancer in New York City.

Cy and Ernie produced many shows in Philadelphia. Guys and Dolls was one of them. In October 1950, they were booked for four weeks at the Shubert Theatre. This out of town tryout was so that they could fix the things that were wrong with the show. They adjusted and fixed many things. When they went to New York, they decided to make the story about Nathan and Adelaide. Cy says “The explanation for this one is simple. New York City is Jewish; Philadelphia is mainline gentile”. Right before opening night, Cy announced to the whole cast that “Traveling Light” would not be performed, and then he ran out of the theatre.

The show was a great success and won many awards. Not long after, they started a touring company and eventually had a movie made. This show is still popular today and is considered a Musical Theatre classic. It has been revived 3 times on Broadway, and it is still being performed in many schools and theatre around the world. Unfortunately, Cy Feuer died this past year on May 17th 2006. He played a great part in the history of Broadway and will be missed.

[edit] Selected Broadway credits

The Act (1977)
Walking Happy (1966)
Skyscraper (1965)
Hamlet (1964)
Little Me (1962)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961)
Silk Stockings (1955)
The Boy Friend (1954)
Can-Can (1953)
Guys and Dolls (1950)

[edit] Awards and nominations

2003 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement
1967 Tony Award for Best Musical (Walking Happy, nominee)
1966 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Skyscraper, nominee)
1966 Tony Award for Best Musical (Skyscraper, nominee)
1963 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Little Me, nominee)
1963 Tony Award for Best Musical (Little Me, nominee)
1963 Tony Award for Best Producer of a Musical (Little Me, nominee)
1962 Tony Award for Best Musical (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, (winner)
1962 Tony Award for Best Producer of a Musical (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, winner)
1951 Tony Award for Best Musical (Guys and Dolls, winner)