Richard Barr

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Richard Barr (6 September 1917 – 9 January 1989) was an award-winning American theater director and producer. He served as the president of the League of American Theatres and Producers from 1967 until his death.

Biography

Richard Barr was born on 6 September 1917 in Washington, D.C. under the name Richard Baer to parents David Alphonse Baer and Ruth Nanette Israel.[1] In 1938, he graduated from Princeton University, where he had acted in various plays.[2] From 1941 through 1945, Barr served as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force in World War II. He died of AIDS-related liver failure at Mount Sinai Hospital on 9 January 1989, aged 71.

Career

Richard Barr began his theatrical career as an actor in the company of Orson Welles at the Mercury Theatre. His first professional appearance came there in a production of Danton's Death in 1938.[1] Later that year, he took part in the infamous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds.[2] Other than a brief stint of variety theatre at the Provincetown Playhouse in 1940,[3] Barr remained with the company until he left for the war in 1941.[1] After the war, Barr became an accomplished director and producer. In 1961, he won his first drama desk award.[4] His 1962 original Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? earned him two Tony Awards: Best Play and Best Producer (dramatic).[5] His 1979 original Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street earned him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical[6] and the Tony Award for Best Musical.[7] In 1967 Barr was elected president of what was then known as the League of American Theatres and Producers, an office he would hold until his death in 1989.[1] As president he shifted Broadway's curtain times from 8:30 PM to 7:30 PM in an effort to bring in more businessmen during the weeknights. The experiment was considered a success, though curtain times were later shifted to 8:00 PM, where they have remained to this day.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ian Herbert, ed. (1981). "BARR, Richard". Who's Who in the Theatre 1. Gale Research Company. p. 44–45. ISSN 0083-9833. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rothstein, Mervyn (10 January 1989). "Richard Barr, 71, Stage Producer And Theater League Head, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2010. 
  3. ↑ Richard Barr at the Internet Broadway Database
  4. ↑ "1960-1961 7th Drama Desk Awards". Drama Desk. 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2010. 
  5. ↑ "1963 Tony Award Winners". BroadwayWorld.com. 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010. 
  6. ↑ "1978-1979 25th Drama Desk Awards". Drama Desk. 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2010. 
  7. ↑ "19679 Tony Award Winners". BroadwayWorld.com. 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010. 
Authority control

External links

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