Morton DaCosta (March 7, 1914 – January 26, 1989) was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor.

Career

Born Morton Tecosky in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, DaCosta began his career as an actor in the Broadway production of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

's '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' starring

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

in 1942. A decade later he made his stage directing debut with ''The Grey-Eyed People''. DaCosta had a string of hit Broadway productions in the 1950s: '' Plain and Fancy'', ''

No Time for Sergeants ''No Time for Sergeants'' is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was adapted into a teleplay on '' The United States Steel Hour'', a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronic ...

'', ''

Auntie Mame ''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the Ward (law), ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book i ...

'' and ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

''. Additional Broadway directing credits include '' Sherry!'', '' The Women'', '' Saratoga'', and '' Maggie Flynn''. He also wrote the book for the latter two productions. DaCosta produced and directed the films ''

'' (1958), ''

'' (1962), and '' Island of Love'' (1963).

Awards

The Broadway production of ''The Music Man'' earned DaCosta a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination for Best Director of a Musical. For the film version, he received Best Director nominations from the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...

Awards and the

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

. As the producer of the film version, he also received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nomination for Best Picture. His feature film directorial debut, the film version of ''

'', was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. Both with ''Auntie Mame'' and four years later with ''The Music Man'', DaCosta was not nominated for Best Director despite both films receiving Best Picture nominations. DaCosta, who was always known by his nickname Tec, died of heart failure in

Redding, Connecticut Redding is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Regi ...

References

External links

* *
Morton DaCosta papers, 1929–1978
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacosta, Morton American theatre directors American musical theatre librettists American male stage actors Film directors from Pennsylvania Film producers from Pennsylvania Male actors from Philadelphia 1914 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers