Richard David Barr (September 6, 1917 – January 9, 1989) was an American theater director and producer. He served as the president of the

League of American Theatres and Producers The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include theat ...

from 1967 until his death.

Biography

Richard David Barr was born Richard Alphonse BaerCrespy, David Allison, and Edward Albee. ''Richard Barr: The Playwright's Producer''. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2013. on September 6, 1917, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to parents David Alphonse Baer and Ruth Nanette Israel Baer. In 1938, he graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

, where he had acted in various plays. From 1941 through 1945, Barr served as a Second Lieutenant in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

era. While in the Army Air Forces, he was stationed in California and worked in the

First Motion Picture Unit The 18th AAF Base Unit (Motion Picture Unit), originally known as the First Motion Picture Unit, Army Air Forces, was the primary film production unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces (AAF) during World War II, and was the first military unit mad ...

. He died of AIDS-related liver failure at Mount Sinai Hospital on January 9, 1989, aged 71.

Career

Richard Barr began his theatrical career as an actor in the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury als ...

, the independent repertory theatre company of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. He made his first professional appearance in the Mercury production of ''

Danton's Death ''Danton's Death'' (''Dantons Tod'') was the first play written by Georg Büchner, set during the French Revolution. History Georg Büchner wrote his works in the period between Romanticism and Realism in the so-called Vormärz era in German hi ...

'' in 1938. Later that year, he took part in the infamous radio broadcast of "

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

". Barr remained with the Mercury company until he left for the war in 1941. He was the associate producer of '' Citizen Kane''. Barr changed his name from Baer after the war, to avoid confusion with another Richard Baer. Coincidentally, the two had served together in the same Air Force unit, and then were both employed by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in Hollywood. Barr took his father's first name as his middle name. Barr became an accomplished director and producer. In 1961, he won his first Drama Desk Award. His 1962 original Broadway production of ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' earned him two

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

: Best Play and Best Producer (dramatic). His 1979 original Broadway production of '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' earned him the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 200 ...

and the

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...

. In 1967 Barr was elected president of what was then known as the

, an office he would hold until his death in 1989. As president he shifted Broadway's curtain times from 8:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 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 p.m, where they have remained to this day.

Notes

External links

*
Richard Barr-Clinton Wilder papers, 1935-1982
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, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Richard 1917 births 1989 deaths Princeton University alumni AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army Air Forces officers