David Beaird
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David Hardin Beaird (August 19, 1952 – February 6, 2019) was an American film and stage director, screenwriter, and playwright. He was born in
Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...
.


Career

In 1973, he was recipient of the
Joseph Jefferson Award The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater st ...
for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the play '' The Hot l Baltimore'' at the Ivanhoe Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. In 1974 he founded the Wisdom Bridge Theatre which flourished after Robert Falls took the director's post in 1977. The theatre's name was inspired by a painting whose subtitle read: "The bridge to wisdom is the continual asking of questions." Beaird's first feature film '' Octavia'' (1982) was about a blind woman who is raped by a motorcycle gang. His next film '' The Party Animal'', a comedy, was released in 1984. In 1986, he came to wider prominence with the comedy '' My Chauffeur'' starring Deborah Foreman. In 1987, he shot the comedy '' Pass the Ammo'' and '' It Takes Two'' a year later. Beaird founded the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, California, and he staged a successful play titled ''Scorchers'', a play he had written about a Cajun wedding night in the bayou. The play ran for at least two years and won several awards. In 1991, he adapted the play into the movie '' Scorchers'', with
Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...
, James Earl Jones, Emily Lloyd,
Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...
, and Leland Crooke in the leading roles. In 1992, Beaird created the 13-part television series ''
Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...
'' in which an Ohio factory worker played by Fisher Stevens wins the lottery and goes to live the writer's life in Florida, with Hemingway as his inspiration. In 1994, Beaird brought ''900 Oneonta'', a black comedy about a dysfunctional family, to the stage. It had its premiere at the
Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a nonprofit theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London."About the Lyric" > "History" ''Lyric'' official website. Retrieved January 2024. Background The Lyric Theatre ...
in London. It later was staged in the
Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
and then at the
West End Theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...
. The play was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. It was the last play at the Circle Repertory Theatre in New York City before it was closed in 1996.''Thomas S. Hischak, Gerald Martin Bordman: Volume Four of the distinguished American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama series offers a thorough, candid, and fascinating look at the theater in New York during the last decades of the twentieth century''.p 395. Oxford University Press US, 2001.
Eddie Izzard Suzy Eddie Izzard ( ; born Edward John Izzard, 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomi ...
, Leland Crooke,
Jon Cryer Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...
, and
Douglas Henshall Douglas James "Dougie" Henshall (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series ''Primeval (TV series), Primeval'' (2007–2011) and D ...
performed in the play. Beaird married actress Shevonne Durkin in 2001. Beaird's final film, released in 2005, was '' The Civilization of Maxwell Bright'', starring
Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. His live action TV roles include David Puddy on ''Seinfeld'', the Tick (character), title character on ''The Tick (2001 TV series), The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less than Perfect'' ...
, Marie Matiko,
Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...
,
Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. He has amassed more than 700 film and television credits since his debut in 1978, making him one of the most prolific English-speaking screen actors of all time. Roberts' career ...
, and
Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...
. The film's subject, according to Beaird, was "how one person pulls the other out of hell." The film won awards at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, the WorldFest Houston and the Florida Film Festival in 2005. Beaird died on February 6, 2019, in Tarzana, California.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaird, David 1952 births 2019 deaths American male screenwriters American theatre directors Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana Film directors from Louisiana Screenwriters from Louisiana