Donald Ray Seawell (August 1, 1912 – September 30, 2015) was an American cultural and civic leader, born in Jonesboro, North Carolina. He was the founder of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.Obituary
retrieved 10/1/2015

Early and personal life

Seawell was born on August 1, 1912 to Aaron A. F. Seawell, a justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

. Donald graduated from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, and UNC Law School.Obituary
/ref> In 1941, he married Broadway actress Eugenia Rawls, who played

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 ...

's daughter in '' The Little Foxes''. They had two children. In August 2012, Seawell turned 100.

Career

Seawell was hired to work at the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

by the newly appointed head of the organization, Joseph P. Kennedy. Kennedy had heard Seawell's unflattering comment about him on the radio, where the young lawyer said, "It takes a thief to catch a thief". This quote is widely attributed to Franklin Delano Roosevelt who knew Joseph Kennedy personally and appointed him to the SEC citing this reason. He was impressed by Seawell's candor, if not his character assessment, and wanted him on his team. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Seawell worked on General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

staff in

counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...

. After the war, he served briefly as assistant

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Entering private law practice in New York City, he gathered many theatrical clients including,

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

. He also maintained law offices in London and Tel Aviv, and was involved in writing the charter for the State of Israel. Seawell's theatrical clients led to his becoming a Broadway producer, and his shows included:

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's '' Sail Away'', ''The Affair'', and '' A Thurber Carnival''. He was the first producer to bring the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

(RSC) to the United States in a 1962 production of '' The Hollow Crown''. He later became a governor of the RSC as well as chairman of the American National Theatre and Academy. In 2002, he was awarded the honorary title,

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Seawell was one of three producers of Bonard Productions, the others being the actress Haila Stoddard, and ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

'' owner Helen Bonfils. In the 1960s, he joined forces with Ms. Bonfils to become secretary-treasurer of the ''Denver Post''. After Helen Bonfils' death, he became publisher of the paper. Using funds from the Bonfils Foundation, he created The Denver Center for the Performing Arts in the late 1970s. He retired as active chairman of the center in 2007 at the age of 94.

Awards

* B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League Heritage Award 1973 *Distinguished Eagle Award,

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

1976 *

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 ...

1983 *Arts & Entertainment Cable Network Award 1987 *Third Millennium Leadership Award,

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes, including type 1 diabetes ...

1995 *Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame Award 1999 *Mayor's Millennium Award 2000 *In 2002, Queen Elizabeth awarded Donald Seawell The

. *Colorado Festival of World Theatre Donald Seawell Award recipient 2005 *In 2005, he became the 11th recipient of the National Theatre Hall of Fame's Founder's Award *Mayor's 2007 Cultural Legacy Award, Denver

References

External links

Denver Post article about Seawell's retirement in 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seawell, Donald 1912 births 2015 deaths American men centenarians People from Lee County, North Carolina University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Officers of the Order of the British Empire American theatre managers and producers United States Army personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United States to France United States Army officers Seawell family