John Bernard Hofsiss (September 28, 1950 – September 13, 2016) was an American theatre, film, and television director. He received 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 ...

for his direction of ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

'' on Broadway, the youngest director to have ever received it at the time. The production also garnered him a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

, and

New York Drama Critics Circle Award The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 23 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jon ...

. Director of Family Secrets in the year 1984; starring Melissa Gilbert, James Spader, Stefanie Powers, and Maureen Stapleton.

Biography

John Bernard Hofsiss was born on September 28, 1950, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and served as an altar boy, which he has said was his "first experience of theatre". He was a 1971 graduate of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. While at Georgetown University he co-wrote and directed an original student musical "Senior Prom." This went on to be staged for a 3-year run at the "O" Street Theater formerly the Washington Theater Club. After a directing stint at the Folger Theatre in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, he became a casting director in New York for several years. He then directed ''The Best of Families'', a mini-series, for television in 1977. He also directed for TV ''Out of Our Father's House'' (1978), ''3 by Cheever: The Sorrows of Gin'' (1979), ''The Elephant Man'' (1982), ''"Family Secrets'' (1984), and ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

'' (1985). In 1982, he directed the film '' I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can''. In 1985, Hofsiss dived into a pool and had a

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. It is a destructive neurological and pathological state that causes major motor, sensory and autonomic dysfunctions. Symptoms of ...

, resulting in paralysis up to his mid-chest. He spent eight months at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine and used a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

. Just months after the accident he returned to the theater scene, directing '' All the Way Home'' at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Hofsiss appeared in the documentary ''The Needs of Kim Stanley'' in 2005. At the end of his life, Hofsiss was teaching directing at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...

in New York City. The last play he directed was '' Design for Living'' in 2015, supported by the Noël Coward Foundation. Hofsiss spoke candidly about the effect disability had on his life and work in the book '' Chronicles of Courage: Very Special Artists'' written by Jean Kennedy Smith and George Plimpton and published by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

Death

Hofsiss died at his home in Manhattan on September 13, 2016, 2 weeks before his 66th birthday. He had been hospitalized for respiratory distress.https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/jack-hofsiss-tony-winning-director-of-the-elephant-man-dies-at-65/2016/09/17/65c018a2-7cec-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html#:~:text=Hofsiss%20died%20after%20recently%20being,and%20longtime%20friend%20Elizabeth%20McCann.

References

External links

* * * 1950 births 2016 deaths Film directors from New York City American television directors American theatre directors American people with disabilities American Roman Catholics American casting directors Drama Desk Award winners Georgetown University alumni Obie Award recipients Tony Award winners People with paraplegia Film directors with disabilities {{theat-director-stub