Michael Butler (November 26, 1926 – November 7, 2022) was an American

theatrical producer Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

best known for bringing the rock musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'' from the

Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 1968. During his time as ''Hair'' producer he was dubbed "the hippie millionaire" by the press. His other Broadway production credits include the play ''Lenny'' in 1971 and the musical ''Reggae'' in 1980.

Early life

Butler was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

into a wealthy family. In the early 19th century, his ancestors started a paper company on the Fox River in St. Charles, Illinois, and supplied paper for the U.S. Congress. The business was later moved to Chicago, where it was at one time one of the city's oldest family-owned businesses, which later diversified into dairy, ranching and aviation.Elizabeth L. Wollman.
The Theater Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical, from Hair to Hedwig
'. University of Michigan Press; 10 November 2009. . p. 45–. Butler's father helped found the village of

Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village (Illinois), village in DuPage County, Illinois, with a very small portion in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County. The population was 8,163 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Chicago, it contains th ...

and the Oak Brook Polo Club. Butler was the

godson Within Christianity, a godparent or sponsor is someone who bears witness to a child's baptism (christening) and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelong spiritual formation. In both religious and civil views, ...

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

and, in his early twenties, he lived with Power and his wife, actress Linda Christian. Through Power's friend, film director

Edmund Goulding Edmund Goulding (20 March 1891 – 24 December 1959) was a British screenwriter and film director. As an actor early in his career he was one of the 'Ghosts' in the 1922 silent film '' Three Live Ghosts'' alongside Norman Kerry and Cyril Chadwic ...

, he befriended the Kennedy family, particularly Joe and

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

(JFK). Butler and JFK often socialized in Hyannisport,

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

and

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

Early career

Butler served as Special Advisor to then-Senator

on the Middle East, the chancellor of the Lincoln Academy, the Commissioner of the Port of Chicago, the president of the Organization of Economic Development in Illinois, an assistant to Illinois Governor

Otto Kerner, Jr. Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976) was an American jurist and politician. He served as the List of Governors of Illinois, 33rd governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968 and chaired the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders ...

, and the president of the Illinois Sports Council. He was a Democratic candidate in Du Page County for the State Senate.

''Hair''

In 1967, Butler was preparing to run for the

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

when he began to discuss the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

with a young student who worked as a gardener at his home.Kat Sherrell.
Experiencing Broadway Music: A Listener's Companion
'. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 29 September 2016. . p. 111–. As a result of those discussions, Butler developed an anti-war focus. Later that year in New York City, while on business related to

's Commission about Civil Disorders, he attended the show ''Hair'' at the Public Theater and, noting its strong anti-war statement, decided to obtain the rights to the show. ''Hair'' opened on Broadway in April 1968 and became a huge success, running for 1,750 performances, and leading to many other productions. By the time the Broadway production closed in 1972, Butler had overseen nine national productions and nineteen international productions.

Activism

Around the time of his first association with ''Hair'', Butler became a political activist. Before the

1968 Democratic National Convention The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...

in Chicago, he arranged a meeting between Chicago mayor Richard Daley and

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the ...

, recommending that the party cultivate the

Yippie The Youth International Party (YIP), whose members were commonly called Yippies, was an American youth-oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the late 1960s. It was founded on D ...

vote. He held "Cause" meetings in

in the summer of 1969 with

Tom Smothers Thomas Bolyn Smothers III (February 2, 1937 – December 26, 2023) was an American comedian, actor, composer, and musician, widely known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick Smothers, Dick. I ...

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (May 31, 1938 – January 7, 2025) was an American singer and songwriter who found fame as a member of the 1960s folk music, folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary along with Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. Yarrow co-wrote (with Lenny Lipton ...

, and

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He came to prominence in his late teens and early 20s in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and c ...

, among others. Butler donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to left-leaning causes, and was on Richard Nixon's Enemies List.Kogan, Rick
The Aging of Aquarius
Chicago Tribune, 6/30/96, michaelbutler.com, Retrieved 1/15/10

Personal life

Butler dated

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...

, Nati Abascal and

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

, with whom he had a relationship in the early 1950s before her marriage to

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón FerrerAncestry Library Edition (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer, active in film, theatre, and television. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ...

. Butler was involved in Hepburn accepting a role in the New York production of the play '' Ondine'', where she worked with Ferrer not long before marrying him. He has a son, Adam, from his 1962 marriage to Loyce Stinson Hand. Butler died on November 7, 2022, in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, at the age of 95.

References

External links

Official website

Michael Butler blog
* *
Michael Butler interview on Culture Catch
*Rado, James, Feb 14, 2003

hairthemusical.com. Retrieved on April 11, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Michael 1926 births 2022 deaths American theatre managers and producers Businesspeople from Chicago Illinois Democrats John F. Kennedy North American Soccer League (1968–1984) executives People from Oak Brook, Illinois