Roger Lacey Stevens (March 12, 1910 – February 2, 1998) was an American theatrical producer, arts administrator, and real estate executive. He was the founding Chairman of both the

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

(1961) and the National Endowment for the Arts (1965).

Biography

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Stevens was educated at The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut. He was about to enter Harvard University but his father's financial difficulties ended his plan. He attended the University of Michigan for a year before dropping out. He then worked on a Ford assembly line and at a gas station during the Depression. In 1934, he joined a Detroit real estate firm. By 1937, before he was 30, his real estate work had made him a small fortune of about $50,000. He led a syndicate (along with

Ben Tobin Ben Tobin (November 8, 1903 – June 7, 1996) was an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and investor in Broadway shows.Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...

in 1951 for $51 million, then a titanic sum; he more than doubled his investment when he sold his interest in the building three years later. In 1953, together with Alfred R. Glancy Jr.,

Ben Tobin Ben Tobin (November 8, 1903 – June 7, 1996) was an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and investor in Broadway shows.Unico Properties Unico Properties LLC (formerly University Properties Inc) is an American private equity real estate investment and development company based in Seattle, Washington, focused on the north-west and west of the US. It was founded in 1953. As of Se ...

to develop a 10-acre University of Washington site in central Seattle. In politics, he made a mark as chairman of the Democratic Party's finance committee in 1956. He produced more than 100 plays and musicals over his career, including ''West Side Story'', ''Bus Stop'', and ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof''. In 1971, he received Special Tony Award for his body of work. He became known for introducing plays by such adventurous writers as Harold Pinter, Arthur Kopit and Tom Stoppard. Stevens was the General Administrator of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

as well as one of the producers of the Playwrights Company, a member of the board of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA), and one of the members of a Broadway producing company he founded in 1953 with Robert Whitehead, and Robert Dowling. In 1961, he was asked by President John F. Kennedy to help establish a ''National Cultural Center,'' and became Chairman of Board of Trustees of what was eventually named the Kennedy Center from 1961 to 1988. In 1965, he received an appointment from President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

as first Chairman of the National Council on the Arts later named the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1986, Stevens was inducted into the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

. On January 13, 1988, Stevens was presented with the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

by President Ronald Reagan. In 1988, he was also awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons ...

Personal life

Roger Stevens, Chairman, Kennedy Center for the Arts

Stevens was married to Christine Gesell Stevens, founder of the

Animal Welfare Institute The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is an American non-profit charitable organization founded by Christine Stevens in 1951 with the goal of reducing suffering inflicted on animals by humans. It is one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in ...

in 1951. He served as the organization's treasurer until his death in 1998. They had a daughter, Christabel. He had his first heart attack in 1970. In 1993, he suffered strokes that left him partly paralyzed and deprived him of much of his speech. Roger Stevens died of pneumonia on February 2, 1998 at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He was 87.

Stage productions

* ''Broken Glass'' (1994) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' The Kentucky Cycle'' (1993) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 ...

'' (1993) Tony Award nominee, Best Revival of a Musical *'' Shadowlands'' (1990) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a monta ...

'' (1984) Tony Award winner, Best Reproduction *'' On Your Toes'' (1983) Tony Award winner, Best Reproduction (Play or Musical) *''

Bedroom Farce A bedroom farce or sex farce is a type of light comedy, which centres on the sexual pairings and recombinations of characters as they move through improbable plots and slamming doors. Overview The most famous bedroom farceur is probably George ...

'' (1979) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' Deathtrap'' (1978) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' Old Times'' (1971) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *''

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

'' (1969) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' Half a Sixpence'' (1965) Tony Award nominee, Best Musical *''

Slow Dance On the Killing Ground In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of the change of its Position (vector), position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per ...

'' (1964) Tony Award nominee, Best Producer of a Play *'' Strange Interlude'' (1963) Tony Award nominee, Best Producer of a Play *'' A Man for All Seasons'' (1962) Tony Award winner, Best Play and Best Producer of a Play *'' The Caretaker'' (1961) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' The Visit'' (1958) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *''

A Touch of the Poet ''A Touch of the Poet'' is a play by Eugene O'Neill completed in 1942 but not performed until 1958, after his death. It and its sequel, '' More Stately Mansions'', were intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled ''A Tale of Possessors S ...

'' (1958) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

'' (1957) (by arrangement) Tony Award nominee, Best Musical *'' Time Remembered'' (1957) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' The Rope Dancers'' (1957) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *''

Separate Tables ''Separate Tables'' is the collective name of two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. The first play, titled ''Table by the Window'', focuses on the ...

'' (1956) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *''

The Waltz of the Toreadors ''The Waltz of the Toreadors'' (''La Valse des toréadors'') is a 1951 play by Jean Anouilh. Plot This bitter farce is set in 1910 France and focuses on General Léon Saint-Pé and his infatuation with Ghislaine, a woman with whom he danced at a ...

'' (1956) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' Bus Stop'' (1955) Tony Award nominee, Best Play *'' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1955) Tony Award nominee, Best Play

References

* * * *
''The American Presidency Project''

External links

* *
The Library of Congress exhibitPublic Leadership in the Arts Awards listing, 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Roger L. 1910 births 1998 deaths Businesspeople from Detroit People from Wallingford, Connecticut American theatre managers and producers Kennedy Center honorees Choate Rosemary Hall alumni University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Special Tony Award recipients