Yuri Rasovsky (July 29, 1944 – January 18, 2012) was an American writer and producer working in

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

in the United States. He founded and operated The National Radio Theater of Chicago from 1973 to 1986 and later formed the Hollywood Theater of the Ear (since 1993). In the 1990s, he forsook radio for

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

s. Many of his radio plays have been published as commercial recordings or as Internet downloads. His new plays are being released by Blackstone Audio. He died in 2012 of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

Major works

Rasovsky wrote, directed, or produced more than 150 audio plays. Notable examples include: * ''The Chicago Language Tape''. WFMT. 1972. * ''The Odyssey of Homer''. National Radio Theatre of Chicago. 1980. Winner of a George Foster

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

. * ''By His Bootstraps''.

Pacifica Foundation Pacifica Foundation is an American nonprofit organization that owns five independently operated, Non-commercial educational, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations known for their Contemporary progressivism, progressive/liberal polit ...

. 1984. Mark Time's Science Fiction Audio Hall of Fame. * ''Craven Street''. American Dialogues Radio. 1993. * ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari''. Based on the silent film. Hollywood Theater of the Ear. Revised 1998. * ''2000X: Tales of the Next Millennium'' (series of 26 one-hr programs). NPR, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 1999–2000. Winner of a

Bradbury Award The Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation (formerly the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation) is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) for science fiction or fan ...

. * ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

and The String of Pearls''. Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2007. Winner of three 2008 Audie Awards: Best Audio Drama, Best Audiobook Original and Distinguished Achievement in Production. * '' The Maltese Falcon'', with

Michael Madsen Michael Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. Alongside his frequent collaborations with Quentin Tarantino—''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992), ''Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (2004), ''The Hateful Eight'' (2015), and ''Once Upon a Time in Hol ...

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Rita Wu in ''Arliss (TV series), Arliss'' (1996–2002), Cristina Yang in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–14), and Eve Polastri in ''Kill ...

, Edward Herrmann. Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2008.

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominated. Winner Audie Award: Best Adaptation. * '' Saint Joan'', with

Amy Irving Amy Irving (born September 10, 1953) is an American actress and singer, who has worked in film, stage, and television. Her accolades include an Obie Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. Born in Palo Alto, Cali ...

, Edward Herrmann,

Kristoffer Tabori Kristoffer Tabori (born Christopher Donald Siegel; August 4, 1952) is an American actor and television director. He is also known as K.T. Donaldson. Early life Tabori was born in Malibu, California, the son of American film director Don Siege ...

Gregory Itzin Gregory Martin Itzin (April 20, 1948 – July 8, 2022) was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as U.S. President Charles Logan in the action thriller series '' 24''. Early life Itzin was born in Washing ...

Armin Shimerman Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor known for his role as Quark (Star Trek), Quark the Ferengi in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, appearing as the character in all seven seasons of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–199 ...

, Granville Van Dusen, ''et al.''. Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2010. Winner Audie Award: Best Audio Drama of 2010. * ''The Mark of Zorro'', with

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a Leading actor, leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including Comedy film, comedies, dramas, action fi ...

, Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2011. Grammy nominated.

Books

He was the author of ''The Well-tempered Audio Dramatist'' (

National Audio Theatre Festival {{Use mdy dates, date=March 2025 The National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. (NATF) is a US-based organization sponsoring a yearly, five-day workshop on radio drama, voice-over and the audio arts, as well as other special training. Participants take ...

s, 2006) and, with Carol Madden Adorjan, co-author of ''WKID: Easy Radio Plays for Children'' (Albert Whitman & Co., 1987).irasov.com

Awards

Over the past three-plus decades, Rasovsky's audio work has won: :* two George Foster Peabody Awards, :* three

nominations and another Grammy Award, :* five Ohio State awards, :* nine Audie Awards, :* four Major Armstrong awards, :* four

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

Listen Up awards, :* two

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB; stylized as cpb) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to ...

awards, :* the Independent Publishers' Audio Award, :* the Gabriel Award, :* the NFCB Golden Reel, :* Mark Time Lifetime Achievement Award, :*

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

Notable relatives

Barney Ross Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II. In his time, he ...

* Solomon Rosowsky * Baruch Leib Rosowsky

References

External links