David Merrick
David Merrick ( born November 27, 1911 in St. Louis, † 25 April 2000 ) was an American theater producer. He was on Broadway active, gained through his productions and fancy PR campaigns celebrity and was repeatedly honored with the Tony Award. Merrick is considered a key figure in the development of the Broadway theater.
Life and work
David Merrick was born as David Lee Margulois as son of Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned a degree at Washington University in St. Louis and then studied law at Saint Louis University School of Law.
In 1940 he left his career as a lawyer behind and became a theater producer. To this end, he offered the prominent Broadway theater producer Herman Shumlin an amount of $ 5,000 as an investment in its upcoming production of the comedy The Male Animal. The production was a success and David Lee Margulois took its new name: David Merrick, inspired by the actor David Garrick from the 18th century England.
Merrick's early productions were crowned with little success; He experienced his first major success in 1949 with the comedy Clutterbuck. The key, however, was five years later - in 1954 - his production of Fanny, who gave him the professional breakthrough and allowed him to ascend to the top of Broadway producers. David Merrick's list following -produced musicals and plays as well as his awards and nominations are evidence of a decades-long track record as a theater producer. Merrick produced nearly 90 plays on Broadway, this mostly successful. 1966 Time Magazine published the image of David Merrick's on the cover and described him as well as leading ambivalent personality of the commercial Broadway theater, which at that time had 20 % of the workforce on Broadway in their services.
As unequaled applies today Merricks balance of productivity and profitability - in a typical season of the 1960s, he produced half a dozen musicals and plays, sometimes in a month had up to four of his productions premiere. At Merricks successes as a producer included some of the most popular musicals of his era, such as Gypsy, Hello Dolly!, Promises, Promises and 42nd Street. In particular, 42nd Street was one of the biggest musical successes in the history of Broadway with 3,486 performances at the same time Merricks longest running production. Merrick led Woody Allen as an author ( Do not Drink the Water) and actor ( Play it again, Sam ) on Broadway and produced a 1962 musical called I Can Get It for You Wholesale, in which Barbra Streisand made her first Broadway appearance.
However, David Merrick produced not only pure entertainment, but also promoted the development of the drama sustainable. He presented one of the most important performances Laurence Olivier as Archie Rice in The Entertainer. And while the descending in the 1960s and 70s in his success Tennessee Williams barely caught on to the stage, Merrick produced some of his force as a failure pieces, such as The Milk Train Does not Stop Here Anymore, despite financial failures.
Merrick was also known for his marketing skills and his exceptional PR campaigns. When in 1949 his comedy " Clutterbuck " subsided in their success, he contacted the hotel bars and restaurants in Manhattan during the general cocktail hour to be there call a " fictitious Mr. Clutterbuck ," which helped the names of production to more awareness and let them prosper more months.
Another famous PR coup Merricks followed the bad reviews for this he produced the musical " Subways Are For Sleeping" 1961 Merrick took seven New York, with names that are leading to this time in New York theater critics were identical. Howard deaf man, Walter Kerr, John Chapman, John McClain, Richard Watts Jr., Norman needle and Robert Coleman. This namesake invited Merrick to a performance of the musical one, secured their consent for the use of their names, images and quotes and sayings took her after the performance on such as "A faboulous musical. I love it. "Or " One of the few great musical comedies of the load 30 years ". Then prepared Merrick a large newspaper advertisement before the names and positive expressions of this people, under the heading " 7 Out of 7 hotels in Are ecstatically Unanimous About Subways Are For Sleeping". Only a newspaper, the New York Herald Tribune, veröffentlichtet this ad, and this in only one edition; yet the attention was generated in public by this action so great, that the musical could be played for another 205 performances.
Herman Shumlin, the Merrick had 1940 allows entry into the Broadway store, expressed in 1979 Merricks extraordinary career, this was "a milestone in our modern theater, where the realization of stage plays has become a lost art " (English original: "A milestone in our modern theater, where the exploitation of plays Has become a lost art " ).
Merrick suffered a stroke in 1983 that left him mostly sitting in a wheelchair, but not dissuaded from his work as a theater producer, however because of language problems greatly restricted him. He founded in 1998 the David Merrick Arts Foundation, which cares for the promotion of American musicals.
Merrick was married six times and left at his death in 2000, two daughters. His lifetime relative undisclosed private life is considered to be complex and contradictory: "I was born on November 4, 1954 at night as my first big show, Fanny ' premiere on Broadway had ," he is from the New York Times in his obituary quoted. At the time of the premiere of Fanny Merrick was 44 years old - this production, he should run for 888 performances.
2001 Merrick was admitted to the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Today, successful theater producer Cameron Mackintosh as the British call David Merrick is sometimes viewed as role models in terms of marketing their productions.
Howard Kissel published an unauthorized biography of David Merrick's under the title David Merrick - The Abominable Showman (1993).
Awards
Further productions (selection)
- Irma La Douce (1960 )
- A Taste of Honey ( Shelagh Delaney of 1960 )
- Becket (1960 )
- Carnival (1961 )
- Oliver! (Musical) (1963 )
- Marat / Sade (1965 )