Robert Whitehead (theatre producer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Whitehead was a theatre producer.
His first production was Medea, starring Judith Anderson and John Gielgud, and he won the Critics' Circle Award five times,
His father owned textile mills, and his mother, Selena Mary LaBatt Whitehead, was an opera singer. (The actor Hume Cronyn
was Whitehead's cousin on the LaBatt side.)
He went to Trinity College School
in Montreal
, then worked as a commercial photographer before studying acting at the New York School of the Theatre.
He spent the Second World War years as an ambulance driver in North Africa
and Italy
.
In 1964 the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre opened with Robert Whitehead and Elia Kazan
as its heads and Harold Clurman as literary adviser.
In 1968 Whitehead married Zoe Caldwell, who starred in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
. (His first wife Virginia, an antique dealer whom he married in 1948, died in 1965.) The couple bought property in Pound Ridge, a mountain area in New York State, and built a house there. Caldwell, who won a Tony as Brodie, later appeared for Whitehead in a revival of Medea
(with Judith Anderson as the nurse), Lillian, a one-woman show about Lillian Hellman, and Terrence McNally's Master Class, in which she played Maria Callas.
His first production was Medea, starring Judith Anderson and John Gielgud, and he won the Critics' Circle Award five times,
His father owned textile mills, and his mother, Selena Mary LaBatt Whitehead, was an opera singer. (The actor Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
was Whitehead's cousin on the LaBatt side.)
He went to Trinity College School
Trinity College School
Trinity College School is a coeducational, independent boarding/day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than 2 years prior to Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School for grades 9 to 12 and a Junior School for grades 5 to 8.Among its...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, then worked as a commercial photographer before studying acting at the New York School of the Theatre.
He spent the Second World War years as an ambulance driver in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In 1964 the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre opened with Robert Whitehead and Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
as its heads and Harold Clurman as literary adviser.
In 1968 Whitehead married Zoe Caldwell, who starred in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a short book by novelist Muriel Spark, the best known of her works. It first saw publication in The New Yorker magazine and was published as a book by Macmillan in 1961. The character of Miss Jean Brodie brought Spark international fame and brought her into the...
. (His first wife Virginia, an antique dealer whom he married in 1948, died in 1965.) The couple bought property in Pound Ridge, a mountain area in New York State, and built a house there. Caldwell, who won a Tony as Brodie, later appeared for Whitehead in a revival of Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
(with Judith Anderson as the nurse), Lillian, a one-woman show about Lillian Hellman, and Terrence McNally's Master Class, in which she played Maria Callas.
External links
- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/robert-whitehead-645878.html Obituary of Robert Whitehead.