Casting Legend Shirley Rich Dies at 87

By: Jan. 12, 2010
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Longtime casting director Shirley Rich passed away on December 28th, 2009 at the age of 87 in Greenwich Connecticut of natural causes. Referred to by the New York Times as the "doyenne of New York casting directors," Rich's career covered Broadway plays and Hollywood films, with actors such as Judd Hirsch, Sean Penn, and Tom Cruise

Throughout her career she ran her own agency, Shirley Rich Casting, and worked with Harold Prince, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  Her specialty was casting the non starring roles.  She helped cast shows including South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Sorba, among others. In casting the King and I, she placed Yul Brynner in the role of the King of Siam. Other Broadway shows Rich cast include The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Sly Fox, and the 1983 revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives.

Movies cast include Saturday Night Fever, Three Days of the Condor, Kramer vs. Kramer, and the Ballad of the Sad Cafe.

As reported by the New York Times, in 2007 the National Review wrote of Rich's casting decisions for Saturday Night Fever, "there is no Academy Award given for Best Casting Director, or SNF's Shirley Rich would surely deserve one."

To read the full profile in the New York Times, click here.



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