Cy Feuer - legendary Broadway producer, director, composer, musician, and immediate past chairman and longtime president of The League of American Theatres and Producers - passed away this morning, May 17th, at age 95, at home in Manhattan. During his fifty-plus year career on Broadway, he brought to life many of America's most enduring musicals - both to the stage and to motion pictures.
In his honor, the marquee lights on Broadway, and at many theatres throughout the country, will be dimmed tomorrow night at 8 p.m. for one minute.
With his partner, the late
Ernest H. Martin, he produced such musicals as
Where's Charley, Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, The Boy Friend, Silk Stockings, Whoop-Up, the Tony Award and Pulitzer-Prize winning
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Little Me, The Goodbye People, and
The Act. He directed as well as produced
Skyscraper, Whoop-Up, Little Me, and
Walking Happy, and he directed the hit
John Van Druten play
I Remember Mama.Feuer was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning three; one for
Guys and Dolls and two for
How To Succeed. Feuer received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2003. His feature film credits include the eight-time Academy Award-winning
Cabaret and
A Chorus Line.
From 1989-2003, Feuer was President and later Chairman of The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc., the national trade association for Broadway producers, presenters and theatre owner/operators.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of
Cy Feuer, one of the truly great men of the American theatre," commented
Gerald Schoenfeld, Chairman, The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. "For more than 50 years, since Cy produced
Can-Can in 1953, I have had the joy of knowing and working with him. He will be truly missed by all of us who have been touched by his life and work."
"The members, board, and staff of The League of American Theatres and Producers mourn our friend
Cy Feuer, a remarkable leader and a man of the theatre who, with Ernie Martin, produced an unprecedented series of hit shows including
Guys and Dolls and
Little Me," commented
Jed Bernstein, President, The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. "A director and a musician as well as a producer, Cy was a showman of impeccable taste, and a true legend in his field. An inspiring leader and vociferous advocate for Broadway, he taught us by example how to succeed in the theatre."
In 2003, Feuer published his memoir,
I Got the Show Right Here: The Amazing True Story of How an Obscure Brooklyn Horn Player Became the Last Great Broadway Showman, written with Ken Gross, in which he looked back on his remarkable career on Broadway and in Hollywood, working with such legendary talent as
Bob Fosse,
Frank Loesser,
George S. Kaufman,
Cole Porter,
Julie Andrews,
Abe Burrows,
Gwen Verdon,
John Steinbeck,
Martin Scorsese, and
George Balanchine.
Born in Brooklyn, New York on January 15, 1911, Feuer later attended New Utrecht High School, then Juilliard, where he studied music. He pursued a music career, playing the trumpet at Radio City and other theatres, then becoming composer and head of the Music Department of Republic Pictures during the 1930s and '40s. Mr. Feuer was a captain in the Army Air Force during World War II. In 1947, he returned to New York, where he became a producer for the Broadway stage, a career that lasted more than 50 years.
He is survived by two sons, Jed and Bob, and their families. A celebration of his life will be announced at a future time.