Gene Feist
Gene Feist (January 16, 1923 – March 17, 2014, New York City)[1] was an American playwright, theater director and co-founder of the Roundabout Theater Company. He authored 15 plays or adaptations, of which two were published by Samuel French Inc. — James Joyce's Dublin and The Lady from Maxim's.
Early life
Born in Brooklyn, along with his twin brother Harold, Feist grew up in the Coney Island district where his father owned and operated the bar "Bucket of Blood". His love of reading made him somewhat of an outcast in his community during his youth. In high school he pursued studies in print making, and after graduating he joined the United States Army Air Forces where he was trained as an airplane mechanic. During World War II he was stationed in the South Pacific where his talents were ultimately put to use as a writer for press releases and other journalistic aims as well as work as a librarian.
After the war he attended Carnegie Mellon University where he became a close friend of the artist and fellow student Andy Warhol.[2]
Career
With his wife Kathe, known professionally as stage actress "Elizabeth Owens", he revived the New Theater in Nashville, Tennessee, and, in 1965, Gene and Kathe Feist founded the Roundabout Theatre Company, first located in the basement of a supermarket building owned by the housing development in Manhattan where the Feists lived, known as Penn South. Owens appeared in more than 30 plays over the next 25 years. Gene Feist remains as the Roundabout's Founding Director.
Personal life
Feist married Irma "Kathe" Schneider (February 26, 1928 – March 7, 2005) on February 10, 1957; they had two daughters.
Death
Kathe Feist predeceased him. She died from breast cancer, aged 77, on March 7, 2005. Gene Feist died at the age of 91 in March of 2014. He is survived by two daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter.[3][4]
References
- ^ Although 1930 is usually cited as Gene Feist's year of birth, both Intelius and 1930 census records show he was actually born in 1923.
- ^ Bruce Weber (March 22, 2014). "Gene Feist, Founder of the Roundabout Theater Company, Is Dead at 91". The New York Times.
- ^ Notice of Elizabeth Owens' death
- ^ http://m.playbill.com//news/article/188956-Gene-Feist-Founder-of-Roundabout-Theatre-Company-Dies-at-91
External links
- IBDb profile for Gene Feist
- IBDb profile for Elizabeth Owens
- Gene Feist Film Reference biography
- New York Times theater section
- Gene Feist papers, 1930s-2000, Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
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