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Michael Rudman

For the Austrian ice hockey player, see Michael Rudman (ice hockey).

Michael Rudman (February 14, 1939 – March 30, 2023) was an American theatre director.

Michael Rudman
Born(1939-02-14)14 February 1939
Tyler, Texas, US
Died30 March 2023(2023-03-30) (aged 84)
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)Veronica Bennett (divorced)
​
​
(m. 1983; div. 1990)​
PartnerFelicity Kendal (1998–2023)
Children3

Early life and education

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Rudman was born in Tyler, Texas, on February 14, 1939.[1][2] He graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas in 1956, and four years later, graduated cum laude from Oberlin College with a degree in Government. In 1964, he received an MA in English Language and Literature at St Edmund Hall, Oxford; while a student there, he was President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

Career

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Rudman's career began at the Nottingham Playhouse in 1964, where he was an assistant director and, later, associate producer. He went on to become director of the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh from 1970 to 1973, after which he took up the post of artistic director at Hampstead Theatre until 1978. While he was at Hampstead, the theatre won the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Achievement.

In 1978, he was invited to join the National Theatre by Sir Peter Hall and was director of the Lyttelton Theatre from 1979 to 1982. He continued there as an associate director until 1988, after which he went to the Chichester Festival Theatre as the director for the 1990 season. From 1992 to 1994, he was artistic director of the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. In America, he has directed three plays on Broadway. His production of Death of a Salesman at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York, won the Tony Award for best revival. He won the Drama Desk Award for The Changing Room at the Morosco Theatre and directed Hamlet in Central Park and at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center, New York.

Personal life and death

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With his first wife Veronica Bennett he had two daughters, Amanda and Katherine Rudman. He was later married to Felicity Kendal from 1983 to 1991. They had one son together, Jacob Rudman. They parted in 1991, divorced in 1994, but from 1998 the partnership between them resumed.[3][4]

Rudman died on March 30, 2023, at the age of 84.[2]

Notable productions

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Director

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Playwright

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  • 1983: Short List, Hampstead Theatre, London. Directed by Mike Ockrent. With Bernard Hill & Ian McKellen.
  • 1966: Moll Flanders, Nottingham Playhouse.

Autobiography

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  • 2014: I Joke Too Much, A Director's Tale, published by Capercaillie Books

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Birthdays", The Guardian, p. 41, 14 February 2014
  2. ^ a b "Michael Rudman obituary". The Guardian. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Rudman, Michael Edward, (born 14 Feb. 1939), theatre director and producer; Artistic Director, Sheffield Theatres (Crucible and Lyceum), 1992–94". Who's Who and Who Was Who. OUP. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U33398. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  4. ^ Rhiannon Harries, "Felicity Kendal: 'Barbara follows me around like a good fairy' - Profiles The Independent, 7 March 2010.
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