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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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John Romano to Waldo Salt
Gene Saks Biography (1921-)
Born November 8, 1921, in New York, NY; son of Morris J. and Beatrix (Lewkowitz) Saks; married Beatrice Arthur (an actress; also known as Bea Arthur), May28, 1950 (divorced); married; wife's name, Keren; children: (first marriage)Matthew, Daniel; (second marriage) Annabelle. Career: Actor and director. Member: Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (former president), Actors Equity, Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America. Awards, Honors: Antoinette Perry Award nominations, best director of a musical, 1965, for Half a Sixpence, and 1966, for Mame; AntoinettePerry Award nominations, best director of a play, 1975, for Same Time, Next Year, and 1991, for Lost in Yonkers; Antoinette Perry Award, best director of musical, 1977, for I Love My Wife; New York Drama Critics Circle Award, best director of a play, 1983, for Brighton Beach Memoirs; Antoinette Perry Awards, best director of a play, 1983, for BrightonBeach Memoirs, and 1985, for Biloxi Blues; elected to Theatre Hall of Fame, 1989; Lifetime Achievement Award (with George Abbot), 1990; OuterCritics Circle Award, best director, 1991, for Lost in Yonkers; GuildHall Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994. Addresses: Contact: Society ofStage Directors and Choreographers, 1501 Broadway, 31st Floor, New York, NY 10036.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- actor, director
- Birth Details
- November 8, 1921
- New York, New York, United States
Famous Works
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CREDITS
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Stage Appearances
- Joxer, Juno and the Paycock, Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City, 1947
- The butler, Topaze, Morosco Theatre, New York City, 1947
- The vicar and W. H. Auden, Dog beneath the Skin, 1947
- The engineer, Gas, 1947
- Henry IV, Pirandello's Henry IV, 1947
- Renee St. Gaul, The Watched Pot, 1947
- Old shepherd, The Infernal Machine, Provincetown Playhouse, New York City, 1948
- The park attendant, Within the Gates, 1948
- The Doctor, him, 1948
- The German, Yes Is for a Very Young Man, Cherry Lane Theatre, NewYork City, 1949
- Professor of religion, Too Many Thumbs, Cherry Lane Theatre, 1949
- Monsieur Jordan, The Bourgeois Gentleman, Cherry Lane Theatre, 1949
- Second discusser, Marty's Double, Mansfield Theatre, NY, 1950
- Sam, All You Need Is One Good Break, Mansfield, NY, 1950
- Chauffeur, Personal Appearance, Circle Theatre, Atlantic City, NJ,1951
- Bill Page, Voice of the Turtle, Circle Theatre, 1951
- Wilbur, For Love or Money, Circle Theatre, 1951
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Missouri Legend, Circle Theatre, 1951
- Professor, South Pacific, Majestic Theatre, New York City, 1951, then City Center Theatre, New York City, 1955
- Citizen and servant, Coriolanus, Phoenix Theatre, New York City, 1954
- Wicked Duke, The Thirteen Clocks, Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, 1954
- Billy Gordon, Late Love, Westchester Playhouse, Mt. Kisco, NY, 1954
- Ragnar Brovik, The Master Builder, Phoenix Theatre, 1955
- Charlie Reader, The Tender Trap, Westchester Playhouse, then Dennis, MA, 1955
- Richard Sherman, The Seven Year Itch, Westchester Playhouse, 1956
- Del Rio, The Gimmick, Westport Country Playhouse, 1956
- Various roles, Johnny Johnston, Carnegie Hall Playhouse, New YorkCity, 1956
- First god, The Good Woman of Szechuan, Phoenix Theatre, 1956
- Son-in-law, Middle of the Night, American National Theatre and Academy, New York City, 1957
- Captain, The Infernal Machine, Phoenix Theatre, 1958
- The professor, Howie, 46th Street Theatre, New York City, 1958
- Various roles, Album Leaves, Spoleto Festival, Italy, 1959
- Young Rabbi, The Tenth Man, Booth Theatre, New York City, 1959
- Norman Yarrow, Love and Libel, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City,1960
- Morestan, A Shot in the Dark, Booth Theatre, 1961
- Leo Herman, A Thousand Clowns, Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York City, 1962
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The Goodbye People, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, MA, 1971
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Stage Work
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Director
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Enter Laughing, Henry Miller's Theatre, New York City, 1963
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Nobody Loves an Albatross, Lyceum Theatre, New York City, 1963-64
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Half a Sixpence, Broadhurst Theatre, New York City, 1964, then Curran Theatre, San Francisco, CA, 1966, later Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA.
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Generation, Morosco Theatre, New York City, 1965
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Mame, Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, 1966
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A Mother's Kisses, Shubert Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1968, then Mechanic Theatre, Baltimore, MD.
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Sheep on the Runway, Helen Hayes Theatre, New York City, 1970, then Washington, DC, 1970
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How the Other Half Loves, Royale Theatre, New York City, 1971
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Same Time, Next Year, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City, 1975-78
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California Suite, Eugene O'Neill Theatre, 1976-77
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I Love My Wife, Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1977-79
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Prince of Grand Street, Philadelphia, PA, and Boston, MA, 1978
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Home Again, Home Again, Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Ontario,Canada, then American Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford, CT, 1979
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Save Grand Central, Phoenix Theatre Company, Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York City, 1980
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Special Occasions, Music Box Theatre, New York City, 1980 and 1982
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The Supporting Cast, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 1981
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Brighton Beach Memoirs, Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1983-84
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Biloxi Blues, Neil Simon Theatre, New York City, 1985-87
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The Odd Couple, Broadhurst Theatre, 1985, then Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 1985
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Rags, Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York City, 1986
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Broadway Bound, Broadhurst Theatre, 1986-88
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A Month of Sundays, Ritz Theatre, New York City, 1987
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Rumors, Broadhurst Theatre, 1988
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The Man Who Came to Dinner, Barbican Theatre, London, England, 1989
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Lost in Yonkers, Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York City, 1991-93
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Jake's Women, Neil Simon Theatre, 1992
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Lost in Yonkers, James A. Doolittle Theatre, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 1992
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The Goodbye Girl, Shubert Theatre, Chicago, 1993
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Jake's Women, James A. Doolittle Theatre, University of Californiaat Los Angeles, 1993
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Major Tours
- Stefanowski, Mr. Roberts, 1950-51
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Stage Work
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Major Tours; Director
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The Millionairess, 1963
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Half a Sixpence, U.S. cities, 1966-67
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Mame, U.S. cities, 1968
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I Love My Wife, U.S. cities, 1977
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California Suite, U.S. cities, 1977-78
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Brighton Beach Memoirs, U.S. cities, 1983-85
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Bye-Bye Birdie, U.S. cities, 1991-92
- Also director of Biloxi Blues, U.S. cities; Broadway Bound,U.S. cities; Lost in Yonkers, U.S. cities; and Rumors, U.S. cities.
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Film Appearances
- Leo "Chuckles" Herman, A Thousand Clowns, United Artists, 1965
- Harry, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Warner Bros., 1974
- Sidney Seltzer, The One and Only, Paramount, 1978
- Frantic patient, Lovesick, Warner Bros., 1983
- Marcus Soloway, The Goodbye People, Embassy, 1984
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Funny, Associates and Ferren, 1988
- Wirf, Nobody's Fool, Paramount, 1994
- Boris Podolsky, I.Q., Paramount, 1994
- Harry's father, Deconstructing Harry, Fine Line Features, 1997
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Film Work
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Director
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Barefoot in the Park, Paramount, 1967
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The Odd Couple, Paramount, 1968
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Cactus Flower, Columbia, 1969
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Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Paramount, 1972
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Mame, Warner Bros., 1974
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Brighton Beach Memoirs (also known as Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs), Universal, 1986
- "Thanks for Looking at My Line," Funny, Associates and Ferren, 1988
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Tchin-Tchin, Independent CEP (France), 1989
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A Fine Romance, Castle Hill, 1992
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Television Appearances
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Series
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Actors Studio, ABC and CBS, 1949
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Episodic
- "D-Day," You Are There, CBS, 1955
- "Castoff," Law and Order, NBC, 1998
- Also appeared in Armstrong Circle Theater (also known as CircleTheater), NBC and CBS; Philco Television Playhouse, NBC; Playwrights '56, NBC; Producers' Showcase, NBC; Omnibus, CBS andABC; and The U.S. Steel Hour, ABC and CBS.
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Specials
- Psychiatrist, Love, Sex, and Marriage, ABC, 1983
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Neil Simon: Not Just for Laughs, 1989
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Broadway '97: Launching the Tonys, PBS, 1997
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Television Work
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Director; Specials
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Love, Sex, and Marriage, ABC, 1983
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Television Appearances
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Movies
- Sol Jacobs, On Seventh Avenue, NBC, 1996
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Television Work
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Director; Movies
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Bye Bye Birdie, ABC, 1995
Further Reference
OTHER SOURCES
Periodicals:
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Architectural Digest, November 1995, pp. 196-202.
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