Years active 1951–1988 Name Robert Fryer | Role Theatrical producer Siblings Eleanor Fryer | |
 | ||
Born November 18, 1920 ( 1920-11-18 ) Washington, D.C., U.S. Occupation theatrical producer, film producer Died May 28, 2000, Los Angeles, California, United States Education Case Western Reserve University Awards Tony Award for Best Musical Movies The Prime of Miss Jean Bro, Myra Breckinridge, The Boston Strangler, Travels with My Aunt, Voyage of the Damned Similar People Mary Lea Johnson Richards, Martin Richards, Stanley O'Toole, Jay Presson Allen, Mike Sarne | ||
Robert Sherwood Fryer (November 18, 1920 - May 28, 2000) was an American theatrical and film producer. Beginning in the early 1950s, Robert Fryer produced and co-produced many Broadway hits. Some of his most notable theatrical productions include: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wonderful Town, Auntie Mame, Redhead, Chicago, On The Twentieth Century, and Sweeney Todd. His notable film productions include: Mame, Voyage of the Damned, The Boys From Brazil, and The Shining.
Contents
Early life
Robert Fryer was born in Washington, D.C. in 1920. His father was a successful department store manager, but died of tuberculosis in 1929. Robert spent the bulk of his childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, where his mother raised him and his sister, Eleanor. Robert graduated from Case Western Reserve University, and served in the Army during World War II.
Theatrical career
After the War, Robert worked in New York City as an assistant to the producer of the Old Vic season at the Century Theatre. His first Broadway hit was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" which he co-produced with George Abbott. Robert Fryer won multiple Tony Awards, and the plays he produced received a total of 37 Tony Awards. Shortly after his death in 2000, Fryer was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Film career
Robert Fryer's most memorable film production was The Shining. Fryer was once quoted as stating, "[m]ovies pay the rent but stage is my true love.".