“Chicago” musical producer Martin Richards dies at 80November 28, 2012 - 11:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Martin Richards, who began a show business career as a boy soprano and grew up to become a theater and movie producer who won an Oscar for the film adaptation of the musical “Chicago” 27 years after he helped bring it to Broadway, died on Monday, Nov 26, at his home in Manhattan. He was 80, The News York Times reported. The cause was complications of liver cancer, said Michael Milton, a longtime personal aide to Richards and an associate producer at Richards’ production company, the Producer Circle. Broadway dimmed its lights in his memory on Tuesday night. His Broadway credits include “On the Twentieth Century,” Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Cy Coleman’s 1978 musical, which starred Kevin Kline, Imogene Coca, Madeline Kahn, Judy Kaye and John Cullum and won five Tonys; “Sweeney Todd,” Stephen Sondheim’s grisly 1979 masterpiece, which won eight Tonys, including best musical; “La Cage aux Folles,” Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman’s musical farce about gay-straight relations in a loopy, extended family (six Tonys); “Grand Hotel,” a 1989 musical directed by Tommy Tune about the various guests at a Berlin hotel in the late 1920s (five); and “The Will Rogers Follies,” based on the life of the plain-spoken humorist, which won for best musical and best score. “Chicago,” directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse and starring Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera, opened in 1975 and was Richards’ Broadway producing debut. Richards’ other stage producing credits include Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Crimes of the Heart” (1981) and the Cy Coleman musical “The Life” (1997). His movie credits include “The Boys From Brazil,” (1978), an adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel about a Nazi cloning scheme; Kubrick’s horror thriller “The Shining” (1980); and “Fort Apache, the Bronx” (1981), a police drama with Paul Newman. Top stories Ara Aivazian said Azerbaijan continues the traditions of Turkey after seizing territories and forced Armenians out. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. Partner news | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |