They All Died In 2016, 2017, etc ...

Eminent English theatre, opera and film director whose obituary in The Times declared him “the most important figure in British theatre for half a century” and on his death a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall’s “influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled”. He directed the original production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot in 1955. He founded the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s and was the director of the National Theater in the 70s & 80s. He directed numerous legendary productions such as the original production of Peter Schaffer's Amadeus.

Sir Peter Hall obituary: powerful force in British theatre (The Guardian)

Note: A previous version mistakenly said that Harold Pinter was the author of Waiting for Godot. That is Samuel Beckett's play.

topdog said:

Sir Peter HALL CBE (1930)
UK Theater Director & Company Manager
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Eminent English theatre, opera and film director whose obituary in The Times declared him “the most important figure in British theatre for half a century” and on his death a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall’s “influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled”. He directed the original production of Harold Pinter's Waiting for Godot in 1955. He founded the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s and was the director of the National Theater in the 70s & 80s. He directed numerous legendary productions such as the original production of Peter Schaffer's Amadeus.

Sir Peter Hall obituary: powerful force in British theatre (The Guardian)

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Harold Pinter's "Waiting for Godot" ???????????

As far as I know it's still totally true that "Waiting for Godot" is Samuel Beckett's English translation of his own play En attendant Godot.

gorgik9 said:

Harold Pinter's "Waiting for Godot" ?? As far as I know it's still totally true that "Waiting for Godot" is Samuel Beckett's English translation of his own play En attendant Godot.

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You are totally right. I was sorting through all the plays to pick and I mixed the authors. Thanks!

J.P Donleavy (1926)​

Irish-American novelist and playwright. His best-known work is the novel The Ginger Man, which was initially banned for obscenity. Other works include:- A Fairytale of New York (play); A Singular Man (play); The Saddest Summer of Samuel S (novella); The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B (novel); The Onion Eaters (novel) ​

klimt said:

Barry DENNEN - American Actor & screenplayer (1938)

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Barry Dennen is also the man who invented Barbra Streisand.

He met the ambitious teenager in acting class and became the first man in her life. Along the way he discovered she could sing but she knew nothing about the great singers or American songbook. He taught her about Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Helen Morgan, Edith Piaf, Judy Garland (with whom she would later work), and comedy recordings of Beatrice Lilly.

When Streisand's acting career seemed stalled, he suggested she try cabaret. He worked with her for days on her first song, the Harold Arlen number "A Sleepin' Bee", teaching her how to phrase a lyric as naturally as if she was speaking. When she won a singing contest in a gay bar, Barry helped her put together a whole set of songs that essentially became her first act. Several of those songs ended up years later on her first album.

Their affair lasted less than a year. Barry was learning that he was more gay than bisexual, and Barbra wasn't really interested in anyone's career but her own at that point. After the split, within a few years Barbra was the biggest star in the country, and Barry was still a struggling actor - until he broke through with Jesus Christ Superstar in the 1970s.

Barry's sons now inherit his estate, which I assume includes some much discussed reel to reel recordings he made of Streisand during those formative months. Barbra wanted to include some of that material on an album, but Dennen refused to let her have them. He himself tried to sell them at auction several years ago, but backed off after bad PR about him exploiting his Streisand connection. It will be interesting to learn if anything will become of them and if they will ever be made public.