2 months ago
Robert Fox, who roseate from being a movie workplace runner to assisting board astatine London’s Royal Court successful nan early 1970s to nan highest echelons of theatre accumulation that saw him presenting Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren and Vanessa Redgrave successful caller plays and classics successful nan West End and connected Broadway, has died. He was 73. His woman Fiona Golfar confirmed his decease to Deadline connected Friday.
Golfar said that her hubby died “in precisely nan measurement he planned: astatine location looking retired to his flower-filled plot surrounded by his woman and 5 children connected a glorious outpouring afternoon. It was nan epitome of an elegant Robert Fox production.”
He possessed a singular aerial of assurance coupled pinch people and astute sensation — he had a bully bosom too.
Fox besides produced movies specified arsenic Richard Eyre’s Iris (2001), astir writer Iris Murdoch and John Bayley starring Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville, who portrayed their younger selves, and Dench and Jim Broadbent arsenic nan mates successful their elder years.
Broadbent won nan 2002 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Fox’s accumulation of Peter Morgan’s West End and Broadway hit The Audience, directed by Stephen Daldry pinch Mirren playing nan precocious Queen Elizabeth II, was nan inspiration for what would go nan juggernaut Netflix drama The Crown, of which Fox was an executive producer.
It seemed wholly due that he should go progressive pinch nan task because he was himself a merchandise of shape and surface royalty. The Fox dynasty stretched acold and wide.
He was nan youngest boy of theatrical supplier Robin Fox and character Angela Worthington, who was nan taxable of Noël Coward’s witty ditty “Don’t Put Your Daughter connected nan Stage, Mrs. Worthington.” She was besides nan girl of playwright Frederick Lonsdale (Aren’t We All?, On Approval).
His brothers are nan actors Edward Fox (The Day of nan Jackal, The Duellists) and James Fox (Performance, Thoroughly Modern Millie). And he was uncle to a skulk of Fox thespians including Emilia Fox (Silent Witness) and Freddie Fox (House of nan Dragon).
Stage stars adored him because he was adept astatine calming their fears, particularly if they were venturing into a brand-new play.
Fox produced respective plays pinch Smith successful nan lead. They included Peter Shaffer’s Lettice and Lovage with Margaret Tyzack. When nan play became a deed successful London, Smith told Fox that she wouldn’t transportation pinch it to New York unless Tyzack went pinch her. Fox acquiesced reasoning that, “If Maggie’s happy, past nan full company’s happy.”
Some battles were insurmountable. When Smith starred arsenic Lady Bracknell successful Nicholas Hytner’s 1993 revival of The Importance of Being Earnest astatine nan Aldwych Theatre, Fox had a emotion from nan first preview that each would not extremity up well.“In a word, she hated it. Hated everything astir it,” Fox recounted erstwhile Deadline contacted him pursuing Smith’s decease successful 2024, mentioning a co-star “she thought was each wrong” and “the group and nan costumes and nan direction.”
RELATED: Remembering Maggie Smith: A Career In Photos
Smith famously said that she wouldn’t transportation nan accumulation to Woking, “let unsocial Broadway.”
He besides produced Smith and Dench successful David Hare’s The Breath of Life, wherever he said, “Maggie sewage herself successful a spot of a state, though she ended up being marvelous.”
Hare connected Friday praised Fox’s fortitude, saying, “Anyone who was Maggie Smith’s unfailing shaper of prime had exceptional patience for incomparable rewards.”
Hare besides said successful tribute: ”What I would for illustration to opportunity is that Robert Fox was not nan past of nan man producers but he was their exemplar — decent, loyal, uncomplaining, supportive, discerning, pinch superb sensation but besides recklessly funny astir show business and each its absurdities.”
That’s a position echoed by Richard Eyre, who interrupted shooting The Housekeeper in Cornwall to observe that “Robert was a awesome shaper and friend — very adjacent and witty and wise and knowledgeable. I’ll miss him terribly.”
Fox’s predominant partner connected Broadway was Scott Rudin, who saluted Fox for being “as bold and original a shaper arsenic immoderate of nan greatest. He had each nan instrumentality anybody could want — taste, drive, insight, instincts, wit, charm, ambition, know-how, fearlessness, commitment, ferocity and style. We made a awesome woody of activity together, and it was ever nosy and funny and challenging and ridiculous and rewarding. Nobody I ever worked pinch was smarter astir really to make thing bully than Robert was. It was often difficult and astir ever a blast. He had a measurement of doing it that was built by him and for him, and we were each fortunate to beryllium astir it and to person nan chance to make a batch of awesome worldly together. He was a loyal and devoted friend and workfellow and built his life complete clip truthful that he gave arsenic overmuch arsenic he sewage from Fiona and each his kids. He leaves a very large spread successful a batch of our lives.”
Fox produced scores of plays complete nan years. They include:
Goose Pimples by Mike Leigh; Anyone for Dennis? by John Wells, which was his first large deed aft founding Robert Fox Ltd.; Another Country by Julian Mitchell pinch Rupert Everett, Kenneth Branagh, Daniel Day-Lewis and Colin Firth each making their West End shape debuts; The Seagull by Anton Chekhov starring Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce and Natasha Richardson; Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein starring Anthony Sher; Ronald Harwood’s Interpreters starring Smith and Edward Fox; J.J. Farr starring Albert Finney; Chess by Tim Rice, Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus; Anything Goes starring Elaine Paige; Martin Sherman’s A Madhouse In Goa and When She Danced, some starring Redgrave; Burn This by Lanford Wilson starring John Malkovich; nan world premiere of Arthur Miller’s The Ride Down Mt. Morgan directed by Michael Blakemore; Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women starring Smith, directed by Anthony Page, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? starring Diana Rigg and directed by Howard Davies; A Delicate Balance, starring Smith and Eileen Atkins; David Hare’s Skylight starring Michael Gambon and Lia Williams, The Judas Kiss starring Liam Neeson and Amy’s View starring Dench — each 3 directed by Richard Eyre; The Blue Room on Broadway starring Nicole Kidman and directed by Sam Mendes; The Boy From Oz, a philharmonic successful Australia; Little Malcolm starring Ewan McGregor; Closer written and directed by Patrick Marber; nan world premiere of Alan Bennett’s The Lady successful nan Van starring Smith and directed by Nicholas Hytner; Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker starring Michael Gambon; and nan World Premiere of David Hare’s The Breath of Life starring Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters directed by Sam Mendes; Salome starring Al Pacino and The Boy From Oz starring Hugh Jackman; Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon starring Frank Langella and Michael Sheen; Albee’s The Lady From Dubuque starring Smith; The Vertical Hour written by David Hare, starring Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy; Eugène Ionesco’s Exit The King, starring Geoffrey Rush; God of Carnage starring Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden; A Behanding successful Spokane starring Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Anthony Mackie and Zoe Kazan; Hugh Jackman Back connected Broadway; The Judas Kiss starring Rupert Everett; The Audience by Peter Morgan, starring Mirren, directed by Daldry; Stephen Ward with euphony by Andrew Lloyd Webber;Fatal Attraction directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Mark Blazeley, Natascha McElhone and Kristen Davis; Skylight on Broadway, directed by Daldry, starring Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan; Hugh Jackman’s Broadway to Oz; Lazarus, directed by Ivo Van Hove, written by David Bowie and Enda Walsh and starring Michael C Hall; Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen starring David Morrissey.
A revival of nan philharmonic Chess is presently connected Broadway. Fox produced nan original 1984 accumulation successful London. Lyricist Tim Rice sent a connection to nan Chess institution that read:
“We are very sad to opportunity that 1 of nan astir inspirational and dedicated supporters of Chess, Robert Fox, has died successful England.
Most of you would not person had nan opportunity to meet Robert, who was desperately sad to miss your opening nighttime successful November because of sick health. He saw nan show successful America successful Washington astatine nan Kennedy Centre, and past astatine nan Broadhurst use successful 2022 which of people was nan accumulation that became nan ground of nan successful Imperial show.
It’s intolerable to overestimate nan publication that Robert made to Chess for complete 4 decades. Most producers would person abandoned vessel aft immoderate of nan crises that Chess went done moreover earlier nan 1986 London accumulation opened. But nan show survived – successful awesome portion acknowledgment to Robert’s belief and tenacity. It would not beryllium playing truthful good astatine nan Imperial coming without his unstinting support and belief successful nan show, and it is simply a calamity that he was incapable to spot it.
His nonaccomplishment will beryllium peculiarly felt successful his location state arsenic he was a singular contributor to truthful galore theatrical and cinematic successes, successful summation to being a astir distinguished personnel of 1 of Great Britain’s awesome theatrical families.
He was down to earth, funny, wholly unpretentious and honorable (sometimes excessively honest!). Above each we are truthful gladsome that he knew that nan show he believed successful had yet succeeded connected Broadway. That he ne'er met galore of nan awesome contributors to this occurrence is your nonaccomplishment arsenic overmuch arsenic his.
RIP Robert.”
Robert E. Wankel, president and CEO of The Shubert Organization, who put galore of Fox’s productions into Shubert theaters, paid nan pursuing tribute: “We present astatine The Shubert Organization count ourselves fortunate to person a adjacent master narration pinch Robert Fox that dates backmost to 1986. For almost forty years we person had nan pleasance of his intelligence, his honesty and his collaborative spirit. Through activity changes astatine our statement owed to decease aliases retirement, Robert has been patient successful his relationship and support. He is an exceptional partner. He exercises meticulousness and attraction successful everything he undertakes.“
On screen, Fox besides produced A Month by nan Lake starring Redgrave, Edward Fox and Uma Thurman; The Hours starring Meryl Streep, Kidman and Julianne Moore, directed by Daldry and pinch a screenplay by David Hare; and Notes connected a Scandal starring Dench, Cate Blanchett and Nighy; and Wilde Salome, written and directed by and starring Al Pacino. He was executive shaper on Another Country starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth; Closer, directed by Mike Nichols starring Julia Roberts; and Atonement, directed by Joe Wright.
Back successful nan day, Fox spent 3 days auditioning for Bob Fosse erstwhile he was casting Cabaret, but nan domiciled ended up going to Michael York. Shortly aft that, Fox realized that being a shaper was nan chapeau that he wanted to wear.
Fox was joined 3 times, firstly to costume designer Celestia Fox, past nan actress Natasha Richardson. He later met and wed Golfar, a writer and a erstwhile editor astatine Vogue.
