Hal J. Todd

Dr. Hal J. Todd "The phrase, 'Man of the Theatre,' is tossed around somewhat lightly these days, but, in my own personal experience, Hal was always THE Man of the Theatre. A superb actor, director, teacher and writer, he devoted his entire life, his considerable talents and all his energies to the art of the living stage." These words from Hollywood producer George Eckstein, a close friend of Hal J. Todd for more than 60 years, were heard at a celebration of his life on November 18 at the Los Gatos hillside home he shared with his wife, Joan. Two weeks earlier, Hal Todd, who was 84, had died of respiratory failure. At the time of his death he was editing his book, "Hal J. Todd's Four Plays for Middle-Aged Children" to be published this fall, at which time a memorial service and publishing party is planned. Dr. Todd directed (and acted) at theatres from Maine to California, including Shakespeare festivals in Oregon, San Diego and Colorado. He was a founding member of the Actor's Workshop of San Francisco and acted in ACT's production of "The Crucible." For the State Department and USO he mounted productions of "Bus Stop" and Moliere's "The Miser" which toured New Zealand and the Pacific for four months; a second tour of the Pacific featured a production of "Guys and DoIls." Dr. Todd was the recipient of a Ford Foundation Director Grant and worked with Harold Clurman on the Broadway production of "Heartbreak House." Hal Todd was brought to Hollywood in 1962 as a director, writer and actor for the highly regarded television series "It's a Man's World." He acted in segments of that series and in "My Three Sons," "The Fugitive," "90 Bristol Court" and the film "Sundays in New York." While in Hollywood, he also ran his own theatre group, Marketplace Productions. During his career, Dr. Todd was director of theatre at Idaho State University and at Northwestern University, and he taught acting and directing in the professional program at Carnegie Mellon. He was president of the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association, a member of the board of directors of the American Educational Theatre Association and was affiliated with the Children's Theatre Conference, the Director's Guild of America, the Writer's Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Dr. Todd came to San Jose State University in 1964 as professor of theatre and chairman of the department of drama. He held the chairmanship for 18 years during which time more than 25,000 students and 250 drama majors studied theatre arts at SJS. Dr. Todd kept a full teaching load as well as directing four or five plays a year, including the summer repertory program, children's plays and rehearsal and performance productions. Altogether during his 60 year career he participated in more than 400 productions. He favored the classics, especially Shakespeare, Moliere, Chekhov, and Sean O'Casey, but he also enjoyed staging Arthur Miler and the American realism of "Dead End," "Of Mice and Men" and "Tobacco Road," playing the Jeeter Lester role in the last in three different productions. During his 29 years at San Jose State, Dr. Todd continued to work professionally, including directing "After the Fall" at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and "Little Murders" at the Seattle Rep. In 1985 he was the Fulbright professor of theatre directing at the professional drama faculty for the University of Belgrade in the former Yugoslavia. Dr. Todd retired from San Jose State in 1993; the following year the Hal Todd Theatre at the University was dedicated to him. Hal Todd was born in Denver, Colorado. He attended Colorado School of Mines, then joined the Navy V12 program in civil engineering at the University of Colorado and served in the Navy civil engineering corps during WWII. In 1946 he began graduate studies in drama at Stanford University. His master's thesis was a production of Moliere's "The Miser" with Richard Egan in the title role. He later received a Ph.D. in dramatic literature from the University of Denver. Present at the gathering at the Todd home were the founders, directors and affiliates of more than seven Bay Area theatres, including San Jose Stage, City Lights, Saratoga Chamber Theatre, Teatro Campesino, Western Stage in Salinas and The Independent Eye in Sebastopol--all former students of Dr. Todd. Donations may be made in his memory to the live theatre of your choice.