Richard A. "Rick" HAUSER

1939 - 2022

Born November 18, 1939 in Wichita, Kansas. Died April 7, 2022, five weeks after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. A graduate of Yale University majoring in French, Rick's brilliance, curiosity and creativity led him down many paths. An award-winning producer/director/writer for public television both here and at WGBH in Boston, his first love was drama. He received much acclaim for his adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter as well as memorable works inspired by Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde. He also had an innovative career at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. His media output is known for original formats to present arts, culture and social issues. With his company, Beyond.Broadcast, he created The Performance Lab, which used interactive technology to connect the arts community across the country starting in 1996 (long before the Covid-19 pandemic). He was always a man ahead of his time. Rick's love of archaeology and his decades of digging in Syria evolved into a revolutionary way of analyzing terra cotta figurines. He wrote several books on the subject that are now core to research in the field. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Nancy Mason Hauser, their daughter Hannah (Rachel Green), grandsons Gus and Ori, and son Noah (Shannon Lukes Hauser). A memorial service will be held in person (masks required) on Wednesday, April 13 at 2:30 PM (CT) at Mount Zion Temple (1300 Summit Ave., St. Paul) and also streamed at Mzion.org. Shiva will also be in person at Mount Zion Temple (masks required) later that day at 7:30 PM (CT); it will be zoomed. The family is grateful for the loving support of the community as well as Allina's Hospice at Home program. Memorials may be made to the donor's favorite charity.