Cy Feuer, the Tony Award-winning theatrical impresario who was also an
Oscar-nominated producer and music director, made his debut on the
world stage on January 15, 1911 in Brooklyn, New York as Seymour Arnold
Feuerman. A talented musician, he began earning a living as a
professional trumpeter at the age of fifteen, while still attending
high school. The teenage musician first met
Abe Burrows at this time. Many years later,
as a Broadway producer, he'd hire Burrows to write the book for the
legendary classic
Schwere Jungen, leichte Mädchen (1955), his
first Broadway.
He dropped out of high school but later studied at the Juilliard
School. As a professional message, he was employed by the Roxy Theater
and Radio City Music Hall orchestras before being hired in 1938 to tour
with Leon Belasco and His Society Orchestra. After the band played
Burbank, California, he remained behind in the Golden State and was
hired by the Poverty Row studio Republic Pictures to work in their
music department.
He served as an arranger, composer and music director, racking up over
125 credits that brought him five Oscar nominations for his film
scores. He did a three-year hitch in the service during World War II.
After returning to Hollywood after the war, he grew disenchanted with
the life of a movie musical director, quitting Tinsel Town in 1947 to
have a go on the Great White Way.
He became partners with CBS Radio's comedy programing chieftain
Ernest H. Martin, and produced the
musical comedy
Where's Charley? (1952) in 1947,
an adaptation of
Charley's Aunt (1941) featuring
the talents of Ray Bolger. It was a hit,
toured the country, and then returned to Broadway for another long run.
The musical comedy production team of Feuer & Martin had an even
greater success in 1950 with
Schwere Jungen, leichte Mädchen (1955), the
classic, often-revived musical based on the tales of
Damon Runyon that brought them their first
Tony Award. They were also Tony recipients (for Best Musical and Best
Producer of a Musical, a separate award) for the 1964 musical
Wie man Erfolg hat, ohne sich besonders anzustrengen (1967),
which also won the Pulitzer Prize. Other shows they produced were
Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe (1960),
Boyfriend (Ihr Liebhaber) (1971),
Seidenstrümpfe (1957), and
Neil Simon's "Little Me." Feuer also
was a director, helming "Little Me" and the 1979 musical adaptation of
Geheimnis der Mutter (1948), which was
not a success despite music by
Richard Rodgers.
Feuer scored a major triumph when he produced the 1972 film version of
the Broadway hit Cabaret (1972). The
movie won eight Oscars and garnered Feuer an Academy Award nomination
(his sixth) as Best Producer (though "Cabaret" was upset in the Best
Picture category, losing out to
Der Pate (1972)). With Martin,
he produced the 1985 screen adaptation of
A Chorus Line (1985), which proved
to be one of their biggest flops.
He served as president and then chairman of the League of American
Theatres and Producers from 1989-2003. In 2003, he was the recipient of
a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Cy Feuer died on May 17, 2006 from bladder cancer in New York City. He
was 95 years old.
