Michael Blakemore, Tony Award-Winning Director, Dies at 95

Michael Blakemore, the actor, writer and Tony Award-winning director, died on December 10, following a short illness. He was 95.

The director of acclaimed productions in the U.K. and the U.S. over a period of six decades, he is the only director in Broadway history to win Tony Awards for both best play and best musical in the same season, winning for directing Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen and the musical Kiss Me Kate in 2000. His backstage memoir Stage Blood is also regarded as a classic of the form.

Born in Sydney on June 18, 1928, Blakemore was inspired to pursue acting after seeing Laurence Olivier portray Richard III on stage in 1945. He moved to London and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1952. After several years performing around the U.K. he turned his attention to directing at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. His production of Peter Nichols' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, in 1967, was his first major success, transferring to London and then Broadway.

He joined the National Theatre as an associate director in 1971, working under Olivier—and directing him in A Long Day’s Journey into Night—and Peter Hall. Blakemore began a long and successful association with the playwright Michael Frayn in 1980, directing Make and Break, Noises Off and Copenhagen.

Blakemore’s production of Kiss Me, Kate garnered five Tonys, including Best Revival of a Musical. He went on to direct Broadway productions of Democracy, Deuce and Is He Dead? His most recent Broadway credit was in 2009, directing Angela Lansbury in Noël Coward’s comedy Blithe Spirit.