Donald Ray Seawell (August 1, 1912 – September 30, 2015) was an American cultural and civic leader, born in Jonesboro, North Carolina. He was the founder of the

Denver Center for the Performing Arts The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is an organization in Denver, Colorado which provides a showcase for live theatre, a nurturing ground for new plays, a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit, acting classes for the communi ...

.Obituary
retrieved 10/1/2015

Personal life

Seawell's father was

Aaron A. F. Seawell Aaron Ashley Flowers Seawell (1864–1950) was an American politician and jurist. The son of Aaron Ashley Flowers Sr. (1822-1894) and Jeannette Ann (Buie) Seawell (1829-1907), he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in ...

, a justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

. Donald graduated from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, and UNC Law School.Obituary
/ref> In 1941 he married Broadway actress, Eugenia Rawls, who played

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...

's daughter in ''

The Little Foxes ''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the lit ...

''. They had two children. In August 2012 Seawell turned 100.

Career

Seawell was hired to work at the

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

by the newly appointed head of the organization,

Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

. Kennedy had heard Seawell's unflattering comment about him on the radio, where the young lawyer said, "It takes a thief to catch a thief". This quote is widely attributed to Franklin Delano Roosevelt who knew Joseph Kennedy personally and appointed him to the SEC citing this reason. He was impressed by Seawell's candor, if not his character assessment, and wanted him on his team. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Seawell worked on General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...

staff in

counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ...

. After the war, he served briefly as assistant Ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Entering private

law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

in New York City, he gathered many theatrical clients including,

Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway and West End productions. After th ...

and

Lynn Fontanne Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End theatre, West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred i ...

. He also maintained law offices in London and Tel Aviv, and was involved in writing the charter for the State of Israel. Seawell's theatrical clients led to his becoming a Broadway producer, and his shows included: Noël Coward's '' Sail Away'', ''The Affair'', and ''

A Thurber Carnival ''A Thurber Carnival'' is a revue by James Thurber, adapted by the author from his stories, cartoons and casuals (humorous short pieces), nearly all of which originally appeared in ''The New Yorker''. It was directed by Burgess Meredith. Follow ...

''. He was the first producer to bring the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in a 1962 production of ''

The Hollow Crown ''The Hollow Crown'' may refer to: * a passage in Shakespeare's play '' Richard II'' * ''The Hollow Crown'' (anthology), a 1961 work by John Barton * ''The Hollow Crown'' (TV series), a BBC adaptation of Shakespeare plays * '' Hollow Crown'', a 2 ...

''. He later became a governor of the RSC as well as chairman of the American National Theatre and Academy. In 2002, he was awarded the honorary title,

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

. Seawell was one of three producers of Bonard Productions, the others being the actress Haila Stoddard, and ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

'' owner

Helen Bonfils Helen Gilmer Bonfils (November 16, 1889 – June 6, 1972) was an American heiress, actress, theatrical producer, newspaper executive, and philanthropist. She acted in local theatre in Denver, Colorado, and on Broadway, and also co-produced plays in ...

. In the 1960s he joined forces with Ms. Bonfils to become secretary-treasurer of the ''Denver Post''. After Helen Bonfils' death, he became publisher of the paper. Using funds from the Bonfils Foundation, he created The

in the late 1970s. He retired as active chairman of the center in 2007 at the age of 94.

Awards

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peo ...

Anti-Defamation League Heritage Award 1973 *Distinguished Eagle Award,

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

1976 *

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

1983 *Arts & Entertainment Cable Network Award 1987 *Third Millennium Leadership Award, American Diabetes Association 1995 *Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame Award 1999 *Mayor's Millennium Award 2000 *In 2002, Queen Elizabeth awarded Donald Seawell The

. *Colorado Festival of World Theatre Donald Seawell Award recipient 2005 *In 2005, he became the 11th recipient of the National Theatre Hall of Fame's Founder's Award *Mayor's 2007 Cultural Legacy Award, Denver

References

External links

Denver Post article about Seawell's retirement in 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seawell, Donald 1912 births 2015 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians People from Lee County, North Carolina University of North Carolina School of Law alumni 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Officers of the Order of the British Empire American theatre managers and producers United States Army personnel of World War II Ambassadors of the United States to France United States Army officers Seawell family