Shirley Herz (December 30, 1925 – August 11, 2013) was an American

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

production press representative. Herz had publicized Broadway, Off-Broadway and

Off-Off Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

productions, ballet companies, circuses, worlds fairs, films and television programs, beginning in 1954, aged 28, when she was the press assistant for the

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

and Harold Arlen musical, '' House of Flowers''.. She worked with many notables, including

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 ...

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...

Eva Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...

, and

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

, as well as with many off-Broadway (such as

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

) and off-off-Broadway companies. The Broadway League and the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

presented Herz with a special

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 ce ...

for Excellence in Theatre at the 63rd Tony Awards ceremony on June 7, 2009.

Death

Herz suffered a stroke on July 18, 2013 and died on August 11, aged 87. Her sole immediate survivor is her widower, Herbert Boley, to whom she was married from 1948 until her death.

Productions

Broadway productions for which she acted as press agent or representative include: ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'', 2005
''

The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' is a full-length play written in 2000 by Edward Albee which opened on Broadway in 2002. It won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and was a finalist for the 2003 ...

'' 2002
''

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

- A Celebration'', 1996
''Translations'', 1995
''

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' is a 1992 play written by English dramatist Jim Cartwright. Production history Sam Mendes directed the first production at the Royal National Theatre that transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London's ...

'', 1994
''A Little More Magic'', 1994
''Wonderful Tennessee'', 1993
''Mixed Emotions'', 1993
''Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'', 1992-1993
''Crazy He Calls Me'', 1992
''Catskills on Broadway'', 1991-93
''Park Your Car in Harvard Yard'', 1991-92
''Peter Pan'', 1990–91; 1991-92
''Shogun, The Musical'', 1990-91
'' Fiddler on the Roof'' evival 1990-91
''A Change in the Heir'', 1990
'' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' evival 1990
''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' evival 1989-91
''Prince of Central Park'', 1989
''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...

'' evival 1989
''Dangerous Games'', 1989
''Starmites'', 1989
''Chu Chem'', 1989
''Cafe Crown'' evival 1989
''

Legs Diamond Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was an Irish American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during the Prohibition era. A bootle ...

'' 1988-89
''Paul Robeson'' evival 1988
''

Burn This ''Burn This'' (stylized as ''Burn/This'' for the 2019 revival) is a play by Lanford Wilson. Like much of Wilson's work, the play includes themes of gay identity and relationships. Plot summary The play begins shortly after the funeral of Robbie, ...

'', 1988
'' All My Sons'', 1987
''Raggedy Ann'', 1986
''Jerry's Girls'', 1986
''Singin' in the Rain'', 1985-86
''Home Front'', 1985
''Quilters'', 1984
''Open Admissions'', 1984
''Marilyn'', 1983
'' La Cage aux Folles'', 1983-87
'' The Ritz'' evival 1983
''Ned & Jack'', 1981
''Wally's Cafe'', 1981
''The Five O'Clock Girl'' evival 1981
''To Grandmother's House We Go'', 1981
''Onward Victoria'', 1980
''Perfectly Frank'', 1980
''Happy New Year'', 1980
''Canterbury Tales'' evival 1980
'' The Lady from Dubuque'', 1980
''

King of Schnorrers The King of Schnorrers is Israel Zangwill's 1894 picaresque novel,Milton Hindus,The King of Schnorrers, by Israel Zangwill, '' Commentary'', March 1954 a collection of amusing tragicomic episodes of '' schnorring'' by "Manasseh Bueno Barzillai Azev ...

'', 1979-80
''Strider'', 1979-80
''

The Madwoman of Central Park West ''The Madwoman of Central Park West'' is a semi-autobiographical one-woman musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and Phyllis Newman and songs by various composers and lyricists. It focuses on the difficulties faced by an older actress who tries ...

'', 1979
''My Old Friends'', 1979
''Platinum'', 1978
''The November People'', 1978
''An Almost Perfect Person'', 1977-78
''The Night of the Tribades'', 1977
''

The Royal Family (play) ''The Royal Family'' is a play written by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. Its premiere on Broadway was at the Selwyn Theatre on 28 December 1927, where it ran for 345 performances to close in October 1928. It was included in Burns Mantle's ''Th ...

'' evival 1976
''Summer Brave'', 1975
''Ride the Winds'', 1974
''Holiday'' evival 1973-74
''Chemin de Fer'' evival 1973-74
'' The Visit'' evival 1973-74
'' The Women'' evival 1973
''Look Away'', 1973
''Ring Around the Bathtub'', 1972
''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'' evival 1971
''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

'' evival 1971
'' The Rothschilds'', 1970-72
''

Oh! Calcutta! ''Oh! Calcutta!'' is an avant-garde, risque theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in Lond ...

'', 1969-72
''

Forty Carats ''Forty Carats'' is a play by Jay Presson Allen. Adapted from the French original by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy, the comedy revolves around a 40-year-old American divorcee who is assisted by a 22-year-old when her car breaks down du ...

'', 1968-70
''The Family Way'', 1965
''Zizi'', 1964-65
''Conversation at Midnight'', 1964
''A Girl Could Get Lucky'', 1964
''Marathon'' '33, 1963-64
''Romulus'', 1962
''Everybody Loves Opal'', 1961
'' Mary, Mary'', 1961-64
''Happy Town'', 1959
''The Cold Wind and the Warm'', 1958-59
''Miss Isobel'', 1957-58
''Rumple'', 1957
''Compulsion'', 1957-58
''The Cave Dwellers'', 1957-58
''Romanoff and Juliet'', 1957-58
'' House of Flowers'', 1954–55.

References

External links

Shirley Herz papers, 1959-1984
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herz, Shirley 1925 births 2013 deaths American public relations people Broadway press agents People from Philadelphia