Yuri Rasovsky (July 29, 1944 – January 18, 2012) was an American writer and producer working in

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

in the United States. He founded and operated The National Radio Theater of Chicago from 1973 to 1986 and later formed the Hollywood Theater of the Ear (since 1993). In the 1990s, he forsook radio for

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s. Many of his radio plays have been published as commercial recordings or as Internet downloads. His new plays are being released by

Blackstone Audio Blackstone Audio is one of the largest independent audiobook publishers in the United States, offering over 30,000 audiobooks. The company is based in Ashland, Oregon with five in-house recording studios. Blackstone distributes directly to consu ...

. He died in 2012 of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include difficulty in swallowing and weight loss. Other symptoms may include pain when swallowing, a hoarse voice ...

Major works

Rasovsky wrote, directed, or produced more than 150 audio plays. Notable examples include: * ''The Chicago Language Tape''. WFMT. 1972. * ''The Odyssey of Homer''. National Radio Theater. 1980. Winner of a George Foster

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

. * ''Craven Street''. American Dialogues Radio. 1993. * ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari''. Based on the silent film. Hollywood Theater of the Ear. Revised 1998. * ''2000X: Tales of the Next Millennium'' (series of 26 one-hr programs). NPR, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 1999–2000. Winner of a

Bradbury Award The Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation (formerly the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation) is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fant ...

. * ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...

and

The String of Pearls ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2007. Winner of three 2008

Audie Awards The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They ...

: Best Audio Drama, Best Audiobook Original and Distinguished Achievement in Production. * '' The Maltese Falcon'', with

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' (19 ...

Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005� ...

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

. Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2008.

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated. Winner Audie Award: Best Adaptation. * '' Saint Joan'', with

Amy Irving Amy Davis Irving (born September 10, 1953) is an American actress and singer, who worked in film, stage, and television. Her accolades include an Obie Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award. Born in Palo Alto, Ca ...

, Edward Herrmann,

Kristoffer Tabori Kristoffer Tabori (also known as K.T. Donaldson, born Christopher Donald Siegel; August 4, 1952) is an American actor and television director. Early life Tabori was born in Malibu, California, the son of American film director Don Siegel and Sw ...

Gregory Itzin Gregory Martin Itzin (April 20, 1948 – July 8, 2022) was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as U.S. President Charles Logan in the action thriller series '' 24''. Early life Itzin was born in Washing ...

Armin Shimerman Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor and author. Early life Shimerman was born into a Jewish family in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, Lakewood, New Jersey, on November 5, 1949, the son of accountant Susan and house painte ...

Granville Van Dusen Granville Van Dusen (born March 16, 1944 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota) is an American stage, screen, and voice actor who portrayed Race Bannon in the 1986 television series ''The New Adventures of Jonny Quest'', '' Jonny's Golden Quest'', ''Jonny Q ...

, ''et al.''. Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2010. Winner Audie Award: Best Audio Drama of 2010. * ''The Mark of Zorro'', with

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

, Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2011. Grammy nominated.

Books

He was the author of ''The Well-tempered Audio Dramatist'' (

National Audio Theatre Festival {{Short description, American media company The National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc. (NATF) is a US-based organization sponsoring a yearly, five-day workshop on radio drama, voice-over and the audio arts, as well as other special training. Partici ...

s, 2006) and, with Carol Madden Adorjan, co-author of ''WKID: Easy Radio Plays for Children'' (Albert Whitman & Co., 1987).

Awards

Over the past three-plus decades, Rasovsky's audio work has won: :* two

George Foster Peabody Awards The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

, :* three

nominations and another Grammy Award, :* five Ohio State awards, :* nine

, :* four Major Armstrong awards, :* four

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

Listen Up awards, :* two

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

awards, :* the Independent Publishers' Audio Award, :* the

Gabriel Award The Gabriel Awards are a Catholic honor awarded each year for excellence in broadcasting. They were started by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals in 1965, and are currently administered by the Catholic Media Association. ...

, :* the NFCB Golden Reel, :* Mark Time Lifetime Achievement Award, :*

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

Notable relatives

Barney Ross Barney Ross (born Dov-Ber "Beryl" David Rosofsky; December 23, 1909 – January 17, 1967) was an American professional boxer. Ross became a world champion in three weight divisions and was a decorated veteran of World War II. Early life Dov-B ...

Solomon Rosowsky Solomon (Salomo) Rosowsky (1878, Riga –1962) was a cantor (hazzan) and composer, and son of the Rigan cantor, Baruch Leib Rosowsky. Early life Rosowsky began to study music only after he graduated from the University of Kyiv, with a degree in ...

* Baruch Leib Rosowsky

References

External links