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On Wednesday, December 27 at 7:55, the lights of Broadway bowed low for Jason Robards, who had passed away the previous day at the age of 78. The marquee of the Roundabout’s new theatre — which Robards helped to create — was among those darkened at curtain time in acknowledgement of his light and spirit, and as a symbol of our profound regard for his life and work. His guidance and inspiration as a member of Roundabout’s Board of Directors was a gift surpassed only by his presence, his warmth, and his friendship. We join the artistic community in mourning the loss of a tireless advocate of the theatre and a great force on the stage.
Though revered as one of America’s greatest actors, Robards remained modest and philosophical about his many celebrated accomplishments, and once remarked that "All I know about acting is that I just have to keep on doing it." Robards held the record for Tony award nominations for Best Actor in a Play, with no fewer than eight nominations testifying to his unequaled talents. Widely acknowledged as the greatest interpreter of Eugene O’Neill’s dramas, he was honored by the Kennedy Center in 1999. Future generations will find his performances preserved in an extensive list of film roles, for which he twice received Academy Awards (for All the President’s Men in 1977 and Julia in 1978). But he was steadfast in his commitment to the stage, and once said he would always rather "go back to Broadway as fast as I can."
Following his first Broadway performance (Stalag 17) in 1951, Robards went on to give many more. His unforgettable performances contributed to some of the most important, moving, and artistically accomplished productions in the American theatre, and were essential to the recognition of many now-classic plays. They include O’Neill’s landmark dramas The Iceman Cometh, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, A Moon for the Misbegotten, and A Touch of the Poet; Budd Schulberg and Harvey Breit’s The Disenchanted (for which he won a Tony in 1959); Herb Gardner’s A Thousand Clowns; and Arthur Miller’s After the Fall.
Of one of his greatest roles, O’Neill’s Jamie Tyrone, he said, "He’s a tumbleweed. That’s what I am. He had no home — just jumping around so much. I find a lot of parallels between us." Of working with us, he has said: "It’s like family being at Roundabout. All of us who work there feel that way; it feels like coming home." At Roundabout Robards performed with his friend Christopher Plummer in the first New York revival of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land in 1994. The following season he went on to support the inauguration of our Laura Pels Theatre with his performances in Pinter’s Moonlight and Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney. During that exceptional year, he was known affectionately as our "artist in residence," and everyone from the front door to backstage was blessed with his open and sharing spirit.
Jason Robards, a veteran of six decades on the American stage, once said that "the theatre has kept me alive," and he worked to keep the theatre alive for all of us. We are profoundly grateful for all he did and pause to remember that when he was with us, it was grand.
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