Two-time Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff grew up in Canada and moved to NYC in the mid-1970s, co-founding the Dodger Theatre Company and directing their first production "Gimme Shelter" in 1978. His production of "The Death of Von Richthofen as Witnessed From Earth" (1982), complete with special effects like a flying piano, got him tagged a "wunderkind" in Newsweek and convinced La Jolla Playhouse board members to hire him as artistic director. During his tenure at La Jolla, he directed four shows that he eventually brought to Broadway, beginning with "Big River" (1985), Roger Miller's musical version of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", and followed by Lee Blessing's "A Walk in the Woods" (1988), "The Who's 'Tommy'" (1993) and the revisal of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (1995). He received his first film credit as director of the "Henry V" theatrical unit for Penny Marshall's "Renaissance Man" (1994) and finally made his feature directorial debut with the 19th Century period piece "Cousin Bette" (1998), adapted from Honore Balzac's novel "La Cousin Bette". McAnuff produced the animated "Iron Giant" (1999) based on the Ted Hughes novel "Iron Giant: A Story in Five Nights" before working on his own live-action/animated feature, "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" (2000).
- Born:
June 19, 1952 in Princeton, Illinois, USA
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Job Titles:
Director, Artistic director, Composer, Playwright, Producer
Family
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Brother: Trevor McAnuff. older; born c. 1948
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Daughter: Julia Violet McAnuff. born on July 13, 1990
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Father: William McAnuff. Canadian; of Irish descent; served in WWII as a fighter pilot; died on December 15, 1951 from injuries sustained in a car accident at age 26
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Mother: Ellen Boyd. Canadian; was pregnant with McAnuff at the time of his father s death; remarried and moved back to Canada
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Step-father: John Nelson Boyd. Scottish; served in the Royal Air Force as a pilot during WWII
Education
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Ryerson Polytechnical University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, theater
Milestones
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1964 Began composing music (date approximate)
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1969 While still in high school, wrote and directed Urbania , a 26-song musical
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1975 Moved to NYC at age 23 (date approximate)
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1977 Directed The Crazy Locomotive at two NYC venues
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1978 Co-founded Dodger Theatre Company, NYC; directed company s first production Gimme Shelter
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1979 Wrote, directed and composed music for Leave It To Beaver Is Dead at NYC s Public Theater
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1982 Wrote, directed and composed music for The Death of Von Richthofen as Witnessed from Earth at Public Theater
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1983 Became artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, California
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1985 Broadway directorial debut, Big River , a musical version of Huckleberry Finn ; show received seven Tony Awards, including one for Best Director (Musical)
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1986 Staged world premiere of Lee Blessing s A Walk in the Woods at La Jolla Playhouse (restaged it at Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987 and on Broadway in 1988)
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1993 Brought The Who s Tommy from La Jolla Playhouse to Broadway, winning his second Tony as Best Director (Musical)
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1994 Abandoned plans to make feature directing debut with a biopic of James Dean to star Leonardo DiCaprio; cited conflict with theater commitments
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1994 First feature film credit as director of Henry V theatrical unit for Penny Marshall s Renaissance Man
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1994 Made short film Bad Dates
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1994 Stepped down as artistic director at La Jolla, becoming its director-in-residence instead
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1995 Directed Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (debuted in La Jolla)
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1998 Feature film directorial debut, Cousin Bette
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1998 Reportedly did uncredited doctoring on the Broadway musical High Society
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2000 Helmed second feature, a combined live-action animated version of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
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Began career as a playwright and TV writer in Canada
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Dropped out of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute; worked in local theater; served as assistant artistic director at the Toronto Free Theater
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Family was living in Buda, Illinois when McAnuff s father was killed in a car accident
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Finished first movie, the short Bad Dates , starring Nancy Travis as a kindergarten teacher who is unlucky in dating
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Raised and educated in Toronto, Canada