Longtime artistic director Todd Haimes, who’s credited for bringing New York’s Roundabout Theater Company out from bankruptcy to become one of the largest nonprofit theaters in the nation, died on Wednesday. He was 66.
Haimes died from complications from osteosarcoma, which is a bone cancer, at Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital in Manhattan, New York, according to Roundabout spokesman Matt Polk. He battled cancer since 2002, when he was first diagnosed with sarcoma of the jaw.
Haimes doubled as the artistic director and chief executive officer at Roundabout. He lead the company for roughly four decades and during his tenure has won a host of awards including: 34 Tony Awards, 58 Drama Desk Awards, and 73 Outer Critics Circle Awards.
At the age of 26, Hamies joined Roundabout in 1983 as the company’s managing director, as the organization suffered financially. He used his own money to keep the company above water but the board eventually voted to shut it down.
One board member donated enough resources to by the company some time amid the financial woes. Hamies then cut staff, and reduced expenses, and improved marketing all at the time. Additionally, he expanded the audience and created early weekday curtain times to attract the after work crowd. His efforts bowed well, as over time the company went from collapsing to becoming one of the largest nonprofit theater companies in the country.
Haimes was born in New York City in 1956, and he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University School of Management.
The New York Times reports, “Haimes is survived by his wife, Jeanne-Marie (Christman) Haimes; two children, Dr. Hilary Haimes and Andrew Haimes; two stepdaughters, Julia and Kiki Baron; and four grandchildren. His first two marriages, to Dr. Alison Haimes and Tamar Climan, ended in divorce.”
