Harold Scott, 70, Pioneering Theater Director

Harold R. Scott Jr., an award-winning director who in 1973 became the first black artistic director of a regional American theater, died July 16. He was 70.Scott’s Broadway credits include “The Mighty Gents,” starring Morgan Freeman; “Suddenly Last Summer” with Elizabeth Ashley; “Paul Robeson” starring Avery Brooks; and “A Celebration of Lorraine Hansberry” with Sidney Poitier and Phylicia Rashad.In February, he directed his final play an examination of black-on-black prejudice called “Yellowman” at the Cincinnati Playhouse. It was there in 1973 that Scott began a two-year stint as artistic director. A spokesman with the League of Regional Theaters said it was the first time an African-American had won so high a position.Cincinnati Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Ed Stern said Scott’s death, coming on the heels of the deaths of director Lloyd Richards and playwright August Wilson, felt like the end of an era.“We’re really talking about a pioneer in many ways,” Mr. Stern said yesterday. “They made a such a substantive difference in terms of bringing black theater alive in this country.”Mr. Stern remembered Scott as a meticulous director whose careful approach helped actors create performances that felt fresh onstage.“That was Hal’s unique ability to make things appear spontaneous that had been worked out beautifully,” Mr. Stern said. “He loved actors and trusted them, and they believed in the moment.”Born in Morristown and educated at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and Harvard University, Scott began his career as an actor, studying under award-winning director Elia Kazan at Lincoln Center’s Repertory Theatre. He won an Obie Award for his 1958 performance in Jean Genet’s “Deathwatch,” and created roles in the premieres of Edward Albee’s “The Death of Bessie Smith” and Arthur Miller’s “After the Fall.”“The Mighty Gents,” in 1978, marked his Broadway debut as a director.Scott’s 50-year career featured many African-American productions, including an Afrocentric production of Othello at Rutgers Theater Company. But Stern said he relished directing numerous non-black-themed works at regional theaters across the country.“His love of dramatic literature was wider than one racial issue,” Mr. Stern said.

Harold Scott, 70, Pioneering Theater Director

Harold Scott, 70, Pioneering Theater Director

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