- Born
- Died
- Birth nameZelda Diamond
- Zelda Fichandler was born on September 18, 1924 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She was a producer, known for Zalmen: or, the Madness of God (1975), Sweet Tornado: Margo Jones and the American Theater (2006) and Sweet Tornado DVD Extras (2006). She was married to Fichlander, Thomas C.. She died on July 29, 2016 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
- SpouseFichlander, Thomas C.(1946 - March 16, 1997) (his death, 2 children)
- Her husband, Thomas C. Fichandler, Edward Mangum and herself founded The Arena Stage Theatre Company in 1950 in Washington D.C. She was director and artistic director from 1950 to 1990.
- From 1984 to 2009, she was chair of the Graduate Acting Department at New York University in New York City. She has also been a master teacher of acting and directing at the Tisch School of Performing Arts at New York University.
- She was awarded the National Medal of the Arts for her services to theatre in 1996.
- She was the first regional theatre director to inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1999.
- Mother of two sons, Mark Fichandler and Hal Fichandler. She is survived by her sister, Joyce Diamond Simons, and two grandchildren.
- The company is the equivalent in the world of theater to the family in a social form; when you knock on the door, they have to let you in. The people stick with you; you can make a mistake and go home again," she added. "You can do something bad, not play a role well, and they let you get up on the horse again.
- There is a hunger to see the human presence acted out. As long as that need remains, people will find a way to do theater."
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