Broadway Ad Man Donald H. Josephson Dies at 82

Donald H. Josephson, a prominent theatrical advertising executive during the Golden Age of Broadway's "Mad Men," died December 8, 2010 at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. He was 82.

In a career that spanned five decades, Mr. Josephson handled the advertising for over 500 Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including some of the most memorable shows in American Theatre history. Among those original productions: "Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?", "A Delicate Balance," "That Championship Season," "Two Gentlemen of Verona," "The Fantasticks," "Dancin'," "Deathtrap," "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Driving Miss Daisy."

At various stages in his career, his client list read like a Who's Who of 20th century theatrical producers, including Billy Rose, Robert Fryer, Lawrence Carr, Richard Barr, Clinton Wilder, Joseph Papp, Alfred DeLiagre, Jr., Elliot Martin, Lester Osterman, Bernard Jacobs, Gerald Schoenfeld, Paul Libin, Theodore Mann, Cy Feuer, Ernest Martin, Robert Whitehead, Roger L. Stevens, and Lucille Lortel.

Donald Josephson was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on November 19, 1928. An accomplished pianist, he developed a love for theatre and music at an early age, studying piano during his high school years with acclaimed jazz musician John Mehegan. Each Saturday after piano
lessons in Manhattan, Mr. Josephson would stay in the city to attend a Broadway matinee before traveling back to Elizabeth. During his theatre advertising years those piano lessons paid off: not only was Mr. Josephson a successful account executive, he also made his Broadway debut as a musician in 1982 - albeit offstage when he recorded several Noel Coward songs for longtime client Circle in the Square's production of "Present Laughter" starring George C. Scott. He reprised the same role for Circle's 1984 revival of Coward's "Design for Living," and on several occasions he contributed piano music beds for his clients' radio and television commercials. Through
the years he was also known to accompany luminaries like Joseph Papp and Bette Davis at opening night and other industry parties.

Following graduation from Seton Hall University in New Jersey and service in the Army, Mr. Josephson worked briefly in the advertising production department of Abraham & Straus before landing a similar job in 1954 at the venerable theatrical entertainment agency Blaine-Thompson. He worked his way up through the ranks at Blaine-Thompson, eventually becoming a Vice President. Some of his institutional clients included The Metropolitan Opera, Circle in the Square Theatre, and The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival.

One of the first shows he handled for the Public was the groundbreaking American rock musical "Hair" which opened there in 1967. Several landmark hits followed for which Mr. Josephson served as ad rep, including "Two Gentlemen of Verona" (1972 Tony Award - Best Musical), "Sticks and Bones" (1972 Tony Award - Best Play), and "That Championship Season" (1973 Tony Award - Best Play, Pulitzer Prize for Drama). The last show he handled for the Public in 1975 was its
biggest success: the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Chorus Line." Shortly after the musical's sold-out run downtown at the Newman Theatre and subsequent transfer to the Shubert Theatre on Broadway, in the fickle world of advertising, Joseph Papp decided to move his account (including "A Chorus Line") to a non-theatrical agency, Case & McGrath.

In 1978, Blaine-Thompson closed and Mr. Josephson moved to Ash/LeDonne along with several other Blaine-Thompson alumni including his longtime colleague and veteran Broadway ad man Fred Golden. By then, the loss of "A Chorus Line" was mitigated by two smash hits that opened on
Broadway in 1978, both for which Mr. Josephson served as advertising representative: Bob Fosse's "Dancin'" and Ira Levin's "Deathtrap." Each show ran for over four years, and to this day "Deathtrap" holds the record as Broadway's longest-running thriller. Mr. Josephson also
represented another hit opening that year: the 1978 Tony Award-winning Best Play, "Da," starring Barnard Hughes, which ran for 697 performances. Another triumph came in 1983 when "Deathtrap" producer Alfred DeLiagre, Jr. gave Broadway the Tony Award-winning
revival of Rodgers & Hart's "On Your Toes," with Mr. Josephson handling the show's advertising. The production was a hit, running for 505 performances and surpassing the original run.

In 1984, Mr. Josephson left Ash/LeDonne with Fred Golden and Jon Bierman to form The Golden Group as the theatrical advertising division of the film agency Diener/Hauser/Bates. During these years as Golden Group Executive Vice President, Mr. Josephson served as advertising representative for two more Pulitzer Prize-winning plays: David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" and Alfred Uhry's "Driving Miss Daisy." Because Diener/Hauser/Bates also had a Los Angeles office, during the period Mr. Josephson also supervised ad campaigns for the L.A. productions of "Cats," "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby," "Les Miserables," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Jerome Robbins' Broadway," and "City of Angels."

Mr. Josephson retired from theatrical advertising in 1994 after forty years in the business, but in 1995 he immediately began a second career in residential real estate, earning his license and working as a broker in Manhattan for such companies as Bellmarc and William B. May. His specialty was the Beekman/Sutton area, of which he was a longtime resident.

Mr. Josephson is survived by his longtime companion, Beryl Seidenberg of Manhattan; a sister, Ann (Robert) Kranich of Harrisburg, PA, nieces Betsy Kranich (James) Lehrman of Venice, CA and Nancy Kranich McElroy of Marblehead, MA, nephew Laurence (Valerie) Kranich of Albany, NY, and six great nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held Sunday, December 12 at 2pm at Frank E. Campbell, 1076 Madison Avenue at 81st Street, New York City.