1928 - 2013
Spofford J. Beadle, 85, of Sleepy Hollow, NY, formerly of Brooklyn, NY, died on May 24, 2013.
Spofford was born in Philadelphia to Walter J. and Christine Spofford Beadle. He attended Germantown Friends School until moving to Wilmington, DE, with his family. He graduated from Wilmington Friends School and the University of Delaware, where he majored in Theater Arts.
Spofford's theater career began at the age of 16, running a follow spot. He helped to supervise stage lighting, served as a technical director, and worked his way up to stage management. In 1957, he travelled with the Jose Limon Dance Company on a State Department sponsored tour of Europe. While working as a stage manager on Broadway; he had a small part as a bellhop in The Third Best Sport - 1959. Spofford later started his own company, Producing Managers, managing summer stock playhouses in Millburn, NJ, Westport, CT and Mineola, NY, to name a few. Producing Managers also sent shows out on the road and produced three plays on Broadway: And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little - 1971; The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild - 1972; and The Lieutenant - 1975, which garnered several Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. Miss Reardon was nominated for two best actress Tonys, and won a best featured actress Tony for Rae Allen's performance. Spofford worked as a theater manager for the Shubert Organization from 1975-2003. While with the Shuberts he managed various Broadway theaters including the Winter Garden, Lyceum and Golden. The last 16 years of his career he managed the Majestic, where Phantom of the Opera continues its historic run. As a member of the League of New York Theatres (now The Broadway League), Spofford was a proud Tony voter through 2012.
Spofford was predeceased by his first wife, Martha Distelhurst, in 1973 and his second wife, Patricia Durand, in 2012. He is survived by two sons, Jeffrey of Silver Spring, MD, and David of Carrboro, NC; two granddaughters; Sihaya Meijer of Oakland, CA, and Mya Beadle; two sisters, Sarah Wolff of Kennett Sq, PA, and Elizabeth Herrmann of Sleepy Hollow, NY, and several nieces and nephews.
Donations can be made in Spofford's name to: The Actor's Fund