Danny Newman, 88, who as a longtime publicist for the Lyric Opera of Chicago helped revolutionize concert marketing, died Saturday, the Lyric Opera said.
He was press agent and public-relations counsel for Lyric Opera from 1954 until his retirement in 2002. The company’s general director, William Mason, called him “one of the godfathers of Lyric Opera.”
Newman helped change how live performances are marketed to audiences through subscription ticket sales — an innovation that helped keep opera houses, theaters and other fine-arts companies financially viable.
Newman became involved in performing arts as publicist and manager of a Chicago civic theater company at age 14 in 1933. His work later included stints as actor, scriptwriter and oratorio narrator.
Newman served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After his return from the war, he co-produced a celebrity radio show called “Famous Names,” which was hosted by Mike Wallace, who later gained fame as a “60 Minutes” reporter.
Robert O. Anderson, 90, whose two-decade tenure as chief executive of the Atlantic Richfield Co. included the discovery of North America’s largest oil field, died Sunday at his home in Roswell, N.M., his family said.
Anderson graduated from the University of Chicago in 1939 and went on to work for the American Mineral Spirits Co. He later purchased a small oil refinery in southeastern New Mexico and bought and expanded several other refineries.
He was chief executive of Arco for 17 years and chairman of the board for 21. During his tenure, Arco announced the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope in 1968. It was the largest oil- field discovery ever in North America. He retired from Arco in 1986 and formed Hondo Oil & Gas Co., serving as CEO until he retired in 1994.
Anderson sat on the board of regents at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology from 1987 to 1992 and was named a distinguished professor in 1994. The University of New Mexico named its business school the Robert O. Anderson School of Management in his honor.
