10 Facts About Hassard Short

Hubert Edward Hassard Short, usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatre who directed over 50 Broadway and West End shows between 1920 and 1953.

Hassard Short made many innovations in stage lighting and design, including the first permanent lighting bridge and first the use of a revolving stage in a Broadway musical.

Hassard Short left school aged fifteen to seek a career on the stage.

Hassard Short made his first acting appearance in London in 1895 before being brought to New York City by producer Charles Frohman in 1901, where he has appeared on stage until 1919.

Hassard Short acted in five silent films between 1917 and 1921, the last being Woman's Place.

Hassard Short adapted well to the more limited budgets of the 1930s by staging revues, including many collaborations with producer Max Gordon and choreographer Albertina Rasch.

Hassard Short staged the groundbreaking 1931 revue The Band Wagon on double revolving turntables, allowing rapid scene changes.

Hassard Short's opulent staging of The Great Waltz, financed by John D Rockefeller, was an exception to the tightened purse-strings of the time and confounded many critics by becoming a hit in both New York and London.

Hassard Short continued to work into his seventies: he staged a successful revival of Show Boat in 1948, and staged and did the lighting for the revue, Make Mine Manhattan.

Hassard Short retired to the south of France in 1952, and died there in 1956.