Editing David Merrick (section)

==Life and career==
Born '''David Lee Margulois''' to [[Jewish]] parents in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], Merrick graduated from [[Washington University in St. Louis]], then studied law at the Jesuit-run [[Saint Louis University School of Law]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=David Merrick |url=https://www.masterworksbroadway.com/artist/david-merrick/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=The Official Masterworks Broadway Site |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1940, he left his legal career to become a successful theatrical producer.

His first seven productions were hits, starting with ''Clutterbuck'' in 1949, which he produced in partnership with Irving Jacobs, and he set a precedent in 1958 of having four productions on Broadway simultaneously; all hits:  ''[[Look Back in Anger]]'', ''[[Romanoff and Juliet (play)|Romanoff and Juliet]]'', ''[[Jamaica (musical)|Jamaica]]'' and ''[[The Entertainer (play)|The Entertainer]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety210-1958-03/page/n159/mode/1up|title='Jamaica' Nears Payoff, Will Give Merrick 4-Hit B'way Grand Slam|date=March 19, 1958|page=1|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=October 2, 2021}}</ref> He often was his own competition for the Tony Award, and he frequently won multiple nominations and/or wins in the same season.

Merrick was known for his love of [[publicity stunt]]s. In 1949, his comedy ''Clutterbuck'' was running out of steam, but along with discount tickets, he paged hotel bars and restaurants around Manhattan during cocktail hour for a "fictive Mr. Clutterbuck" as a way of generating name recognition for his production, and it helped his show keep alive for another few months.<ref name=twsMarD>{{cite news |title= David Merrick, 88, Showman Who Ruled Broadway, Dies |work= [[The New York Times]] |quote= Mr. Merrick kept it alive for six months with discount tickets and a publicity stunt: |date= April 27, 2000 |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/27/theater/david-merrick-88-showman-who-ruled-broadway-dies.html?pagewanted=3 |access-date= March 4, 2010}}</ref> Another famous stunt promoted the poorly reviewed 1961 musical ''[[Subways Are For Sleeping]]''. Merrick found seven New Yorkers who had the same names as the city's seven leading theater [[critic]]s: [[Howard Taubman]], [[Walter Kerr]], John Chapman, John McClain, [[Richard Watts Jr.]], Norman Nadel, and Robert Coleman. Merrick invited the seven [[namesake]]s to the musical and secured their permission to use their names and pictures in an advertisement alongside quotes such as "One of the few great musical comedies of the last thirty years" and "A fabulous musical. I love it."  Merrick then prepared a newspaper ad featuring the namesakes' rave reviews under the heading "7 Out of 7 Are Ecstatically Unanimous About Subways Are For Sleeping". Only one newspaper, the ''[[New York Herald Tribune]]'', published the ad, and only in one edition; however, the publicity that the ad garnered helped the musical remain open for 205 performances (almost six months). Merrick later revealed that he had conceived the ad several years previously, but had not been able to execute it until [[Brooks Atkinson]] retired as ''[[The New York Times]]'' theater critic in 1960 since he could not find anyone with the same name.<ref>[http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/subways_are_for_sleeping/ Museum of Hoaxes.com]; "A 4-Star Smash? Says Who?", ''Miami News'', January 6, 1962, p. 4A</ref>

Merrick joined [[The Lambs]] in 1950, and in 1968 he joined the board of directors of the [[Riviera (hotel and casino)|Riviera]], a hotel and casino on the [[Las Vegas Strip]] in [[Las Vegas, Nevada]], alongside [[Harvey Silbert]] and Harry A. Goodman.<ref name="merrickavegaskansas">{{cite news|title=Merrick a Vegas Investor|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/52314035/?terms=%22Harvey%2BSilbert%22|access-date=August 18, 2016|work=[[Kansas City Times]] |date=May 13, 1968|page=2|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration }}</ref> He also worked with director and choreographer [[Gower Champion]], who directed Merrick's production of ''[[42nd Street (musical)|42nd Street]]''. But on the morning of August 25, 1980, Champion died of a rare blood cancer, and Merrick announced the news himself to both the cast and the audience at the opening night curtain call.

Merrick suffered a [[stroke]] in 1983, after which he spent most of his time in a wheelchair. He established the David Merrick Arts Foundation in 1998 to support the development of American musicals.