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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BROADWAY DIMS LIGHTS IN HONOR OF TONY AWARD-WINNING ACTOR RON SILVER
March 17, 2009

The Broadway community mourns the loss of Ron Silver, the respected stage, film, and television actor.

The marquees of Broadway theatres in New York will be dimmed in his memory on Wednesday, March 18th at exactly 8:00pm for one minute.

Ron Silver won a 1988 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Charlie Fox in the original Broadway run of David Mamet’s Hollywood satire, Speed-the-Plow. He made his Broadway debut in David Rabe’s Hurlyburly, starred in the Broadway comedy Social Security and performed Off-Broadway in Manhattan Theatre Club’s Hunting Cockroaches. Mr. Silver served as president of Actors’ Equity Association from 1991 to 2000.

Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League, commented, “The intelligence and intensity of Ron Silver’s presence on stage was a gift to live theatre. I’ve enjoyed watching his performances in every medium, but I’m grateful that his extraordinary talent contributed to Broadway’s history of great actors.”

His versatility on stage and off was demonstrated in his many diverse film and television roles as well as his personal changes in political philosophies. A champion of artists’ rights and free speech, he co-founded an art-oriented political group, the Creative Coalition, in 1989.

Mr. Silver died in Manhattan on March 15th after a long battle with esophageal cancer. He was 62.