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Broadway impresario Henry B. “Harry” Harris was lost on the Titanic, but his wife Renée survived, inheriting his empire to become the American theater’s first woman producer.
Soon, Renée found her own voice; with a keen social conscience, she embraced controversial themes in some of the plays she backed.
Renée Harris eye for talent launched the careers of Barbara Stanwyck, Dame Judith Anderson, and Moss Hart, and her executive ability ensured success for the legendary Hudson Theatre.
Some of the greatest names in the entertainment world enjoyed early triumphs in productions staged during her ownership of the Hudson and Harris theaters or under her lease of the Fulton Theatre: Helen Hayes, Louis Armstrong and Cecil B. de Mille.
Renée hit her stride in the 1920s, presenting as many as 11 plays a season.
When the Great Depression threatened to wipe her out, she lost the Hudson in foreclosure.
But Renée’s energy remained with her, and she lived to age 93 in 1969, optimistic to the end.
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