Final bow Ubiquitous New Orleans director/actor Stocker Fontelieu dies at 86: December 15, 2009
Stocker Fontelieu, a commanding force in local theater for nearly 60 years, died Monday of cancer at Covenant Home in New Orleans. He was 86.
The executive director of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré from 1961 to 1985, Mr. Fontelieu was best known as a director who worked for many local theatrical organizations, including Gallery Circle Theatre, Bayou Dinner Theater and Rivertown Repertory Theater.
By the time he retired in 2006, Mr. Fontelieu had directed 340 plays.
"He could draw out of a person with not much experience exactly what he wanted to get," said Janet Shea, an actress who worked frequently with Mr. Fontelieu and later directed him in "Amadeus."
"He was always very well organized and knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish," she said, "and he knew exactly how to take steps to do that."
In an interview with Rebecca Hale for her history of Le Petit, Mr. Fontelieu said the most memorable productions he directed were "The Elephant Man," "A Man for All Seasons," "West Side Story" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Because he was blessed with stage presence, a powerful voice and a knack for the grand gesture, Mr. Fontelieu performed in front of the footlights, too, appearing in 148 plays. He also was in 14 made-for-television movies and 22 feature films, including "Angel Heart." "He was theatrical, but, then, he was theater," said Frank Gagnard, a retired Times-Picayune critic.
Some of thosewho worked with Mr. Fontelieu went on to national show-business careers. Among them were Bryan Batt of "Mad Men," who performed in "Grease" and "The Robber Bridegroom" in New Orleans, and Ed Nelson of "Peyton Place," who played Stanley Kowalski in a local production of "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Mr. Fontelieu also was in demand for voice-overs. He was Dr. Walrus, one of Mr. Bingle's sidekicks, in the local Yuletide television series for children, and he lent his distinctive voice to commercials as well.
Stepping before the cameras in commercials, Mr. Fontelieu's roles included the inventor Thomas A. Edison for a lighting store -- "Edison would have bought it here" was his line -- and the furniture merchant Morris Kirschman, driving a horse-drawn buggy brimming with merchandise through the streets of early-20th-century New Orleans.
"Everybody knew Stocker's voice, even if they didn't know Stocker," Gagnard said.
Mr. Fontelieu, who never used Charles, his first name, was born in New Orleans and graduated from New Orleans Academy, which has since closed.
He enrolled in Tulane as an architecture major, but he left in 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II, to enlist in the Army. Mr. Fontelieu wound up in the infantry in the Pacific theater, where he was in the first wave of the invasions of Leyte and Okinawa.
During the Okinawa landing in 1945, Mr. Fontelieu suffered shrapnel wounds in his back and legs. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
While recovering in a Hawaii hospital, Mr. Fontelieu saw a USO production of Noel Coward's comedy "Blithe Spirit." It was the first play he had ever seen. "All I know is that it was hilarious," he told critic David Cuthbert in a 2003 interview for The Times-Picayune.
"I loved it," he said. "I was piqued by the overall production as much as the entertainment of it."
When he returned to Tulane, Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview, he saw a poster bearing two words that changed his life: "Theater Department."
He checked it out -- and changed his major. Monroe Lippman, the department's director, suggested that Mr. Fontelieu consider working at Le Petit, with which Tulane was affiliated. The result: His first role, in 1947, as Frank Bonaparte in "Golden Boy."
Although acting was what most people entered the theater department to do, Lippman "steered me toward directing," Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview.
After he graduated in 1949, the Little Theatre of Monroe hired Mr. Fontelieu to be its general director. He stayed there four years, directing 21 plays, before returning to Tulane to earn a master of fine arts degree in 1955.
During that time, he had been acting at Le Petit. But after finishing his degree, he was hired by Gallery Circle Theatre, on Madison Street in the French Quarter, to be its executive director. He held that position until he went to Le Petit in 1961.
After leaving Le Petit in 1985, Mr. Fontelieu worked at Bayou Dinner Theater from 1986 until 1993. Hewas a freelance director and actor for the rest of his career, a period in which he took on such meaty roles as James Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and Matthew Harrison Brady in "Inherit the Wind."
And there was the production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," which was staged in January 2000 in the Contemporary Arts Center's unheated garage. Mr. Fontelieu, then 76, played Capt. Cecil Lewis, a role that required him to be in his undershirt for most of the four-hour play.
"At intermission of the first performance, all of the audience got up as one and left," he said in the 2003 interview. "Who could blame them? But, then, they all came back. They'd gone to their cars to get blankets, overcoats, pillows, whatever they could get to help them stay warm. Now that's what I call a theater accomplishment!"
It was, he said, testimony to the lingering power of theater.
"Good theater is always needed," he told Cuthbert. "Experiencing live theater is life-enhancing. Like all the arts, it broadens our lives. Theater, like history, is a great teacher. And with all the problems inherent in it, I still look forward to going there."
Among Mr. Fontelieu's honors were lifetime-achievement awards from the Arts Council of New Orleans, the Southwest Theater Association and the Big Easy Entertainment Awards.
Survivors include a brother, Theodore J. Fontelieu Jr. of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Funeral arrangements, which will be handled by Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, are incomplete.
Stocker Fontelieu, a commanding force in local theater for nearly 60 years, died Monday of cancer at Covenant Home in New Orleans. He was 86.
The executive director of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré from 1961 to 1985, Mr. Fontelieu was best known as a director who worked for many local theatrical organizations, including Gallery Circle Theatre, Bayou Dinner Theater and Rivertown Repertory Theater.
By the time he retired in 2006, Mr. Fontelieu had directed 340 plays.
"He could draw out of a person with not much experience exactly what he wanted to get," said Janet Shea, an actress who worked frequently with Mr. Fontelieu and later directed him in "Amadeus."
"He was always very well organized and knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish," she said, "and he knew exactly how to take steps to do that."
In an interview with Rebecca Hale for her history of Le Petit, Mr. Fontelieu said the most memorable productions he directed were "The Elephant Man," "A Man for All Seasons," "West Side Story" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Because he was blessed with stage presence, a powerful voice and a knack for the grand gesture, Mr. Fontelieu performed in front of the footlights, too, appearing in 148 plays. He also was in 14 made-for-television movies and 22 feature films, including "Angel Heart." "He was theatrical, but, then, he was theater," said Frank Gagnard, a retired Times-Picayune critic.
Some of thosewho worked with Mr. Fontelieu went on to national show-business careers. Among them were Bryan Batt of "Mad Men," who performed in "Grease" and "The Robber Bridegroom" in New Orleans, and Ed Nelson of "Peyton Place," who played Stanley Kowalski in a local production of "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Mr. Fontelieu also was in demand for voice-overs. He was Dr. Walrus, one of Mr. Bingle's sidekicks, in the local Yuletide television series for children, and he lent his distinctive voice to commercials as well.
Stepping before the cameras in commercials, Mr. Fontelieu's roles included the inventor Thomas A. Edison for a lighting store -- "Edison would have bought it here" was his line -- and the furniture merchant Morris Kirschman, driving a horse-drawn buggy brimming with merchandise through the streets of early-20th-century New Orleans.
"Everybody knew Stocker's voice, even if they didn't know Stocker," Gagnard said.
Mr. Fontelieu, who never used Charles, his first name, was born in New Orleans and graduated from New Orleans Academy, which has since closed.
He enrolled in Tulane as an architecture major, but he left in 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II, to enlist in the Army. Mr. Fontelieu wound up in the infantry in the Pacific theater, where he was in the first wave of the invasions of Leyte and Okinawa.
During the Okinawa landing in 1945, Mr. Fontelieu suffered shrapnel wounds in his back and legs. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
While recovering in a Hawaii hospital, Mr. Fontelieu saw a USO production of Noel Coward's comedy "Blithe Spirit." It was the first play he had ever seen. "All I know is that it was hilarious," he told critic David Cuthbert in a 2003 interview for The Times-Picayune.
"I loved it," he said. "I was piqued by the overall production as much as the entertainment of it."
When he returned to Tulane, Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview, he saw a poster bearing two words that changed his life: "Theater Department."
He checked it out -- and changed his major. Monroe Lippman, the department's director, suggested that Mr. Fontelieu consider working at Le Petit, with which Tulane was affiliated. The result: His first role, in 1947, as Frank Bonaparte in "Golden Boy."
Although acting was what most people entered the theater department to do, Lippman "steered me toward directing," Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview.
After he graduated in 1949, the Little Theatre of Monroe hired Mr. Fontelieu to be its general director. He stayed there four years, directing 21 plays, before returning to Tulane to earn a master of fine arts degree in 1955.
During that time, he had been acting at Le Petit. But after finishing his degree, he was hired by Gallery Circle Theatre, on Madison Street in the French Quarter, to be its executive director. He held that position until he went to Le Petit in 1961.
After leaving Le Petit in 1985, Mr. Fontelieu worked at Bayou Dinner Theater from 1986 until 1993. Hewas a freelance director and actor for the rest of his career, a period in which he took on such meaty roles as James Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and Matthew Harrison Brady in "Inherit the Wind."
And there was the production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," which was staged in January 2000 in the Contemporary Arts Center's unheated garage. Mr. Fontelieu, then 76, played Capt. Cecil Lewis, a role that required him to be in his undershirt for most of the four-hour play.
"At intermission of the first performance, all of the audience got up as one and left," he said in the 2003 interview. "Who could blame them? But, then, they all came back. They'd gone to their cars to get blankets, overcoats, pillows, whatever they could get to help them stay warm. Now that's what I call a theater accomplishment!"
It was, he said, testimony to the lingering power of theater.
"Good theater is always needed," he told Cuthbert. "Experiencing live theater is life-enhancing. Like all the arts, it broadens our lives. Theater, like history, is a great teacher. And with all the problems inherent in it, I still look forward to going there."
Among Mr. Fontelieu's honors were lifetime-achievement awards from the Arts Council of New Orleans, the Southwest Theater Association and the Big Easy Entertainment Awards.
Survivors include a brother, Theodore J. Fontelieu Jr. of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Funeral arrangements, which will be handled by Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, are incomplete.
Final bow Ubiquitous New Orleans director/actor Stocker Fontelieu dies at 86: December 15, 2009
Stocker Fontelieu, a commanding force in local theater for nearly 60 years, died Monday of cancer at Covenant Home in New Orleans. He was 86.
The executive director of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré from 1961 to 1985, Mr. Fontelieu was best known as a director who worked for many local theatrical organizations, including Gallery Circle Theatre, Bayou Dinner Theater and Rivertown Repertory Theater.
By the time he retired in 2006, Mr. Fontelieu had directed 340 plays.
"He could draw out of a person with not much experience exactly what he wanted to get," said Janet Shea, an actress who worked frequently with Mr. Fontelieu and later directed him in "Amadeus."
"He was always very well organized and knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish," she said, "and he knew exactly how to take steps to do that."
In an interview with Rebecca Hale for her history of Le Petit, Mr. Fontelieu said the most memorable productions he directed were "The Elephant Man," "A Man for All Seasons," "West Side Story" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Because he was blessed with stage presence, a powerful voice and a knack for the grand gesture, Mr. Fontelieu performed in front of the footlights, too, appearing in 148 plays. He also was in 14 made-for-television movies and 22 feature films, including "Angel Heart." "He was theatrical, but, then, he was theater," said Frank Gagnard, a retired Times-Picayune critic.
Some of thosewho worked with Mr. Fontelieu went on to national show-business careers. Among them were Bryan Batt of "Mad Men," who performed in "Grease" and "The Robber Bridegroom" in New Orleans, and Ed Nelson of "Peyton Place," who played Stanley Kowalski in a local production of "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Mr. Fontelieu also was in demand for voice-overs. He was Dr. Walrus, one of Mr. Bingle's sidekicks, in the local Yuletide television series for children, and he lent his distinctive voice to commercials as well.
Stepping before the cameras in commercials, Mr. Fontelieu's roles included the inventor Thomas A. Edison for a lighting store -- "Edison would have bought it here" was his line -- and the furniture merchant Morris Kirschman, driving a horse-drawn buggy brimming with merchandise through the streets of early-20th-century New Orleans.
"Everybody knew Stocker's voice, even if they didn't know Stocker," Gagnard said.
Mr. Fontelieu, who never used Charles, his first name, was born in New Orleans and graduated from New Orleans Academy, which has since closed.
He enrolled in Tulane as an architecture major, but he left in 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II, to enlist in the Army. Mr. Fontelieu wound up in the infantry in the Pacific theater, where he was in the first wave of the invasions of Leyte and Okinawa.
During the Okinawa landing in 1945, Mr. Fontelieu suffered shrapnel wounds in his back and legs. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
While recovering in a Hawaii hospital, Mr. Fontelieu saw a USO production of Noel Coward's comedy "Blithe Spirit." It was the first play he had ever seen. "All I know is that it was hilarious," he told critic David Cuthbert in a 2003 interview for The Times-Picayune.
"I loved it," he said. "I was piqued by the overall production as much as the entertainment of it."
When he returned to Tulane, Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview, he saw a poster bearing two words that changed his life: "Theater Department."
He checked it out -- and changed his major. Monroe Lippman, the department's director, suggested that Mr. Fontelieu consider working at Le Petit, with which Tulane was affiliated. The result: His first role, in 1947, as Frank Bonaparte in "Golden Boy."
Although acting was what most people entered the theater department to do, Lippman "steered me toward directing," Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview.
After he graduated in 1949, the Little Theatre of Monroe hired Mr. Fontelieu to be its general director. He stayed there four years, directing 21 plays, before returning to Tulane to earn a master of fine arts degree in 1955.
During that time, he had been acting at Le Petit. But after finishing his degree, he was hired by Gallery Circle Theatre, on Madison Street in the French Quarter, to be its executive director. He held that position until he went to Le Petit in 1961.
After leaving Le Petit in 1985, Mr. Fontelieu worked at Bayou Dinner Theater from 1986 until 1993. Hewas a freelance director and actor for the rest of his career, a period in which he took on such meaty roles as James Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and Matthew Harrison Brady in "Inherit the Wind."
And there was the production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," which was staged in January 2000 in the Contemporary Arts Center's unheated garage. Mr. Fontelieu, then 76, played Capt. Cecil Lewis, a role that required him to be in his undershirt for most of the four-hour play.
"At intermission of the first performance, all of the audience got up as one and left," he said in the 2003 interview. "Who could blame them? But, then, they all came back. They'd gone to their cars to get blankets, overcoats, pillows, whatever they could get to help them stay warm. Now that's what I call a theater accomplishment!"
It was, he said, testimony to the lingering power of theater.
"Good theater is always needed," he told Cuthbert. "Experiencing live theater is life-enhancing. Like all the arts, it broadens our lives. Theater, like history, is a great teacher. And with all the problems inherent in it, I still look forward to going there."
Among Mr. Fontelieu's honors were lifetime-achievement awards from the Arts Council of New Orleans, the Southwest Theater Association and the Big Easy Entertainment Awards.
Survivors include a brother, Theodore J. Fontelieu Jr. of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Funeral arrangements, which will be handled by Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, are incomplete.
Stocker Fontelieu, a commanding force in local theater for nearly 60 years, died Monday of cancer at Covenant Home in New Orleans. He was 86.
The executive director of Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré from 1961 to 1985, Mr. Fontelieu was best known as a director who worked for many local theatrical organizations, including Gallery Circle Theatre, Bayou Dinner Theater and Rivertown Repertory Theater.
By the time he retired in 2006, Mr. Fontelieu had directed 340 plays.
"He could draw out of a person with not much experience exactly what he wanted to get," said Janet Shea, an actress who worked frequently with Mr. Fontelieu and later directed him in "Amadeus."
"He was always very well organized and knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish," she said, "and he knew exactly how to take steps to do that."
In an interview with Rebecca Hale for her history of Le Petit, Mr. Fontelieu said the most memorable productions he directed were "The Elephant Man," "A Man for All Seasons," "West Side Story" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Because he was blessed with stage presence, a powerful voice and a knack for the grand gesture, Mr. Fontelieu performed in front of the footlights, too, appearing in 148 plays. He also was in 14 made-for-television movies and 22 feature films, including "Angel Heart." "He was theatrical, but, then, he was theater," said Frank Gagnard, a retired Times-Picayune critic.
Some of thosewho worked with Mr. Fontelieu went on to national show-business careers. Among them were Bryan Batt of "Mad Men," who performed in "Grease" and "The Robber Bridegroom" in New Orleans, and Ed Nelson of "Peyton Place," who played Stanley Kowalski in a local production of "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Mr. Fontelieu also was in demand for voice-overs. He was Dr. Walrus, one of Mr. Bingle's sidekicks, in the local Yuletide television series for children, and he lent his distinctive voice to commercials as well.
Stepping before the cameras in commercials, Mr. Fontelieu's roles included the inventor Thomas A. Edison for a lighting store -- "Edison would have bought it here" was his line -- and the furniture merchant Morris Kirschman, driving a horse-drawn buggy brimming with merchandise through the streets of early-20th-century New Orleans.
"Everybody knew Stocker's voice, even if they didn't know Stocker," Gagnard said.
Mr. Fontelieu, who never used Charles, his first name, was born in New Orleans and graduated from New Orleans Academy, which has since closed.
He enrolled in Tulane as an architecture major, but he left in 1942, shortly after the United States entered World War II, to enlist in the Army. Mr. Fontelieu wound up in the infantry in the Pacific theater, where he was in the first wave of the invasions of Leyte and Okinawa.
During the Okinawa landing in 1945, Mr. Fontelieu suffered shrapnel wounds in his back and legs. He was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
While recovering in a Hawaii hospital, Mr. Fontelieu saw a USO production of Noel Coward's comedy "Blithe Spirit." It was the first play he had ever seen. "All I know is that it was hilarious," he told critic David Cuthbert in a 2003 interview for The Times-Picayune.
"I loved it," he said. "I was piqued by the overall production as much as the entertainment of it."
When he returned to Tulane, Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview, he saw a poster bearing two words that changed his life: "Theater Department."
He checked it out -- and changed his major. Monroe Lippman, the department's director, suggested that Mr. Fontelieu consider working at Le Petit, with which Tulane was affiliated. The result: His first role, in 1947, as Frank Bonaparte in "Golden Boy."
Although acting was what most people entered the theater department to do, Lippman "steered me toward directing," Mr. Fontelieu said in the interview.
After he graduated in 1949, the Little Theatre of Monroe hired Mr. Fontelieu to be its general director. He stayed there four years, directing 21 plays, before returning to Tulane to earn a master of fine arts degree in 1955.
During that time, he had been acting at Le Petit. But after finishing his degree, he was hired by Gallery Circle Theatre, on Madison Street in the French Quarter, to be its executive director. He held that position until he went to Le Petit in 1961.
After leaving Le Petit in 1985, Mr. Fontelieu worked at Bayou Dinner Theater from 1986 until 1993. Hewas a freelance director and actor for the rest of his career, a period in which he took on such meaty roles as James Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and Matthew Harrison Brady in "Inherit the Wind."
And there was the production of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh," which was staged in January 2000 in the Contemporary Arts Center's unheated garage. Mr. Fontelieu, then 76, played Capt. Cecil Lewis, a role that required him to be in his undershirt for most of the four-hour play.
"At intermission of the first performance, all of the audience got up as one and left," he said in the 2003 interview. "Who could blame them? But, then, they all came back. They'd gone to their cars to get blankets, overcoats, pillows, whatever they could get to help them stay warm. Now that's what I call a theater accomplishment!"
It was, he said, testimony to the lingering power of theater.
"Good theater is always needed," he told Cuthbert. "Experiencing live theater is life-enhancing. Like all the arts, it broadens our lives. Theater, like history, is a great teacher. And with all the problems inherent in it, I still look forward to going there."
Among Mr. Fontelieu's honors were lifetime-achievement awards from the Arts Council of New Orleans, the Southwest Theater Association and the Big Easy Entertainment Awards.
Survivors include a brother, Theodore J. Fontelieu Jr. of Santa Barbara, Calif.
Funeral arrangements, which will be handled by Tharp-Sontheimer-Tharp Funeral Home, are incomplete.
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