Louis E. Roberts ’53

Louis E. Roberts ’53 died on September 19, 2018, in Milton, Massachusetts.

(The following was published in published in The Boston Globe on September 25, 2018):

Lou Roberts '53It is with great sadness that the family of Louis Edward Roberts announces his passing on Wednesday, September 19, 2018, at the age of 86 years. Louis will be lovingly remembered by his beloved wife of sixty-three years, Malisa, and his children, Rebecca and her husband Denis; Lou Jr. ’80; Alexandra and her husband Bill; and Charles ’89 and his wife, Jennifer. Louis will also be fondly remembered by his nine grandchildren: Malissa, Max, Cassandra, Sam ’14, Denis, Isaac, Jacob, Obadiah, and Jackson. He was the dear brother of the late Jack M. Roberts and his late wife, Shirley, and the loving uncle of their daughter, Louise. The family held a private service at his home in Milton, Massachusetts. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the American Red Cross or to Doctors Without Borders. Louis was a professor of theater arts, distinguished playwright, theater director, and literary critic. He was a gifted teacher who inspired and motivated several generations of students. He taught journalism in the English department at Northeastern University in Boston. He was professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he founded and chaired the theatre arts department for twenty-five years. Lou is the author of twenty-three plays produced in ten countries. He directed twenty-six professional productions and sixteen in university theaters. He authored and adapted numerous radio plays for the BBC, NPR, and the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. He is also the author of a collection of philosophical essays on great literary works. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London, an honorary knight of the Golden Spurs of Madrid, a senior North American advisor emeritus at the Latin American Theatre Institute, and a fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation Writers Center in Mexico City. He was artistic director at several theaters including the Fine Arts Theatre in Boston, English Theatre in Mexico City, Teatro del Campesino in Mexico City, and was the artistic director emeritus of the Teatro Delicias in Mexico City. He was president of the Nantucket Institute, president of the Artists Association of Nantucket, and the director of the playwriting and performance program in Nantucket for thirty years. He was the author and presenter of dramatic and literary discussion and interviews for the BBC and NPR, and a drama critic for newspapers, journals, radio, and television. He was particularly proud of his work protecting Latin American playwrights from repressive political regimes. He was a translator, adaptor, and director of English language premieres from Spanish and French for works by Sartre, Unamuno, Valle-Inclan, Buenaventura, Casona, Lenero, and Santander, and from Russian, Andreyev (with Olga Andreyev Carlisle). He was a member of the Dramatists Guild, Authors League of America, Actors Equity Association, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Union. Lou appeared in the Boston’s Millennium Leaders exhibition in the Boston Public Library, a collection of new portraits taken by the Bachrach Studio to honor 200 Boston leaders. Louis attended Bowdoin College, where he graduated cum laude, Boston University, and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he received his PhD.

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