William Shust
William Shust | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 14, 1928 |
| Died | March 14, 2018 (aged 90) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Known for | Portraying Anton Chekhov in Chekhov on the Lawn |
William Shust was a Ukrainian-American actor. His career lasted for over six decades and included numerous roles in Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theater productions. He also had roles on television, film and acted in commercials.
Early life
[edit]Shust (originally spelled Szust) was born January 14, 1928, in New York City to Ukrainian immigrant parents and grew up among other Ukrainian immigrant families in the area of Manhattan's East Village known as "Little Ukraine".[citation needed] In 1945, he graduated from Seward Park High School, which includes performing arts luminaries such as Tony Curtis, Estelle Getty, Jerry Stiller, Walter Matthau and Luis Guzman among its alumni.[1] He went on to attend Fordham University, where he earned a B.S. in Marketing in 1949 and an MFA in Theatre in 1954.[2]
Career
[edit]Shust received great acclaim in the early 1960s for playing the leading role of Emile in the first-ever production of Felicien Marceau's The Egg in the United States.[3] Theater critic Henry Hewes named The Egg the best play of 1961-1962 on the strength of Shust's performance.[4]
His most notable role was his long-time portrayal of Anton Chekhov in the one-man show Chekhov on the Lawn, written and directed by Elihu Winer.[5][6][7] Beginning in 1972, Shust performed Chekhov on the Lawn across the United States and Great Britain for close to two decades, winning the Best Performance Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1980.[7][8] In 1990, he became the first American actor to perform in Yalta when the USSR invited him to perform Chekhov on the Lawn there.[9]
Other productions include Bertolt Brecht’s Arturo Ui (first production on Broadway, directed by Tony Richardson),[10][11] The Owl and the Pussycat (Broadway, directed by Arthur Storch),[12] Clifford Odets’ The Country Girl (Broadway, directed by John Houseman),[10][11] Right You Are, Ghosts, Lovers (Roundabout Theatre),[13] Agamemnon, Electra, Trojan Women (Theatre Marquee),[14][15] Look Back in Anger (41 Street Theatre),[16] Count Dracula (Equity Library Theatre),[17] The Taming of the Shrew (Phoenix Theatre),[18] and The Scarlet Letter (Gene Frankel Theatre).[19][20]
Shust’s film and television work included small roles as the psychologist Dr. Fisher in Dark Shadows and Patrick Henry in the 1976 PBS historical drama miniseries The Adams Chronicles.[21][22]
In 1951, Shust narrated a two-hour radio broadcast of a Ukrainian Christmas mass at St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York.[23] He frequently performed in Ukrainian productions and at various Ukrainian cultural events, including speaking at the dedication of the Taras Shevchenko Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1964.[24]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Yesterday". Seward Park High School. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- ↑ Shust, William (1954-01-01). "A Plan for the Modern Presentation of the Medieval Comedy "Ralph Roister Doister" by Nicholas Udall". ETD Collection for Fordham University: 1–211.
- ↑ Atkinson, Brooks (1960-12-06). "After Years of Pillar-to-Post Existence, Arena Stage Looks to Its Permanent Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- ↑ "The Best Plays 1961-1962 : Henry Hewes : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2026-08-03.
- ↑ Gussow, Mel (25 September 1981). "Theater: William Shust Brings Chekhov To Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ Beaufort, John (28 September 1981). "Chekhov on the Lawn; Play by Elihu Winer. Directed by Mr. Winer. Starring William Shust". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- 1 2 Smindak, Helen (4 October 1981). "William Shust wins acclaim" (PDF). The Ukrainian Weekly. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ "Shust cited in Edinburgh for performance as Chekhov" (PDF). The Ukrainian Weekly. 5 October 1980. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- ↑ "Mainstage Series 2010-2011". Playhouse on Park. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
- 1 2 "William Shust (Performer)". Playbill. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- 1 2 BWW, Team. "William Shust (Actor) - Broadway & Theatre Credits, Current Shows, News, Bio". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "Shust, William". The Lambs’ Archives. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Barnes, Clive (1972-10-12). "Theater: 'Right You Are'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Gelb, Arthur (1957-02-25). "LENA HORNE GETS LEAD IN MUSICAL; To Star in 'Jamaica' in Fall --Robert Lewis Will Direct --Oliver Smith Is Designer Arrival From Britain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Variety (April 1957). Variety (April 1957). Media History Digital Library. Variety Inc.
- ↑ "Cast Change in Osborne Play". The New York Times. 1959-01-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "Stage: Fourth Dra.cula on the Prowl". The New York Times. 1978-02-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Oliver, Edith (1963-03-09). "Off Broadway". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Sierra, Gabrielle (2011-03-03). "Playhouse on Park Presents Regional Premiere of The Scarlet Letter". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "The Scarlet Letter". www.backstage.com. 2007-06-04. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "Shust, William". The Lambs’ Archives. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ "William Shust". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ "Fordham University Libraries Digital Collections". www.library.fordham.edu. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
- ↑ "Урочистості Відкриття Пам'ятника Тарасові Шевченкові У Вашинґтоні" (PDF). Svoboda. 30 June 1964. Retrieved 28 July 2026.