Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1917, June 11 | Born Lars Reinhold Schmidt, Uddevalla, Sweden |
| 1938 | Worked in coal mines in Swansea, Wales |
| 1938-circa 1939 | Attended City of London College |
| 1939-circa 1941 | Served with Bohuslän regiment, Dalshögen, Sweden |
| circa 1941 | Established Lars Schmidt & Company with P. T. Hammarén as an entity to obtain plays for production at Gothenburg City Theater |
| 1941 Mar. | Traveled to United States on M/S Carolina Thordén on first play-buying trip to obtain Swedish publishing/production rights to plays. The ship was attacked by German bombers and its passengers stranded in the Faroe Islands. Schmidt taken with several other survivors to Havana and eventually allowed to enter the U.S. via Miami Established contact in New York with Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Robert Sherwood, William Saroyan, Maxwell Anderson, Clifford Odets, and Lillian Hellman |
| 1941, Oct. 4 | Married Ingrid Hallner Dickson, became stepfather to Douglas and Helen Dickson |
| 1942, July 6 | Jan Schmidt born (died 1950) |
| 1942 | European premiere of Arsenic and Old Lace in Gothenburg |
| circa 1942 | Established Lars Schmidt Teaterförlaget (a publishing company holding the Swedish/Scandinavian rights to U.S. plays) |
| 1945 | Conducted three-month play-buying trip to New York, returning with the Swedish rights to 100 plays, including Life with Father, The Glass Menagerie, A Bell for Adano, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Time of Our Life, and The Little Foxes Met Peter Ustinov and Christopher Fry for first time in London |
| 1946, Feb. 8 | European premiere of The Glass Menagerie in Stockholm |
| circa 1947 | Established Schmidt and Bratt advertising agency with Ernst Gustav Bratt |
| 1947 | Made first foray into producing by backing the production of Peter Ustinov's Frenzy Negotiated subsidiary rights to all Rodgers and Hammerstein productions European premiere of Oklahoma! in Malmo, Sweden |
| 1948-1950 | Oklahoma! and Carousel performed throughout Scandinavia |
| 1948-1953 | Opened Teaterbåten in Gothenburg as a venue for revues. Star performers include Tutta Rolf, Lasse Dahlquist, Gus and Holger, Thor Modéen, and Willy Peters |
| 1949 | European premiere of Annie Get Your Gun in Gothenburg |
| 1951 | European premiere of Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo in Gothenburg Kiss Me, Kate opened in Stockholm and Oslo |
| 1952 Sept. | South Pacific opened in Stockholm |
| 1953 | Slå nollan till polisen (Dial M for Murder) opened in Gothenburg Sold Gothenburg Teaterbåten |
| circa 1956 | Purchased property in Dann Holmen, Sweden |
| 1956 Dec.-1965 | Produced first play in Paris, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, staged by Peter Brook; over next nine years, Schmidt presented Diary of Anne Frank, 12 Angry Men, Britannicus, La Hobereauté, Orpheus Descending, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Barefoot in the Park, Becket, and How to Succeed in Business on various Parisian stages |
| 1957-1958 | Formed International Playwrights Theatre in London with Toby Rowland and Peter Hall Produced Camino Real, staged at the Phoenix Theatre, and Brouhaha, with Peter Sellers, at the Aldwych Theater |
| 1958, Dec. 21 | Married Ingrid Bergman (died 1982) at Caxton Hall, London; became stepfather to Pia Lindstrom, Robertino Rossellini, Isabella Rossellini, and Isotta-Ingrid Rossellini |
| 1958 | Purchased La Grange aux Moines in Choisel, France Became co-producer, with Mme. Françoise Grammont, of L'Athénée Théâtre in Paris |
| 1959 | European premiere of My Fair Lady in Oslo, with subsequent openings in Stockholm and Helsinki |
| 1959-1962 | My Fair Lady performed on fourteen stages throughout Scandinavia, northern Europe, and Italy |
| 1962 | Produced Hedda Gabler with Ingrid Bergman at Théâtre Montparnasse Gaston-Baty European premiere of West Side Story and world premiere ofTeenager Love in Copenhagen |
| 1965-1985 | Purchased Théâtre Montparnasse, in partnership with Swedish theater and film company Sandrews and Jerome Hullot as artistic director Around 100 productions mounted under Schmidt's management, including Luv, The Four Seasons, The Price, Jeux de Massacre, Private Lives, Same Time Next Year, and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) |
| circa 1966 | Sandrews withdrew from Théâtre Montparnasse |
| 1971 | Scandinavian premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar in Copenhagen |
| 1972 | Produced Honni soit qui mal y pense (The Ruling Class) at the Théâtre de Paris |
| 1975 | Sold Nordiska Teaterförlaget AB (successor to Lars Schmidt Teaterförlaget) to Hanne and Lone Wilhelm Hansen |
| 1977 | Kristian Schmidt born to companion Kristina Belfrage |
| 1980 | Opened Petit Montparnasse as a venue for smaller and experimental productions Appointed Chevalier of French Legion of Honor |
| 1983 | Produced K2 by Patrick Meyers at Théâtre de la Porte Saint Martin in Paris |
| 1985 | Turned ownership of Théâtre Montparnasse over to Miriam Colombi Resumed career as an independent producer and director |
| 1986 | Produced 'Night Mother at Théâtre Actuel in Paris |
| 1988-1989 | Produced Metamorphosis with Roman Polanski at Théâtre Gymnase-Marie Bell in Paris and with Mikhail Baryshnikov at the Barrymore Theater in New York City |
| 1990 | Directed Love Letters by AR Gurney at Petit Marigny in Paris |
| circa 1990 | Became life companion of Yanne Norup |
| 1994 | Produced Arthur Miller's Broken Glass in New York City |
| 1995 | Published Mitt Livs Teater Directed Sylvia by AR Gurney at Bouffes Parisians |
| 1996 | Produced Master Class by Terrance McNally at Théâtre de la Porte Saint Martin in Paris (his last theater production) |
| 1997 | Appointed Officer of French Legion of Honor |
| 2005 | Appointed Commander of French Legion of Honor |
| 2009, Oct. 18 | Died, Fjällbacka, Sweden |