Del Hughes

Del Hughes (September 4, 1909 – May 18, 1985) was an American stage manager, director, and performer whose career on Broadway spanned from 1933 to 1953. Born Delbert Charles Hughes in Detroit, Michigan, he was the son of Albert J. Hughes, a shipping clerk, and Lena J. Meilstrup. On September 3, 1937, he married Julia Johnston, and the two remained together until her death in 1979. Hughes did not remarry.

Hughes made his Broadway debut as a performer in 1933, playing Captain Tim in Tobacco Road. He would go on to appear in additional Broadway productions, including Open House, Vickie, Yours, A. Lincoln, and The Crucible. His transition into stage management began in 1941 when he stepped in as a replacement stage manager for Tobacco Road, the same production in which he had launched his performing career. Following the close of that run, Hughes continued to take on both performing and stage management responsibilities, though the latter increasingly became his primary focus.

Over the course of his career, Hughes stage managed nearly thirty Broadway productions. Among the most prominent were the original Broadway productions of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. For The Crucible, Hughes also appeared onstage, portraying Reverend John Hale in the original cast. Additional productions he stage managed include The Children's Hour, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, and The Complaisant Lover. Beyond the stage, Hughes worked in television, contributing to productions including The Brighter Day and All My Children.

Hughes died on May 18, 1985, at the age of 75. His daughter Julie Hughes, a casting agent, worked with the Stage Managers' Association to establish the Del Hughes Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Art of Stage Management, an honor recognizing stage managers who have made a significant artistic impact on the theatrical community. His personal production files and promptbooks are held at the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, where they are accessible to the public.