The theatre and television industries gathered on Thursday, October 10 to celebrate 12-time Tony Award-winning producer Robert L. Boyett as he received the honor of a caricature on the hallowed walls of Sardi’s Restaurant. See photos from the event
Boyett was celebrated by Tony Award-winning writer Robert Horn, actress Holland Taylor and actor Christopher Sieber in front of a room that included Robert E. Wankel, Daryl Roth, Adam Hess, Bill Haber, Barry Weissler, Joey Parnes, Jeffrey Richards, Nick Scandalios, Douglas Denoff, Jane Bergère, Lucas McMahon, Daniel Unitas, Mark Linn-Baker, Charlotte Wilcox, Charlotte St. Martin, Matt Polk, Adrian Bryan-Brown, Elizabeth Williams, Wendy Orshan, Jeff Wilson and Karen Rosenberg, as well as from the television world, Bob Keyes and Doug Keyes, Sally Wheeler Maier, David Valcin, JoMarie Payton, Steve Witting, JuanPablo DiPace and Jussie Smollett, among others.
A native of Atlanta, GA, Bob graduated with a B.A. from Duke University and received his master’s degree from Columbia University. He began his entertainment career as Vice President, Prime Time Development for Television network in New York, and relocated to Los Angeles, where he served as ’s Vice President of Programming. After leaving , he became an independent television and film producer, with over 1,600 television episodes to his credit. A partial list of television shows he developed, created, or produced includes “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “Bosom Buddies,” “Mork & Mindy,” “The Hogan Family,” “Perfect Strangers,” “Full House,” “Two of a Kind,” “Step by Step,” and “Family Matters,” among many others.
After 25 years at Paramount and Warner Brothers, Bob moved back to New York where he began producing for Broadway. Since 2001, he has received a producing credit for an astounding 127 Broadway shows. He is the winner of 12 Tony Awards for The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (Best Play), Glengarry Glen Ross (Best Revival of a Play), Monty Python’s Spamalot (Best Musical), The History Boys (Best Play), Journey’s End (Best Revival of a Play), Tom Stoppard’s The Coast of Utopia (Best Play), Boeing-Boeing (Best Revival of a Play), South Pacific (Best Revival of a Musical), War Horse (Best Play), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Best Play), Dear Evan Hansen (Best Musical), and Company (Best Revival of a Musical).
His other notable Broadway credits include this season’s Sunset Blvd.; The Hills of California; BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical; Left on Tenth; Tammy Faye; The Roommate; Once Upon a Mattress; and Oh, Mary!; as well as such previous productions as An Enemy of the People; The Notebook; Purlie Victorious; Fat Ham; Shucked; Sweeney Todd (2023); A Doll’s House (2023); Some Like It Hot; Ohio State Murders; Take Me Out (2022); Death of a Salesman (2022); Mrs. Doubtfire; To Kill A Mockingbird; Mrs. Doubtfire; Tootsie; Les Liaison Dangereuses (2016); The Gin Game (2015); An Act of God; Ann; One Man, Two Guvnors; The Pitmen Painters; 13, A New Musical; The Seagull (2008); Sunday in the Park with George (2008); The Crucible; Is He Dead?; The 39 Steps; The Seafarer; Tom Stoppard’s Rock ’n’ Roll; Inherit The Wind (2007); The Drowsy Chaperone; The Pillowman; Democracy; Jumpers; Fiddler on the Roof (2004); A Year with Frog and Toad; Topdog/Underdog (2002 Pulitzer Prize); Sweet Smell of Success; The Elephant Man (2002); and Hedda Gabler (2001).
His London producing credits include Mrs. Doubtfire; Dealer’s Choice; Little Shop of Horrors; Boeing- Boeing; The Dumb Waiter; The 39 Steps; Bent; Donkeys’ Years; South Pacific; Sunday in the Park with George; The Woman in White; Boston Marriage; Lobby Hero; Jumpers; Monty Python’s Spamalot, and The Drowsy Chaperone.
Bob had a 10-year relationship with the National Theatre of Great Britain as producer of all its shows on Broadway. His service to British theatre was recognized in his appointment by Queen Elizabeth as CBE, Commander of the British Empire, for Drama.