Morton DaCosta

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}} '''Morton DaCosta''' (March 7, 1914 – January 26, 1989) was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor.

==Career== Born Morton Tecosky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, DaCosta began his career as an actor in the Broadway production of Thornton Wilder's ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' starring Tallulah Bankhead in 1942. A decade later he made his stage directing debut with ''The Grey-Eyed People''.

DaCosta had a string of hit Broadway productions in the 1950s: ''Plain and Fancy'', ''No Time for Sergeants'', ''Auntie Mame'' and ''The Music Man''.

Additional Broadway directing credits include ''Sherry!'', ''The Women'', ''Saratoga'', and ''Maggie Flynn''. He also wrote the book for the latter two productions.

DaCosta produced and directed the films ''Auntie Mame'' (1958), ''The Music Man'' (1962), and ''Island of Love'' (1963).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/31/obituaries/morton-da-costa-74-director.html|title=Morton da Costa, 74, Director|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 31, 1989|last1=Shepard|first1=Richard F.}}</ref> In 1967, DaCosta was hired to direct ''Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter'' (1968), starring Herman's Hermits.<ref>{{cite magazine |author= |date=6 May 1967 |title=Film Colony Shooting For Top 40 Writers & Artists |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10&dq=mrs+brown+you%27ve+got+a+lovely+daughter+movie&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjG7eD_vrmUAxWFGlkFHTQTITUQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false |magazine=Billboard |location=New York |page=10 |publisher=The Billboard Publishing Company |access-date=14 May 2026}}</ref> One month into filming, he was dismissed from the production and replaced by Saul Swimmer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Graham |first=Sheilah |author-link=Sheilah Graham |date=8 June 1967 |title=[untitled] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUsqAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA19&dq=mrs+brown+youve+got+a+lovely+daughter&article_id=6342,3454821&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ3qO3soKUAxWFmIkEHTW-K-UQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q=mrs%20brown%20youve%20got%20a%20lovely%20daughter&f=false |work=The Pittsburgh Press |location=London |page=36 |publisher=Scripps Howard |access-date=14 May 2026}}</ref>

==Awards== The Broadway production of ''The Music Man'' earned DaCosta a Tony Award nomination for Best Director of a Musical. For the film version, he received Best Director nominations from the Directors Guild of America Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. As the producer of the film version, he also received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

His feature film directorial debut, the film version of ''Auntie Mame'', was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. Both with ''Auntie Mame'' and four years later with ''The Music Man'', DaCosta was not nominated for Best Director despite both films receiving Best Picture nominations.

DaCosta, who was always known by his nickname Tec, died of heart failure in Redding, Connecticut.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{IBDB name}} * {{IMDb name|0196536}} * [https://www.nypl.org/archives/4290 Morton DaCosta papers, 1929–1978], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacosta, Morton}} Category:American theatre directors Category:American musical theatre librettists Category:American male stage actors Category:Film directors from Pennsylvania Category:Film producers from Pennsylvania Category:Male actors from Philadelphia Category:1914 births Category:1989 deaths Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:American male dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American male writers Category:Pseudonymous film directors