{{Short description|American educator, actor, and director}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Nafe Katter | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|10|25}} | birth_place = Saginaw, Michigan, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|08|20|1927|10|25}} | death_place = Summerfield, Florida, US | alma_mater = University of Michigan <br/>(BA, MA, PhD) | occupation = Educator, actor, director | employer = University of Connecticut }} '''Nafe Edmund Katter''' (October 25, 1927 – August 20, 2014)<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|date=August 31, 2014|title=Obituary for Nafe KATTER, 1926–2014|pages=B9|work=Hartford Courant|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83075308/obituary-for-nafe-katter-1926-2014/|access-date=August 9, 2021}}</ref> was a stage actor and director who taught theatre at the University of Connecticut from 1957 to 1997. In 2000, Katter donated $1 million to build the 241-seat Nafe Katter Theatre,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Connecticut Repertory's Nafe Katter Theatre|url=https://www.todaytix.com/insider/connecticut/venues/connecticut-repertorys-nafe-katter-theatre|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=TodayTix|language=en}}</ref> which opened in 2004 on UConn's campus in Storrs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Nancy|date=February 8, 2000|title=Retired UConn theater prof stops waiting for angel|url=https://www.journalinquirer.com/archives/retired-uconn-theater-prof-stops-waiting-for-angel/article_b4c0957c-5b9c-51b4-8e9a-5f92df50e533.html|access-date=August 8, 2021|website=Journal Inquirer (Manchester, CT)|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Nafe Katter's Legacy Lives on in New Drama Production Facility|url=https://plannedgiving.uconn.edu/meet-our-donors/nafe-katter|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=the University of Connecticut Foundation|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=RIZZO|first=FRANK|title=UConn To Mark Life Of Educator, Actor, Philanthropist Nafe Katter|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/hc-ctn-theater-20141002-story.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=baltimoresun.com|date=October 2, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=RIZZO|first=FRANK|title=UConn To Mark Life Of Educator, Actor, Philanthropist Nafe Katter|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/hc-ctn-theater-20141002-story.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=chicagotribune.com|date=October 2, 2014 }}</ref>
== Life and career == Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Katter was the son of a Lebanese baker, Nafe W. Katter, and Meta Blohm Katter.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Gordon|first=Jane|date=January 30, 2005|title=This Actor Has His Own Theater|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/30/nyregion/theater/this-actor-has-his-own-theater.html|access-date=August 8, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Katter planned to become a lawyer but discovered his true calling when he took a theatre class. He went on to earn his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Rizzo|first=Frank|title=It's Payback Time: A Grateful Professor's Gift Results in a New Stage for UConn|url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2004-10-03-0410030637-story.html|access-date=August 9, 2021|website=The Hartford Courant|date=October 3, 2004 |language=en-US}}</ref> After a stint as an actor in New York City, Katter joined the University of Connecticut's faculty in 1957. He oversaw the university's acting program and directed one hundred productions, including Shakespearean plays and musicals. Katter retired in 1997 as professor emeritus of theater.<ref name=":0" />
Katter acted for decades at the Hartford Stage, TheaterWorks, and other venues nationwide and continued acting after retirement. He was known for supporting roles in Shakespeare revivals and for regular performances as the Solicitor in the Hartford Stage's annual adaptation of ''A Christmas Carol''. He co-founded a Shakespeare festival in Stratford, Connecticut, and spent ten years directing and acting in the Connecticut Repertory Theatre's Nutmeg Summer Series. He often collaborated with directors Michael Wilson and Mark Lamos.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Rizzo|first=Frank|date=August 21, 2014|title=Retired UConn Drama Director, Benefactor Nafe Katter Dies|url=https://www.courant.com/hc-xpm-2014-08-21-hc-nafe-katter-obit-20140821-story.html|access-date=August 8, 2021|website=The Hartford Courant|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Legacy == In 2000, Katter donated $1 million to build the 12,000-square-foot, 241-seat Nafe Katter Theatre at UConn. The new theatre featured a thrust stage long needed by the university's performing arts programs. To raise money for the gift, Katter sold real estate, including a Florida condo and a London flat he had bought in the 1970s.<ref name=":1" /> The gift prompted UConn to invest $3.5 million to fund the rest of the construction. The Nafe Katter Theatre officially opened on October 7, 2004, with the Connecticut Repertory Theatre production of Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 22, 2014|title=Emeritus Professor of Dramatic Arts Nafe Katter Dies|url=https://today.uconn.edu/2014/08/emeritus-professor-of-dramatic-arts-nafe-katter-dies/|access-date=August 9, 2021|website=UConn Today|language=en-US}}</ref>
Katter made another gift of $400,000 in 2014 to the School of Fine Arts at UConn to fund the construction of a production facility behind the Katter Theatre.<ref name=":3" />
In 1978, UConn had established the Nafe E. Katter/Ron Palillo Scholarship in Acting, honoring Katter and one of his students, actor Ron Palillo (BA 1972).<ref name=":2" />
== Later life and death == Katter was a long-time resident of Manchester, Connecticut, before moving to Summerfield, Florida, in 2008. He suffered a stroke on August 7, 2014, and died at a Summerfield hospice facility on August 20 at the age of 86.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=RIZZO|first=FRANK|title=Retired UConn Drama Director, Benefactor Nafe Katter Dies|url=https://www.courant.com/ctnow/arts-theater/stage-notes/hc-nafe-katter-obit-20140821-story.html|access-date=August 20, 2021|website=courant.com|date=August 21, 2014 }}</ref> Katter had never married and had no children.<ref name=":2" /> He was survived by his sister Elnora Katter Hamady, a niece, and two nephews.<ref name=":4" />
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katter, Nafe}} Category:1927 births Category:2014 deaths Category:People from Saginaw, Michigan Category:American people of Lebanese descent Category:American drama teachers Category:University of Connecticut faculty Category:American male stage actors Category:Male actors from Connecticut Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American theatre directors Category:University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni