Wallace K. Chappell ’63

Wallace K. Chappell ’63 died on April 14 in Iowa City, Iowa. Wally was from New York City and attended Mamaroneck (New York) Senior High School, where he was involved in the newspaper, glee club, dramatics, and sports. At Dartmouth he majored in drama and was active in The Players. He then earned a U.S. State Department fellowship at the University of Hawaii, where he gained an M.F.A. Wally had a profound impact on performing arts. As director of the University of Iowa Hancher Auditorium from 1986 to 2001, he was recognized as one of the top 10 university presenters. His leadership extended beyond Iowa as executive director of the American Ballet Theater and Paul Taylor Dance Company. He was an actor, director, and producer; appeared on stage, TV, and film; and directed professionally at the Mark Taper Forum, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (Missouri), Alliance Theatre, Kennedy Center, Long Wharf Theatre, the Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and the O’Neill Memorial Theatre. During his tenure at Hancher, he commissioned 50 new works. Wally was an influential board member of the Kronos Quartet, Englert Theatre, and Riverside Theatre. He was a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Union and past president of the International Society of Performing Arts and served on many panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. He also taught theater and arts administration at UCLA and the University of Minnesota and the University of Iowa. He is survived by Karen, his wife of six decades.