Ward Morehouse III Dies; Noted NY Author, Journalist, Drama Critic, Playwright, Publicist

Mr. Morehouse was also a renowned expert on historic US and European hotels, having written 15 books on the subject, including "Inside the Plaza" (the Plaza Hotel) where he lived as a child.
By: The Morehouse Family
 
Ward Morehouse III
Ward Morehouse III
NEW YORK - Aug. 21, 2019 - PRLog -- Ward Morehouse III (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Morehouse_III), a former theater critic for The New York Post, The New York Sun and a major contributing writer for many years for The Christian Science Monitor, has passed away in Princeton, NJ, it is announced by his family. Mr. Morehouse was 73 and died of natural causes.  In the 1980s in New York, Mr. Morehouse served as an NBC News staff publicist for such shows as NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Monitor and NBC News at Sunrise.

As The Barrett Company's associate publicist based in New York,  Mr. Morehouse launched The Barrett Company's (www.thebarrettco.com) book publicity division with Charlie Barrett in 2001 for Academy Award winner producer Martin Jurow's best seller memoir (Terms of Endearment, Breakfast at Tiffany's, see https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0433021/), Seein' Stars: A Show Biz Odyssey.

From living as a child in the Plaza Hotel and Waldorf-Astoria to being the last reporter to interview Katherine Hepburn for The Christian Science Monitor, he experienced as well as wrote about Broadway and New York's celebrity culture. His career as a journalist, theater critic, book author, and playwright spanned a half century.

Morehouse was a princeling of Broadway itself. Black Tie Magazine called him "one of the most fascinating people on the planet."  He was born in New York to drama critic and newspaperman Ward Morehouse II and actress-turned-publisher Joan Marlowe. At an early age growing up in Darien, CT, he joined his father in theater work, tagging along to help review plays and shows. The experience led him to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

He had two plays produced Off-Broadway, If It Was Easy, co-written by Stewart F. Lane; and The Actors, a long running play in the 1980s. In a review of The Actors for The New York Times, critic Frank Rich wrote, "Mr. Morehouse demonstrates a flair for flavorful, well-paced comic dialogue and a keen command of the lore and spirit of a vanished Broadway era."

More plays were to follow. In his final months, Morehouse finished his last play, Hound Dog, which he considered his best work. It is set in the Hudson Theatre. In addition, he and his wife, actress/writer Katherine Boynton, had also completed a screenplay, Waters of Summer, a romantic drama set in the Thousand Islands, Canada, in 1928. Morehouse's family owned an island in that resort area and later built a cabin on it. The island was purchased in the 1940s from actress Irene Purcell for $1. The Morehouse's web site for their production company, Thousand Islands Productions, is http://thousandislands.nyc/

All of Morehouse's writings reflect his life of adventure, such as his time living with a tribe in the Amazon, as well as his child-like humor and loving affection for all. Much of his early career was as a news reporter, starting in 1972 at the New York Post covering the NYPD. From 1973-83 he reported for The Christian Science Monitor in Boston and New York, covering topics from consumer issues to the entertainment industry. He was a frequent speaker at universities and other places.

His work as a journalist at the Monitor was a result of his decision to study Christian Science, whose teachings about the Bible greatly influenced him as a young man. For much of his life he was active in the New York church as a reader during Sunday services.

Morehouse also wrote about Broadway as an industry for Reuters, New York Sun, amNew York, and the New York Post. His reporting included interviews of famous actors such as Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer, among others. In 2002, he revived the popular column started by his father, Broadway After Dark, at the New York Sun.

By the 1990s, Morehouse began another career – writing more than 15 books about historic hotels. This interest was a result of his upbringing in the Plaza, an experience which included his father bringing home an Asian bear. His life reflections are recorded in his book, "The Bear Who Lived at the Plaza."

His first book, "The Waldorf-Astoria: America's Gilded Dream," was published in 1991 by M. Evans & Company, Inc. His second, "Inside the Plaza: An Intimate Portrait of the Ultimate Hotel," was published by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, an imprint of the Hal Leonard Corporation. In 2010 he and wife Katherine wrote "London's Greatest Grand Hotels," a history of 11 favorite hotels which included the Queen Mary 2. Morehouse was considered by many as one of America's top authors and experts on historic hotels in the USA and Europe.

Mr. Morehouse is survived by his wife, Katherine, and a son from a previous marriage, Will Morehouse. He is also survived by a half-brother, Rod Rahe Jr.  A memorial service is planned in the near future in New York.

Contact
Charles Barrett, The Barrett Company, LLC
***@thebarrettco.com
3104715764

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Source:The Morehouse Family
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Page Updated Last on: Aug 23, 2019



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