Yuri Rasovsky (July 29, 1944 – January 18, 2012) was an American writer and producer working in radio drama in the United States.
He founded and operated The National Radio Theater of Chicago from 1973 to 1986 and later formed the Hollywood Theater of the Ear (since 1993). In the 1990s, he forsook radio for audiobooks. Many of his radio plays have been published as commercial recordings or as Internet downloads. His new plays are being released by Blackstone Audio. He died in 2012 of esophageal cancer.[1][2]
Major works
Rasovsky wrote, directed, or produced more than 150 audio plays. Notable examples include:
The Chicago Language Tape. WFMT. 1972.
The Odyssey of Homer. National Radio Theatre of Chicago. 1980. Winner of a George Foster Peabody Award.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Based on the silent film. Hollywood Theater of the Ear. Revised 1998.
2000X: Tales of the Next Millennium (series of 26 one-hr programs). NPR, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 1999–2000. Winner of a Bradbury Award.
Sweeney Todd and The String of Pearls. Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2007. Winner of three 2008 Audie Awards: Best Audio Drama, Best Audiobook Original and Distinguished Achievement in Production.
The Mark of Zorro, with Val Kilmer, Blackstone Audio, Hollywood Theater of the Ear. 2011. Grammy nominated.
Books
He was the author of The Well-tempered Audio Dramatist (National Audio Theatre Festivals, 2006) and, with Carol Madden Adorjan, co-author of WKID: Easy Radio Plays for Children (Albert Whitman & Co., 1987).[3]
Awards
Over the past three-plus decades, Rasovsky's audio work has won:
