Haila Stoddard

Stoddard with husband Jack Kirkland (who wrote the astonishingly successful stage adaptation of "Tobacco Road") in 1941.

Actress, writer, director, producer -- via Variety. An important figure in the history of Denver theater, she kept the Elitch Theater going for 25 years with husband Whitfield Connor and son Chris Kirkland. An actress on stage and television, her producing work brought Thurber and Pinter to Broadway. Much of her producing work was done in conjunction with that other grande dame of Denver theater, newspaper heiress Helen Bonfils.

My very first published story was a profile of the Elitch Theater, 30 years ago, and I began to learn about her then. Stoddard was a talent, and an intrepid thespian. She did a lot of good.