Robert Pitman died on July 23, 1978 as a result of a long and silent battle with leukemia.
During his illness, after one of his hospital confinements, less than a year before he died, he wrote this note of thanks to the Alverno Community, "...I wish to thank you for your many prayers, your tokens of beauty, your messages of hope, your visitations--all gestures which brightened each bleak hospital day during my summer of confinement..." This, one of his last messages, was dated October 2, 1977.
Here is a printable copy of this note.
His death was felt in wide, rippling effects from Milwaukee to New York; within the theater communities as well as the academic communities. Tributes poured in from friends, colleagues, and strangers. Actors, directors, theater critics, professors, students, alumnae, and theater patrons felt the need to share their thoughts on the impact that Robert Pitman had on their lives.
One of the more moving tributes came in the form of a condolence letter to the college from Pitman’s colleague, friend, and playwright Sister Celeste Raspanti. Sister Celeste was one of the School Sisters who interviewed Robert Pitman for a teaching position at Alverno College in 1963. As she recalled “sitting in the Lounge at Alverno, I discovered a man whose commitment to theatre and its values was total. He knew the kinds of plays he wanted to do, the quality of the productions, and he knew how to get that quality from everyone involved– cast, crew, technicians.”
Reflecting further, Sister Celeste wrote, “…I can’t forget the wonderful person, a charming amalgam of Cyrano de Bergerac, Hamlet and George Bernard Shaw – the drama, the depth, the wit – all part of the unforgettable man we all loved.”
Robert Pitman's obituary was reprinted with permission in the Fall 1978 issue of Alverno Today.
Below is a link to a printable copy of Pitman's obituary.
This fifteen page memorial tribute booklet honoring Robert Pitman, Remembering Robert Ptman..., was a special insert in the Winter/Spring 1979 issue of Alverno Today. Here is the cover and a couple of interior the pages. A link to the entire booklet can be found below them.
"As a director, Pitman exhibited that superb blend of teaching excellence and human understanding that endeared him to theatrical and academic circles."
"...Alverno Today offers a retrospective glimpse of the impact that Pitman had upon the lives he touched in one or another of the many roles he played here at Alverno..."
There was an outpouring of support and condolences following Robert Pitman's death in July of 1978. Prompted by Alverno’s President, Sister Joel Read, the Alverno Board of Trustees decided the most fitting way to pay tribute to the legacy of Robert Pitman was to rename the auditorium in his honor. It seemed only fitting that the Alverno College Auditorium should stand as a reminder of the many contributions Pitman made to Alverno as well as the Milwaukee fine arts community.
On December 16, 1978, as a tribute to the thousands of lives that were touched by the talents and grace of Mr. Pitman, Alverno College rededicated its auditorium as the Robert G. Pitman Theatre and held a gala event.
Gala Evening Invitation
The event included cocktails, dinner, the theatre dedication ceremony, a memorial theatre performance, and a reception.
The dedication ceremony opened with remarks from then College President, Sister Joel Read, "This Auditorium was really Bob Pitman's office, his workplace, his classroom. So when his many friends at the college sought for an appropriate way to say thank you for all he had done for Alverno College, it was natural to recommend to the Board of Trustees that it be renamed in his honor."
Afterwards Board Chairperson, John B. Frisch spoke declaring, "A great man passed the Alverno way and left his mark." The rest of his words can be found below:
A link to printable copy of John B. Frish's remarks can be found below.
The renaming ceremony paved the way for a tribute production held that same evening in the newly renamed theatre.
Robert G. Pitman: A Revue was performed to a capacity audience. The revue, produced and staged by close friends and fellow actors who had worked with Pitman, was a moving tribute and reprise highlighting several of the thirty-three past productions Pitman had directed while at Alverno College.
Here is a link to a printable version of the revue program.
This article from the 1979 Winter/Spring issue of Alverno Today describes the Robert G. Pitman Theatre dedication and theatrical revue that took place on December 16, 1978. A number of Pitman’s closest associates volunteered to produce and perform a "striking medley" of musical and dramatic scenes from some of the 33 productions that Pitman directed while at Alverno College.
Here's a link to a printable version of the Alverno Today article.
