Until moments ago, when I read an e-mailed draft of David Jiranek's obituary, written by his brother-in-law Joe Hooper, all I knew of David was what I wrote earlier today. I had no idea of the breadth of his accomplishments. He never gave me so much as a hint of them.

Here is the complete obituary:

David Jiranek, a Broadway producer, a writer, a photographer, and a highly successful businessman in the field of brochure distribution, died on Sunday, August 17, 2003 in a swimming accident while vacationing with his family in the summer community of North Hatley, Quebec. He was 45 and lived in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

David Jiranek was a man of boundless energy and uncommon talent, making his mark in a number of fields in the course of his abbreviated life. His professional theater life began early, just after he graduated from New York University. Teaming up with his friend and colleague, Broadway producer David Weil, and with theater legend John Houseman, Mr. Jiranek served as the associate producer for the 1981 Broadway production of the William Alfred drama, "Curse of an Aching Heart." The production starred Faye Dunaway. With characteristic humor, Mr. Jiranek wrote in "Playbill," "After Miss Dunaway fired their limo driver, and the two producers froze their hands flyering the TKTS line, the show closed." In 1982, Mr. Jiranek co-produced the New York premiere of the David Mamet play, "Edmond," for the Off-Broadway Provincetown Theater which won two Obie Awards, one for best play. Persuaded that the theater world could market its product with more ingenuity, Mr. Jiranek and Mr. Weil in 1984 founded their own marketing firm, CTM Brochure Display, with Mr. Jiranek as President and Mr. Weil as CEO. In time, the company outgrew its niche in the theater business to become the second largest brochure distribution company in the nation, indeed in the world. The company, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with thirteen offices in the U.S. and Canada, operates brochure stands in hotel lobbies and transportation hubs, advertising Broadway shows, ski vacations and tourist attractions of every description.

Even before Mr. Jiranek and Mr. Weil sold CTM Brochure Display in 2000, they were directing their energies back into the theater. In 1999, the pair, with Cricket Hooper Jiranek, Mr. Jiranek's wife and business partner, formed a theater production company, CTM Productions. That year, the group co-produced the Broadway blues revue, "It 'Ain't Nothin' But the Blues," which played first at the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center and then at the Ambassador Theater. Later that year, the trio produced a Broadway revival of "Fool Moon," a two-man show starring Bill Irwin and David Shine, which won a Tony Award for Special Theatrical Event. This past spring, Mr. Jiranek and company co-produced comic Bill Maher's biting and critically-praised one-man show, "Victory Begins at Home," at the Virginia Theater. Mr. Jiranek was slated to direct a production of "Lysistrata" from his own translation for the Off-Off-Broadway Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre Company, where he served as president of the board. He had completed a draft of the script days before his death. The production is scheduled to go forward at the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre October 24, 2003, through February 5, 2004. Mr. Jiranek was also a member of the League of American Theatres and Producers.

page 1 | 2