Selden, Samuel, 1899-1979

Samuel Selden was chairman of the Dept. of Dramatic Art and director of the Carolina Playmakers at the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, 1944-1959.

From the description of Samuel Selden papers, 1918-1977 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 26041021

On 2 January 1899, Samuel Selden was born in Canton, China, where his parents, Charles Card and Gertrude Thwing Selden, were medical missionaries. In 1917, Selden came to the United States. After his arrival, he served a year in the United States Army Medical Corps, and then attended Yale University where he received the A. B. degree in 1922. For the next five years, Selden worked in professional theater in New York, notably as assistant technical director and stage manager at the Provincetown Playhouse.

In 1927, Selden came to the University of North Carolina as technical director of the Carolina Playmakers and instructor in English. He stayed at the University for thirty-one years. For the last fourteen of those years, from 1944 to 1959, Selden served as chairman of the Department of Dramatic Art and director of the Carolina Playmakers. He left the University of North Carolina to go to the University of California at Los Angeles as chairman of the Department of Theatre Arts. When he left Los Angeles, he went for one year (1966-67) to Southern Illinois University as distinguished visiting professor. He then returned to Chapel Hill and was visiting professor in the Department of Dramatic Art from 1967 to 1971.

In addition to teaching, Selden wrote books on various aspects of theater, and wrote and directed plays. He became an expert on outdoor drama and directed, supervised, and advised numerous productions of outdoor plays. He directed the first seasons of Paul Green's The Lost Colony, from 1937 to 1941 and 1946 to 1952.

Selden married Wautell Gray Lambeth on 19 July 1936. They had two children, Priscilla Lambeth and Samuel Thwing Selden. Mrs. Selden died in May 1948. On 25 October 1951, Selden married Emily Polk Crow.

Samuel Selden died on 27 April 1979 at the age of 80.

From the guide to the Samuel Selden Papers, 1918-1977, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)