Knorr, Arthur, 1898-1966.

Producer and director Arthur James Knorr (1898-1966), who specialized in staging spectacles, was responsible for a wide variety of productions over the course of a long and prolific career.

Born in Atlanta, Indiana, Knorr grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He took up the study of art while enrolled in the Pittsburgh Academy, a college preparatory and business school. After graduating in 1916, he entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology's School of Design, where he studied painting, design, and stage craft. Military service during World War I interrupted these studies. After the war, Knorr moved to New York City during the summer of 1920, where he began working in the field of commercial art. In 1922, he started designing posters for the Capitol Theatre, and later was appointed art director. While with the Capitol, he designed sets and lighting for the prologs or stage productions that accompanied films. By 1929, Knorr had been appointed a producer at the Capitol Theatre, where he now was responsible for devising and producing, as well as designing, stage shows. Around this same time, Knorr married a fellow graduate of the Pittsburgh Academy, Ruth Gray. She had been a dancer in touring companies of the Music Box Revue and in editions of George White's Scandals, but she appears to have retired from performing after marrying Knorr. In 1936, Knorr became production executive at the Roxy Theatre, where he would remain for the next decade. In addition to managing many special individual events (such as ice skating shows and various benefits), by 1948, Knorr had become increasingly involved with television production. He served as a producer for the Texaco Star Theater television show with Milton Berle in its earliest years (1948-1952). He staged many industrial shows as well during the latter part of his career. Around 1959, Knorr began an association with the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants that lasted until the time of his death.

From the description of Arthur and Ruth Knorr papers and designs, 1908-1986. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 184904375

Arthur James Knorr was born in Indiana in 1900. The son of an electrical engineer, Knorr planned to make his future in the medical profession. Upon entering the Pittsburgh Academy, a college preparatory and business school, however, he was inspired to take a different direction. His mentor was James Boudreau, later the Superintendent of Art in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, who recognized Knorr’s talent and persuaded him to pursue an artistic career, a decision that was taken hard by his family. After graduating from Pittsburgh Academy in 1916, Knorr entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology’s School of Design. At Carnegie, he studied painting, design, and stage craft. He even took to the spotlight by participating in dramatics and becoming a soloist with the Tech Glee Club. With the nation’s entry into World War I, he left Carnegie in 1918 and joined the United States Tank Corps, where he served until his discharge in 1919. For a brief period before returning home to Pittsburgh, he went to Chicago, where he created some of his earliest artwork. Back in Pittsburgh, he began teaching art at the Pittsburgh Academy, his alma mater, while furthering his own studies under Eugene Francis Savage at the Carnegie Institute of Technology.

In the summer of 1920, Knorr began to earn a living as a commercial artist. In 1922, he was designing posters at the Capitol Theatre. The lively venue offered an endless array of possibilities to his professional eye. A regular attendee of every stage show rehearsed in the theater, Knorr learned staging and lighting under the guidance of S.L. (Roxy) Rothafel. Sometime later, Knorr was appointed Art Director for the Capitol Theater, in which position he designed and lit all stage productions. In 1928 he became Art Director for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Eastern Studios, and then in 1929 was appointed a producer at the Capitol Theatre, which meant devising and producing, as well as continuing to design stage shows at the Capitol Theatre and Loew’s Circuit. In addition to all these responsibilities, he was also worked on several Broadway productions.

At about this time, Arthur Knorr married Ruth Gray, a native of Pittsburgh and a fellow graduate of the Pittburgh Academy. After graduating, she performed and toured with several productions, including Peter Pan, Music Box Revue and George White’s Scandals . Upon retiring from the stage, Ruth Knorr devoted herself to aiding her husband in his theatrical endeavors. She died in 1999.

In 1936, Knorr became production executive at the Roxy Theatre, handling all presentations that were exhibited there. In addition to his work at the Roxy, Knorr served as a consultant in such varied fields as ballet, musical comedy, motion pictures, benefit shows, and other elaborate public presentations. During World War II, he dedicated much of his time to shows designed to entertain all branches of the service, a task he did not take lightly.

From 1948 through 1952 he served as a television producer for Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre . The program was a television milestone, and Knorr guided it through its most productive years. During this time he also produced, designed, and directed the entertainment features for the Rotary International Convention in 1949. A multi-talented individual with an inexhaustible energy, Knorr produced several other convention shows for Rotary International, as well as other corporate entities such as Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, National Auto Show, CBS, NBC, and ABC. He worked on White House Correspondents Dinner shows for President Eisenhower, in addition to President Eisenhower’s birthday party in 1953 and a “Salute to Eisenhower” at Madison Square Garden in 1956.

In 1947, he had begun a professional relationship that would be the capstone to his career by producing and staging the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City. The end of the 1950s through the early 1960s established Arthur Knorr as a staple of the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants, as well. All details of the pageants were reviewed and approved by him. The pageants allowed him to use his insight and expertise in all elements of the shows’ productions. His failing health in the later years forced pageant officials to replace him, but they needed to use two or more people to handle the responsibilities Knorr had managed alone. Arthur Knorr died on May 25, 1966.

From the guide to the Arthur and Ruth Knorr papers and designs, 1908-1986, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)