Hillard Elkins, a pioneering producer, shattered sexual barriers and created one of the most enduring hits in Broadway history with the groundbreaking erotic revue "Oh! Calcutta!", which ran for an impressive 20 years. Known to his friends as Hilly, Elkins began his career in the mail room at William Morris in New York, swiftly rising to become a top agent, heading the company's theatrical division.
He later formed his own company, representing an impressive roster of clients, including Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Robert Culp, Mel Brooks, Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, and Sammy Davis Jr., among others. Elkins then transitioned into producing, developing a string of notable plays and films, including the musical "Golden Boy", the film "Alice's Restaurant", and the Broadway premieres of two plays by Athol Fugard, which earned double Tonys.
Elkins made his Broadway debut in 1962 with "Come On Strong", a Garson Kanin comedy starring Carroll Baker and Van Johnson. He approached Sammy Davis Jr. to star in the musical adaptation of Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy", which won four Tony nominations for best musical, best actor in a musical, best choreography, and best producer of a musical.
Elkins also produced the Ibsen plays "Hedda Gabler" and "A Doll's House" in London, Broadway, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, collaborating with his then-wife Claire Bloom. He went on to write his own chapter in the history of the 1960s counterculture by producing Ken Tynan's musical sex revue "Oh! Calcutta!", and the film adaptation of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" with director Arthur Penn.
In 1960, Elkins founded his first production company, Elkins Productions International. His dynamic style and ability to juggle multiple theater and film projects simultaneously were captured in the 1972 book "The Producer" by Christopher Davis. Throughout his career, Elkins produced a wide range of projects, including "The Rothschilds" starring Hal Linden and Jill Clayburgh, Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Stop the World", Ben Vereen's "Pippin", Leonard Bernstein's "Candide", and numerous films, including the Elaine May-Walter Matthau comedy "A New Leaf" and "Richard Pryor: Live in Concert", praised by Pauline Kael as "probably the greatest of all recorded-performance films".
Elkins is survived by his wife, Sandi Love, his two sons, Johnny and Daniel, and his granddaughter, Ellen.
