Art of Giving After Paramount, Richard began producing radio shows for Louella Parsons, the noted gossip columnist whose daily feature appeared in more than 400 newspapers and was read by over 20 million people. The show, called Hollywood Hotel, proved just as popular as Parsons’ column. It introduced the idea of “sneak previews” in which celebrity guests would read parts from their upcoming films. During World War II, the U.S. Army stationed troops in Alaska and Richard was enlisted to establish a radio station on base. He produced radio programming to provide troops with news and entertainment, which helped morale during the long, harsh Alaskan winters. After the war, Richard continued working in radio. Richard’s Hollywood connections led to a successful second career in California real estate, until he retired to Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife, Virginia, who had been the assistant to movie mogul Darryl Zanuck. In January 1994, Richard Diggs died at the age of 91 after a battle with cancer. Richard’s son Nicholas wanted to fulfill his father’s wish to make a significant contribution to Yale. In 2020, he began making gifts to the Drama School including a scholarship in his father’s name and emergency support for students during the early months of the pandemic. Sadly, this past year, Nicholas passed away from complications due to COVID-19 at the age of 74. In an act of extraordinary generosity, Nicholas left his entire estate to the David Geffen School of Drama to support the School’s programming and a new state of the art facility 44
where a space will be named in honor of Richard Diggs. “Nicholas was so proud of his father who was a trailblazer in the early years of entertainment,” said Deborah S. Berman, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs. “He said that Richard always attributed his success to his time at Yale. With this gift, both father and son have left an enduring legacy at the School.”
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An Opportunity for Inspiration In 2021, the Raymond N. Plank Philanthropy Fund established endowments for the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and Yale School of Music to provide opportunities for artist residencies at Ucross. Set in the foothills of Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains on a 20,000-acre working cattle ranch, Ucross is one of the country’s preeminent artist residency programs, offering uninterrupted time to work, studio space, living accommodations, and the inspirational camaraderie of fellow creators. The Drama School’s first recipients are playwrights Genne Murphy ’18 (Faculty) and Majkin Holmquist ’18 (Faculty), who attended in March. “Ucross is an incredibly supportive place,” shared Murphy after returning home from the fellowship, “There was a great cross-section of artists working in different disciplines and in different stages of their careers. This experience gave me perspective about what I can do to cultivate a life which provides more room for
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04 02 Majkin Holmquist ’18 03 Genne Murphy ’18 04 Eric M. Glover (Faculty)
