Vivian Matalon, Tony-winning director, dead at 88

Vivian Matalon, who after directing Noel Coward in London in his final stage appearance became a regular on Broadway, where his biggest success was a Tony Award-winning revival of Morning's at Seven in 1980, died on August 15 at his home in Glenford, New York. He was 88.

The cause was complications of diabetes.

Mr Matalon's directing career was defined by versatility. He was as comfortable with dramas like William Inge's Bus Stop, which he directed in 1970 in London with a cast that included Keir Dullea and Lee Remick, as he was with a musical like The Tap Dance Kid, whose 1983 Broadway production earned him a nomination for best direction of a musical.

Though he worked with many stars over the years, he had special memories of directing Coward late in his career, by which time Coward was a legend as both a writer and a performer. The production, staged at the Queen's Theatre in London in 1966, was Suite in Three Keys, a trilogy of Coward plays set in the same hotel room. Coward starred in all three.

Matalon, the brother of Joseph and uncle of Mayer, grew up in Jamaica after migrating there in the early 20th century. He later migrated to the United Kingdom before Jamaica's independence in 1962.