In Remembrance: David Mayer ’50 Died on August 24 2023

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David Mayer passed away on August 24, 2023, at his home in Manchester, England. Mayer was an emeritus professor of drama and a research professor at the University of Manchester in the UK, where he was on faculty from 1972 to 1996.

As a theater historian, Mayer’s work focused on “illuminating English-language theatrical cultures and the larger social contexts in which theaters operated in the ‘long nineteenth century’ (i.e., the 1760s to about 1920).” Visit his website to learn more about Mayer’s research.

According to his wife Helen Day-Mayer, Mayer received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society for Theatre Research, “and that acknowledgment by his peers, together with his time at Yale (an Elizabethan club member), were the two achievements of which he was most proud,” adding "He viewed the Yale graduation ceremonies every year online.”  Mrs. Mayer wrote that her husband “interviewed British applicants for Yale admission and organized activities for the Yale Club of London. . . . At Yale he was a member of the swimming team, as were his father and his uncle. David referred frequently to nights spent at Mory’s and his love of the Whiffenpoofs and would invariably burst into song. He will be sorely missed." 

He leaves his wife, three daughters, and a grandson.