1 Fred Adams – Festival Co-founder
Fred Adams was born in Cedar City in 1931, and spent his early years in Parowan, Delta, and Montpelier, Idaho. He served at the Pentagon during the Korean War, in charge of entertainment and morale—bringing his joy and brilliance to the officers who served with him. Fred also touched the lives of countless students at Southern Utah University where he taught for thirty-eight years.
In 1961, Fred and his then fiancé, soon to be wife, Barbara dreamed up a crazy scheme: to create a professional Shakespeare theatre festival in the hot Utah desert. With blood, sweat, tears, and glitter, they built the Utah Shakespearean Festival into the renowned institution it is today. Throughout his career, Fred received a myriad of prestigious awards and recognitions, including the coveted Tony Award.
After forty-four years as executive producer, Fred retired from an active role at USF—though you wouldn’t know it from looking at him. Not a day went by that he wasn’t seen at the festival: directing shows, acting onstage, raising funds, or even pulling weeds in the statue garden. Fred loved his work and the Festival, and cherished them all his life.