Dean Richard G. Fallon

Richard G. Fallon “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.” Henry David Thoreau Richard Gordon Fallon, Dean Emeritus of the Florida State University School of Theatre, passed away peacefully on May 23, 2013, after a full and rewarding life. He was a man who was passionate about living his dreams, but, as important, he was devoted to creating dreams for others and helping them realize their dreams. He is predeceased by his beloved wife, Suzanne, who died in 2002, and his brother, Robert, who died in 2011. He is survived by his daughter, Diane Tomasi, and her husband Tom; son, Rick Fallon, and his wife, Sharon; and five grandchildren: Julia Tomasi Breeding and husband Matt, Rosanne Tomasi, Corinne Tomasi, Alex Fallon and Patrick Fallon. For him, however, there was an extended family that included thousands of students whom he loved and nurtured, staying connected to some of his students for more than 60 years. To these students he bequeathed a reverence and love of theatre as a means to discover our common humanity. Born in 1923 in White Plains, NY, to Margaret and Perlie Fallon, Richard absorbed their love of the arts and developed an appreciation for his Scottish/Irish heritage from having his grandparents living with him as he grew up. Richard would later regale friends with stories of his irascible Irish grandfather and put on his best Irish brogue to charm his audience. But in truth, he was a shy, sheltered young high school student when he discovered the stage. There, as a character in a play, Richard had the opportunity to be and say the things that he would not be able to as himself. Immediately after high school and before college he worked in radio where he used his voice as an instrument, becoming adept at portraying different emotions and characters. He entered Brown University only to be drafted before finishing his degree. He was sent to England where he worked on the enigma project as a cryptologist and entertained troops through live theater. Upon returning to the U.S., he completed his education at Columbia University. During this time he was greatly influenced by writers such as Robert Edmond Jones, who inspired him to use the power of theater to help audiences reach, as Jones described it, “the quivering raw edge of experience.” While in England, he met Suzanne, the British army officer who outranked him, and immediately proposed on their first date. Thus began a storybook life of romance most believe exists only in fiction. With Suzanne’s iron-willed support, Richard forged ahead with his dreams and a 60+ year career in theater, which, among other accomplishments, resulted in the development to national prominence of the School of Theater at Florida State University and the co-creation of the Asolo State Theater as one of this country’s finest regional repertory theaters. With students as his priority, his goal always was to create a bridge between college and professional theater. For this reason, Richard was most proud to receive the national E. Harris Harbison Award for Gifted Teaching presented by the Danforth Foundation, due in part to nominations received from his students. Through his students Richard has lit hundreds of candles in a dark world that will forever help to “find beauty even in life’s ugliness.” Richard Fallon truly lived the life he imagined and in doing so created his greatest legacy…that all of us who have known and loved him now can “keep in our souls some images of magnificence” to share with others. Gifts in memory of Dean Fallon, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the following organizations: The Richard Fallon Scholarship Fund c/o The FSU Foundation 2010 Levy Avenue, Bldg. B Suite 300 Tallahassee, FL 32306 LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts 125 North Gadsden Street Tallahassee, FL 32301 Big Bend Hospice 1723 Mahan Center Blvd. Tallahassee, FL 32308

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Dean Richard G. Fallon

September 17, 1923 - May 23, 2013