Richard Svare papers, 1900-2004

Richard Svare (1930-2004), writer and actor, was born on March 28, 1930 and died April 24, 2004. He was raised in Tacoma, WA. His father, Trygve Svare (1894-1974), was a pastor at Tacoma's Trinity Lutheran Church and served as a cultural attaché to Norway during his childhood. Trygve was also a professor at Pacific Lutheran University. Trygve and his wife Hulda (1898-1984) had five children: Bergljot "Betty" (1918-2005), Robert "Bob" (1919-1987), Gerhart "Gig" (1921-1989), Donald (1925-1976), and Richard. Other family members represented in the papers include: Hannah Emilie Svare Nelson, Craig Vista Svare, Harland Svare (former coach of the San Diego Chargers), Kjirstin Jollette Svare, Olaf H. Svare, and Rolf Olsen Svare.

Richard Svare attended University of Washington and Pacific Lutheran University. He graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1950. He pursued post graduate studies in theater at the University of Norway at Oslo, specializing in the plays of Ibsen.

Svare met Morris Graves in 1951 and moved with him to County Cork, Ireland in 1954. During that time that Svare came to know director John Huston's family. There is correspondence from Ricki Soma, Houston's wife, and a card from two of his children, Tony and Anjelica. In 1963, Svare moved away from Ireland and Graves to establish an English speaking theater company in Sweden called the Scandinavian Theater Company. In 1969, he starred in the Russian film,One Life. Svare then moved to Greece, living on the island of Corfu, and starred in a number of European productions. He also translated programs for the Athens Festival into English.

From 1976-1978 Svare served as an administrator for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. He returned to Seattle in the 1990s, where he shared a house in the Ravenna neighborhood with his sister, Betty Parrott.

Svare worked on manuscripts relating to Morris Graves' houses and gardens. He also wrote works concerning ancient gardens. Titles of his manuscripts include:" The Gardens of Greece: Known and Unknown" ," The Forgotten Gardens of Byzantium" ," Voyages: The Sea- A Literary Photographic Collection of the Sea" ," Hoi Polloi" , and a number of other short stories and poems. Svare also authored an introduction to Galen Garwood's multi-media production of" Adagio" , presented at the Washington State Historical Society's "The Memory and Mourning of Artists" in 1997. A number of Galen Garwood's other poems are included in the papers.