Michael Butler

Michael Butler (November 26, 1926 – November 7, 2022) was an American theatrical producer best known for bringing the rock musical Hair from the Public Theater to Broadway in 1968. During his time as Hair producer he was dubbed "the hippie millionaire" by the press. His other Broadway production credits include the play Lenny in 1971 and the musical Reggae in 1980. Early life Butler was born in Chicago into a wealthy family. In the early 19th century, his ancestors started a paper company on the Fox River in St. Charles, Illinois, and supplied paper for the U.S. Congress. The business was later moved to Chicago, where it was at one time one of the city's oldest family-owned businesses, which later diversified into dairy, ranching and aviation. Butler's father helped found the village of Oak Brook, Illinois and the Oak Brook Polo Club. Butler was the godson of Tyrone Power and, in his early twenties, he lived with Power and his wife, actress Linda Christian. Through Power's friend, film director Edmund Goulding, he befriended the Kennedy family, particularly Joe and John F. Kennedy (JFK). Butler and JFK often socialized in Hyannisport, Greenwich Village and Newport, Rhode Island. Early career Butler served as Special Advisor to then-Senator John F. Kennedy on the Middle East, the chancellor of the Lincoln Academy, the Commissioner of the Port of Chicago, the president of the Organization of Economic Development in Illinois, an assistant to Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr., and the president of the Illinois Sports Council. He was a Democratic candidate in Du Page County for the State Senate.