Herbert Bayard Swope Jr. ’36

Although he had the name of a world-famous family (his father was the first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Reporting, in 1917), he was known to us simply as Ottie. He died in Palm Beach Jan. 4, 2008.

Ottie was dramatics editor of The Daily Princetonian, a member of Theatre Intime and the Whig Society, and on the debate panel. His major was philosophy. During the war he served in the Navy on a minesweeper.

In the early days of live television Ottie became a director for NBC and won the Sylvania Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing Technique. He became executive producer of the well-known Wide, Wide World, and produced and directed such shows as Arsenic and Old Lace, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, and many others. He conducted his own radio and TV commentary shows. He produced movies and plays. Somehow he squeezed in time to be a journalist, lecturer, and book reviewer.  

Ottie is survived by Herbert B. Swope III and Tracy Avildsen, his children with his first wife, Margaret Hayes, who died in 1977; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Ottie’s second wife, Elizabeth Edgar, also predeceased him. There are two stepchildren. We salute this talented and productive man and offer his family our regrets.  

The Class of 1936