Born Abraham H. Feder, June 27, 1909, in Milwaukee, WI; died April 24, 1997,in New York, NY. Lighting and set designer. With more than 300 Broadway productions to his credit, Feder was a legend in the field of lighting. His work on the stage and in architecture was so revered that after his death the lights at Rockefeller Center and the Empire State building were shut off for one hour in his honor. He became interested in lighting after seeing a magic showas a child. After moving to New York City in the 1930s, he quickly became known as a genius with theater lighting. His stage lighting credits include OneSunday Afternoon (1933), Orson Welles' Dr. Faustus (1937), Winged Victory (1944), What Every Woman Knows (1954), My Fair Lady (1956 and 1964), Camelot (1960), and Carnival! (1968). Feder also designed the exterior (and in some cases the interior) lighting for the RCA Building and the Prometheus Fountain atRockefeller Center, the United Nations, and the main altar at St. Patrick's Cathedral. His company's name, "Lighting By Feder," lent prestige to any project. He also was lighting director for The Sonja Henie Ice Revue (1952) and the ballets Giselle, Peter and the Wolf, and the Great American Goof (all 1941). Feder was head of lighting for the Federal Theatre Project of the Works Progress Administration from 1935 to 1941 and lectured at several universities and colleges.
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