[1] Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rigby joined forces with Jule Styne and Alexander H. Cohen to produce the short-lived 1951 Hugh Martin musical Make a Wish as his first Broadway outing.
Two years later, he enjoyed greater success when he joined forces with Stanley Gilkey and Michael P. Grace II to produce John Murray Anderson's Almanac, a revue with an eclectic cast that included Harry Belafonte, Polly Bergen, Hermione Gingold, Billy Wolfe, Orson Bean, Kay Medford, Larry Kert, and Tina Louise.
A decade passed before Rigby returned to Broadway, this time as a production associate for The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, Edward Albee's adaptation of the Carson McCullers story.
In 1971, he was the driving force behind the hit revival of No, No, Nanette, which lured both Ruby Keeler and Busby Berkeley out of retirement and started the nostalgia craze on Broadway.
Undaunted by the experience, he revived the 1919 hit Irene, for which he helped adapt a new book, with Debbie Reynolds two years later.