Philip Rose (July 4, 1921 – May 31, 2011)[1] was a Broadway theatrical producer of such productions as A Raisin in the Sun, The Owl and the Pussycat, Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, Purlie, and Shenandoah.
[2] As a young man, he earned money singing at weddings and funerals and later worked briefly as a bill collector.
While working in mostly black neighborhoods, he ended up going into people's homes and was accepted by some of the families forming personal friendships.
William Marshall was among the artists Philip Rose invited to his apartment for a meeting concerning the Mississippi lynching of Emmett Till.
When he decided to produce A Raisin in the Sun for Broadway, the first person he called was Sidney Poitier, not just because he wanted him to play the lead, but also because he had no idea where to begin in the casting process.
This man preferred to stand at the back of the theater for the entire performance rather than in the best seat in the house situated between two black couples, an interesting commentary on the irrationality of prejudice.
In 1964, he cast the black actress Diana Sands opposite Alan Alda in the two-character comedy/love story The Owl and the Pussycat.
When fellow producer Alexander Cohen requested that the script be rewritten for Diana Sands, Philip Rose stated, "She's doing it exactly as it is written — a woman who falls in love."