Wayne Jay Shilkret; Arts Impresario at Major Southland Concert Venues

Wayne Jay Shilkret, longtime Southern California arts impresario who most recently served as executive director of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, died Thursday night of pancreatic cancer at his home in Cerritos. He was 66.

As executive director of the center, Shilkret was noted for his skill at balancing classical moneymakers with more esoteric fare. Under his leadership, the hall, which opened in 1993, showed continual increases in ticket sales and revenue.

A native of New York City, Shilkret began his career as a publicist, working for legendary impresario Sol Hurok. He went on to be a publicist for the Philadelphia Orchestra and Washington’s Kennedy Center before coming to Southern California to begin a career in arts administration that would span 25 years.

Before joining the Cerritos Center in 1997, Shilkret was executive director of the Pasadena Symphony, taking over leadership of the orchestra in 1990 after a two-year stint as general manager of the Hollywood Bowl.

“Sometimes you’re lucky enough to meet people who make an indelible impression and change your life forever,” said entertainer Michael Feinstein on Friday. “Wayne was one of those special people whom I shall always respect and adore.”

Jorge Mester, music director of the Pasadena Symphony, called Shilkret “a real gentleman and a human being of the highest ethical and artistic quality,” in a telephone interview Friday, adding: “He really cared for honesty and quality in a business that quite often is consumed with crass commercialism.”

Shilkret was probably best known for his 13 years as executive director of the Ambassador Foundation’s Performing Arts Series in Pasadena. From 1976 to 1989, he was the driving force in making the theater one of the most prestigious performing arts venues in the region.

During his tenure, Shilkret produced more than 1,500 performances, hosting superstars including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Rudolf Nureyev, the Kirov Ballet and the Dance Theater of Harlem. Under Shilkret’s leadership, the Ambassador also established its Gold Medal Concert Series, featuring new classical artists. He also led cooperative ventures that led to the broadcast of TV specials in the United States, including “Horowitz in Moscow” and “Horowitz in London,” and booked television productions featuring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Pearl Bailey and Gene Kelly.

Ron Wilford, chairman of Columbia Artists Management in New York, has paired artists with Shilkret’s venues for 25 years, and described the executive as “soft-spoken, not egotistical and not pretentious in a world where many are.”

Though Shilkret maintained a low profile, during his Ambassador years he was also considered one of the most powerful impresarios in the area, rivaled only by Ernest Fleischmann, former executive director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Michael Blachly, artistic director of the UCLA Center for the Performing Arts during Shilkret’s tenure as marketing consultant in the 1990s, called Shilkret “a consummate professional in the field of presenting live performances.”

“Wayne served as a model for younger professionals in the field,” added Blachly, who is now at the Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Shilkret is survived by his wife, Cindy; his three children, Jonathan, Julie and James; grandchildren Randy and Ryan; and brothers Del and Ken.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Pacific View Memorial Park, 3300 Pacific View Drive in Newport Beach, immediately followed by a reception at the Cerritos Center, 12700 Center Drive.

Memorial donations may be made to the Wayne H. Shilkret Living Tribute Fund, c/o the Cerritos Center; funds will be used to present specialized classical music at the center.