PLSN has learned of the death of Live Event Production Manager, Douglas L. Pope on May 30, 2022 at the age of 79. Pope worked frequently with Patrick Stansfield, Imero Fiorentino, and others on a wide range of projects over his long career. Here is a tribute, written by John Purdy, a long-time friend of Pope’s where they worked together on many production events.
A Tribute to Douglas L. Pope, 1942-2022
It is with great respect and profound sadness, that we note the passing of “The Professor” Doug Pope on May 30, 2022. There are those among us who became better live event professionals and citizens of our communities because Dougie would take the time to guide, answer questions and share his experience with anyone.
The “Minister of Feet and Inches” as he was dubbed by the late Patrick Stansfield, began his varied stage craft career at Carnegie Mellon University and later as a production manager at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. As a Master of Fine Arts, he taught lighting design at Boston University. In 1974, he doubled his salary by getting into the professional live event business with Tom Fields Association in the “new Wild West business” of concert touring. Two weeks of one nighters with Three Dog Night was followed by a couple of weeks with the Beach Boys where Dougie learned to drive a fork lift.
Shortly thereafter, his old college roommate, George Honchar, opened the doors to Dougie’s 20-year plus association with the esteemed Imero Fiorentino Associates in New York City. And with that came the legacy that was and is Neil Diamond – 24 years and 1,116 shows.
In those early days of live events, Dougie also was the technical producer and production manager for numerous corporate clients, including Anheuser-Busch, Elizabeth Arden, MetLife, Xerox, and Honda. Additional music production credits include site coordinator for live performances by Yanni in the Forbidden City in Beijing China and the Taj Mahal; technical director of Elvis In Concert ‘97 and again in 2003; and as well as technical director/production manager for the tour of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber starring Sarah Brightman, among others.
Pope also dabbled in the political arena, serving as production manager for the NYC Howard Dean Campaign Event in 2003 and as production consultant for the John Kerry Campaign Event in Los Angeles in 2004, the latter featuring Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand. But Pope’s other grand achievement was… well, the other Pope — twice. It was an opportunity for Doug Pope to work alongside Patrick Stansfield, Stig Edgren, and other friends he had made through the years. He was also proud of the work he’d done with Joshua White and his Joshua Light Show.
Looking back, The Professor pointed out that in the early days, “kids” went out on the road with no experience, but once there, they developed the skills they needed quickly — or went home. Others left the tour to pursue other opportunities with their lives. Doug Pope never left — and made an enviable career of it all, opening doors for many who followed him.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Richard Lyndon Pope and Ruth Rice Pope, and his brother David Walter Pope. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Marti Hespen, his children; Genevieve Pope Cropp (David) and David Lyndon Pope (Abigail), five grandchildren; Caroline, Kendall, Lillian Cropp and Emmelyn and Daniel Pope, and his siblings; Kenneth Pope and Kate Pope.
“House To Half.”
An obituary for Douglas L. Pope: https://www.aazzarafuneralhome.com/obituary/douglas-pope
PLSN was privileged to be able to cover Douglas Pope’s career in 2019. You can read Douglas Pope: A Career Retrospective here.
