David BelascoDavid Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was a theater producer, impresario, director, and playwright from the United States. He was the first to stage adapt the short novel Madame Butterfly. Many performers, including James O'Neill, Mary Pickfor, Lenore Ulric, and Barbara Stanwyck, had their careers begun by him. In order to achieve realism and authenticity, Belasco pioneered several inventive new techniques of stage lighting and special effects. David Belasco was born in 1853 in San Francisco, California, the son of Sephardic Jews Abraham H. Belasco (1830-1911) and Reyna Belasco (née Nunes, 1830-1899), who had moved to the United States during the California Gold Rush from London's Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community. As a teenager, he began working in a San Francisco theater doing a range of ordinary tasks such as call boy, script copier, and extra in minor roles. While on the road, he gained his first stage management experience. "We used to play in any place we could hire or get into—a hall, a big dining room, an empty barn; anywhere that would take us," he explained. Read More Read Less