Apr. 10, 1962 - Six of the theatre’s leading ladies who had assembled to discuss the question of whether Broadway had become a “woman’s world” skirted the issue yesterday, but they all agreed emphatically that they liked men as directors. “I have a great fear of being directed by a woman,” said Diahann Carroll (pictured), star of “No Strings.” “It is easier to accept criticism from a man.” “My first experience with a woman director 10 years ago was loathsome,” said Colleen Dewhurst, who starred in the recently closed “Great Day in the Morning.” “She brought me into such a rage I wanted to strike her.” Male directors have “more objectivity” and “they usually have no axe to grind,” she added. These views were expressed by the actresses at a luncheon meeting of the Drama Desk, the group of theatre writers, at New York’s Sardi’s Restaurant.
