Bringing American theater to Scandinavia In 1942, he founded the publishing company Lars Schmidt Teaterforlaget as a holding vehicle for the Scandinavian rights to American plays, and held the European premier of
Arsenic and Old Lace in
Gothenburg, Sweden. He returned to New York in 1945, and during a three-month trip bought the rights to over 100 plays; including
The Little Foxes,
A Bell for Adano, and Life with Father. Upon returning from America, Schmidt held the European premier of
Tennessee Williams's
The Glass Menagerie in
Stockholm, Sweden on 8 February 1946. In 1947, he set up Schmidt and Bratt Advertising Agency and produced
Peter Ustinov's
Frenzy on the stage in London, and adaptation of
Ingmar Bergman's Swedish film script
Hets. After acquiring the rights of 50 titles by
Rodgers and Hammerstein, Schmidt produced the European premier of
Oklahoma! in
Malmö, Sweden in 1947, and
Annie Get Your Gun in Gothenburg in 1949. In 1951, Schmidt produced the European premier of
Tennessee Williams's
The Rose Tattoo in Gothenburg. In 1959, he produced the European premier of
My Fair Lady in
Oslo, Norway. Schmidt had acquired the Scandinavian rights to the musical before it premiered in New York, from his friend the librettist
Alan Jay Lerner. Over 820,000 people saw the play after it opened in Stockholm, Sweden, the city at the time had a population of 810,000. Schmidt bought further rights for other European territories
. By 1964, the production had grossed over $12 million ($100 million inflation adjusted in 2020), in over 4,000 performances in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1983, he produced
K2 at
Theatre de la Porte Saint Martin in Paris, and in 1986
'night, Mother at Theatre Actuel in Paris. In 1988, he staged
La Metamorphose with
Roman Polanski at Theatre Gymnase-Marie Bell in Paris.
Theater director He directed
A. R. Gurney's
Love Letters at the Petit Marigny in Paris in 1990, and
Sylvia at
Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in 1995.
New York In 1989 he produced
Metamorphosis with
Mikhail Baryshnikov at
Barrymore Theater in New York City, and in 1994 was nominated for a
Tony Award as a member of the production team of Arthur Miller's
Broken Glass on
Broadway. Television producer In 1961, he produced the TV movie ''Twenty-Four Hours in a Woman's Life,
in 1962 Hedda Gabler,
and in 1966 The Human Voice'' all starring his wife
Ingrid Bergman. == Personal life ==