Hampton recalled as 'an amazing man'

Aubrey Hampton, co-founder and patron of Tampa's Gorilla Theatre, died Monday after a short illness, according to the theater's managing director. He was 75.

Hampton also was founder of Aubrey Organics, among the world's largest manufacturers of natural hair and skin products.

In 1990, he and his late wife, Susan Hussey, founded the Gorilla Theatre in Tampa's Drew Park area not far from his company offices, which opened in 1974. He also maintained a home and offices in New York.

The Gorilla Theatre was named in honor of endangered primates and as a metaphor for plays, also battling to stay relevant, Hampton told The Tampa Tribune in a 2005 interview. The Hamptons were conservationists and animal rights advocates.

"Hampton and his wife had a huge and wide-reaching influence on the artistic life of our city, producing his own works and a full season of exciting and thought-provoking plays," said theater director Bridget Bean.

"This is a significant loss for the Tampa theater community," Bean said. "He was an amazing man, eccentric and outgoing yet very private in many ways."

The 76-seat theater has presented dozens of original dramas, musicals and revivals of classic works.

The Hamptons also created the Young Dramatists Project more than 10 years ago to support budding playwrights. Susan Hussey, a playwright and actress, died in 2009.

The most recent play by Hampton, "An Inappropriate Evening with Klaus Kinski," was based on German film actor Kinski, who was known for his offbeat roles and appearance. The play had been scheduled to run in April but was postponed because of Hampton's illness.

Raised in New Albany, Ind., Hampton was the son of a farmer and a kitchen chemist who made all of her own cosmetics. As a teenager he performed a ventriloquism act in carnivals and clubs.

Eventually, he earned a degree in organic chemistry from New York University and became involved in developing a line of cosmetics. He founded Aubrey Organics in 1967 with two products he formulated in his own kitchen — Relax-R-Bath and GPB Hair Conditioner.

He leaves a grown son, Mitchell, who lives in Boston, and an 8-year-old son, Trevor, in Tampa.

Funeral services are pending.

wbelcher@tampatrib.com

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