Director Ethan McSweeny, billed as the consulting artistic director of the not-for-profit troupe, said, "We will continue to present classic plays with the best actors and strive to preserve Tony Randall's legacy."

He said NAT will present its next production Off-Broadway in spring 2005. The title won't be announced until after the November presidential election.

"If things go badly — who knows? — The Madness of King George," he quipped.

In November, NAT will present a reading of Tales From Hollywood, the play by Christopher Hampton.

In 2003, McSweeny staged an adaptation of Aeschylus' The Persians for NAT at the Michael Schimmel Center at Pace University in downtown Manhattan. Friends, colleagues and fans gathered at Broadway's Majestic Theatre 1 PM Oct. 5 to celebrate the life and work of Randall, the film, TV and stage actor, director and producer.

"I began the National Actors Theatre with the dream to present the world's greatest theatre with the best actors accessible to everyone," Randall wrote in a letter to his NAT audience, which appears on the company's website (www.nationalactorstheatre.com). "In addition, I wanted to create an institution that would educate the community by offering free theatre to students as well as integrate the theatre experience into school curricula. This multifaceted approach to making theatre available to the entire community is what makes NAT an American Institution."

NAT was founded in 1991. The website indicated that its fall 2003 staging of Pirandello's Right You Are was the troupe's 20th production.