Roy Eaton

Roy Eaton (born May 14, 1930) is an American pianist and advertising creative. He is cited as the first black American prominent in the field of advertising. His father was a mechanic and his mother a governess. In June 1950, he won the first Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Award. He made his concert debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing Chopin’s F Minor Concerto under George Schick in 1951. He was reengaged to perform Beethoven’s 4th the following season, and also made his New York Town Hall debut in 1952.

In 1986, he returned to regular concert performance at Alice Tully Hall, in Lincoln Center, with a unique program format, "The Meditative Chopin", a subsequent "The Meditative Chopin II" in 1987 and a third recital in the same hall in 1992. Eaton is a long-time practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, having begun in 1968. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2010. After suffering a stroke in 2017, Eaton has continued to perform.