Richard Warren Pugh of Phantom‘s Original Broadway Cast Dies at 55

Pugh was still appearing in Phantom, having remained with it ever since it opened 18 years ago. He also was seen on Broadway in the original production of Sweeney Todd with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou, understudying and later performing the role of Beadle Bamford; in the 1983 revival of Zorba with Anthony Quinn and Lila Kedrova; and as Dick Van Dyke’s sidekick Marcellus in the 1980 revival of The Music Man. His other credits on Broadway and beyond included The Robber Bridegroom and Copperfield, and his voice was heard in Disney’s animated film Pocohontas.

A member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1977, Pugh served as the union’s second vice president from 1991 to 2000. He was also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

He is survived by his father, Henry Pugh; his sister, Jeanine M. Pollack; and his nephew, Rhys Pollock. A funeral mass will be said Tuesday, June 12 at 11am at St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church in Lodi, New Jersey.