Theater News

Lynne Thigpen, Tony Award Winner, Dies at 54

Lynne Thigpen
Lynne Thigpen

The Tony Award winning actress Lynne Thigpen died suddenly at her home in Los Angeles last night at age 54. No cause of death was immediately announced.

Thigpen was a co-star of the current CBS-TV drama series The District, playing the role of Ella Farmer, a statistics clerk who aided the chief of police of Washington, D.C. in his work. She was well known to children as the host of two PBS educational shows based on popular computer games, “Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?” and “Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?” Thigpen had also made memorable guest appearances on such shows as L.A. Law and thirtysomething.

As a theater performer, Thigpen received a 1981 Tony Award nomination for her work in Tintypes and won a Tony in 1997 for her performance as Dr. Judith Kaufman in Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter. She was featured in the film version of Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell, leading the ensemble in the rousing “Bless the Lord, My Soul.” Her other movie credits include Shaft, Bicentennial Man, The Insider, Random Hearts, Bob Roberts, Tootsie, and the soon-to-be-released Anger Management (co-starring Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler). She recreated her Tony winning stage performance in a 2000 TV movie of An American Daughter that starred Christine Lahti.

Thigpen was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois. Craig T. Nelson, who co-starred with her in The District, said of her death: “I’m in shock. She was a wonderful actress and a friend.” John Wirth, executive producer of the series, said: “We are all in shock and mourning. The beauty, compassion, and talent that you saw on the screen was not just superb acting, it was the very essence of this wonderful woman. We will miss her terribly.” According to CBS, production of The District has been suspended indefinitely.