Actress and Playwright Suzanne Grossmann Dies at 72

Grossmann made her Broadway debut in the original production of The Lion in Winter, playing the role of French princess Alais. Additional Main Stem acting credits included Cyrano de Bergerac (1968), The Show Off (1968 ), and Private Lives (1969). She also adapted, with Paxton Whitehead, There’s One in Every Marriage (from Georges Feydeau’s Le Dindon) and Chemin de Fer, which played Broadway in 1972 and 1974, respectively.

She also collaborated with Whitehead on The Chemmy C ircle, adapted from Feydeau’s La Main Passe, with other adaptations including Alpha and Omega, La Vie Parisienne, and Number Our Days.

Her work was produced in a number of venues around the country, including the Chelsea Theater Center in New York, San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, and Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum.

Grossmann also worked in television, appearing in ABC’s 1967 production of The Diary of Anne Frank. She wrote over 100 episodes for the soap opera Ryan’s Hope, in addition to other teleplays.

She is survived by her husband, Robert Scales. A memorial is scheduled for December 21.