Special Reports

In Memoriam: A Look Back at the Theater Icons We Lost in 2020

Broadway said farewell to a great many legends this year.

As the year comes to an end, we lovingly look back on those in the theater community we've lost this year. May their memories be a blessing. They will be missed.


Eric Bentley, esteemed critic, translator, and playwright

Eric Bentley
Eric Bentley
(image via YouTube)

Roger Berlind, theatrical producer

Roger Berlind
Roger Berlind
(© Tristan Fuge)

Howell Binkley, Tony-winning lighting designer of Jersey Boys and Hamilton

Howell Binkley (center) and two of his productions: Hamilton (left) and Ain't Too Proud (right).
Howell Binkley (center) and two of his productions: Hamilton and Ain't Too Proud.
(© Joan Marcus/David Gordon/Matthew Murphy)

Mark Blum, beloved Broadway and off-Broadway veteran

Mark Blum has died at the age of 69.
Mark Blum
(© David Gordon)

Chadwick Boseman, playwright and actor

Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman
(© Gage Skidmore)

Zoe Caldwell, a four-time Tony-winning Broadway legend

Four-time Tony Award-winning Broadway legend Zoe Caldwell has died at 86.
Zoe Caldwell
(© David Gordon)

Brent Carver, Tony-Winning Originator of Roles in Kiss of the Spider Woman and Parade

Brent Carver
Brent Carver
(© David Gordon)

Marge Champion, veteran dancer from Broadway's Golden Age

Marge Champion
Marge Champion
(© Tristan Fuge)

Anthony Chisholm, Tony-nominated actor seen in Jitney and Radio Golf

Anthony Chisholm
Anthony Chisholm
(© David Gordon)

Lawrence Clayton, veteran of seven Broadway shows

Lawrence Clayton
Lawrence Clayton
(© David Gordon)

Lynn Cohen, stage and screen character actor

Lynn Cohen
Lynn Cohen
(© David Gordon)

Nick Cordero, Tony-nominated actor seen in Bullets Over Broadway, Waitress, and A Bronx Tale

Nick Cordero
Nick Cordero
(© David Gordon)

Mart Crowley, author of groundbreaking play The Boys in the Band

Mart Crowely has died at 84.
Mart Crowley
(© David Gordon)

Olivia de Havilland, two-time Academy Award winner

Olivia de Havilland circa the 1940s
Olivia de Havilland circa the 1940s
(publicity image via Wikimedia Commons)

Brian Dennehy, two-time Tony-winning star of Death of a Salesman and Long Day's Journey Into Night

Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy
(© David Gordon)

Kirk Douglas, legend of stage and screen

Kirk Douglas in the 1963 Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Kirk Douglas in the 1963 Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
(© Henry Grossman/Wikimedia Commons)

Rosalind Elias, opera star

Rosalind Elias
Rosalind Elias
(© Tristan Fuge)

Merwin Foard, veteran Broadway standby

Merwin Foard
Merwin Foard
(© David Gordon)

Bernard Gersten, executive producer of Lincoln Center Theater

Bernard Gersten
Bernard Gersten
(© Joseph Marzullo)

Ian Holm, Tony winner for The Homecoming

Ian Holm
Ian Holm
(© CossieMoJo/Wikimedia Commons)

Peter Hunt, stage and screen director of 1776

Peter Hunt
Peter Hunt
(image via wtfest.org)

Shirley Knight, Tony and three-time Emmy winner

Shirley Knight
Shirley Knight
(© David Gordon)

Larry Kramer, playwright of The Normal Heart and foremost crusading activist against the AIDS crisis

Larry Kramer, one of the major activists and chroniclers of the AIDS crisis, has died.
Larry Kramer
(© Tristan Fuge)

Herbert Kretzmer, the English lyricist of Les Misérables

Herbert Kretzmer
Herbert Kretzmer
(© David Gordon)

Ming Cho Lee, Tony-winning scenic designer

Ming Cho Lee
Ming Cho Lee
(© David Gordon)

Margo Lion, Tony-winning producer

Margo Lion
Margo Lion
(© David Gordon)

Rebecca Luker, three-time Tony-nominated star of The Secret Garden, Show Boat, and The Music Man

Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker
(© David Gordon)

Michael Mandell, Broadway veteran seen in Elf

Michael Mandell taking his curtain call in Elf on Broadway.
Michael Mandell taking his curtain call in Elf on Broadway.
(© Tristan Fuge)

Terrence McNally, one of America's foremost playwrights

Terrence McNally has died.
Terrence McNally
(© David Gordon)

Doreen Montalvo, Broadway veteran seen in In the Heights, On Your Feet!, and Mrs. Doubtfire

Doreen Montalvo
Doreen Montalvo
(handout image)

Carl Reiner, comedy icon

Carl Reiner in an image from circa 1960.
Carl Reiner, circa 1960
(image via Wikimedia Commons)

Ann Reinking, Tony-winning Broadway dancer/choreographer

Ann Reinking
Ann Reinking
(© Joseph Marzullo)

Naya Rivera, star of TV's Glee

Naya Rivera
Naya Rivera
(© Tristan Fuge)

Dame Diana Rigg, Tony-winning actor most recently seen in My Fair Lady on Broadway

Dame Diana Rigg
Dame Diana Rigg
(© David Gordon)

Peter Saide, actor

Peter Saide
Peter Saide
(© David Gordon)

Adam Schlesinger, Fountains of Wayne frontman and composer of Cry-Baby and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Adam Schlesinger has died.
Adam Schlesinger
(© Tricia Baron)

Arthur P. Siccardi, beloved Broadway production supervisor

Artie Siccardi
Artie Siccardi
(© Walter McBride/WM Photography)

Phyllis Somerville, stage and screen vet recently seen in To Kill a Mockingbird

Phyllis Somerville
Phyllis Somerville
(© Allison Stock)

Jerry Stiller, veteran of 15 Broadway shows and TV dad on Seinfeld and The King of Queens

Jerry Stiller
Jerry Stiller
(© Tristan Fuge)