Adrian Bailey, Veteran Broadway Performer, Dies at 67

Broadway actor, singer, and dancer Adrian Bailey has died at the age of 67. The news was first shared by Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill in an Instagram post. Bailey had recently fallen in his apartment in New York City. He died on Sunday at a rehabilitation facility according to his brother Karl, who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter.

Bailey made his Broadway debut in 1976 in the Alex Bradford musical Your Arms Too Short to Box With God. He went on to appear in the ensembles of Sophisticated Ladies, My One and Only, Legs Diamond, Jelly’s Last Jam, The Who’s Tommy, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and La Cage aux Folles.

On May 10, 2008, he was preparing for a matinee performance of Disney’s The Little Mermaid when he fell through a trapdoor and landed 30 to 40 feet below on the stage of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Bailey survived, but the fall resulted in crippling injuries, multiple surgeries, and a few lawsuits — effectively ending his stage career.

“My life has been changed forever,” Bailey told Backstage. “It will never be the same. My immediate goal is to somehow be able to walk up to my own apartment and care for myself. I try to stay positive. I look forward to being made whole some day and being fully compensated for my injuries.”

Bailey was born in Detroit, where he attended Osborn High School and the University of Detroit Mercy. He is survived by his siblings Karl, Louis, Frank, and Angela.