Obituaries

Joel Paley, Ruthless! Writer, Dies Just Weeks After Husband Marvin Laird's Passing

Paley and Laird wrote Ruthless! together and it was an off-Broadway hit.

David Gordon

David Gordon

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January 22, 2025

'Ruthless The Musical' party, Press Night, London, UK 27 Mar 2018
Marvin Laird and Joel Paley
(© Dan Wooller)

Joel Paley, cocreator of the off-Broadway musical Ruthless!, died January 11 at the age of 69, following a roadside medical emergency. His passing came just six weeks after that of his husband, Ruthless! composer Marvin Laird, who died December 2 at the age of 85.

Paley and Laird met during rehearsals for the 1976 Shirley MacLaine special Where Do We Go From HereAt the time, Paley was a member of the all-male drag ballet troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. During their meeting, Paley shared a script he wrote for a musical adaptation of The Bad Seed, which he called Seedy.

Seedy eventually became Ruthless!, the story of a little girl who murders everyone standing in her way of the leading role in her school play. Paley directed the original production, which earned him Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards; he also directed the 2015 off-Broadway revival. Also with Laird, Paley wrote the musical revue The Yiddish Are Coming … The Yiddish Are Coming! The Chosen Musical.

Paley directed episodes of SHE-TV and choreographed for Bea Arthur on Maude, and staged national tours of Play It Again, Sam and The Odd Couple.

Paley is survived by sisters Barbara Paley Cohen and Sheryl Beegal.

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