Mike Nussbaum, Dean of Chicago Theater and Oldest Working Professional Actor in the Country, Dies at 99
(handout image)
Mike Nussbaum, the dean of Chicago theater actors, believed to be the oldest-working professional performer in the country according to Actors’ Equity, has died at the age of 99. Nussbaum would have marked his 100th birthday on December 29.
Working for more than 60 years across Chicago’s stages, Nussbaum starred and directed regularly at venues like the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Chicago Shakespeare, and the Northlight, which he cofounded in 1975 with Frank Galati and Gregory Kandel. He worked across the country at Hartford Stage, Second Stage, Theater J, Atlantic Theater Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, and countless other regional and international venues, including the Royal Shakespeare Company.
A veteran of the plays of David Mamet, Nussbaum starred in the premieres of A Life in the Theater and The Shawl, and originated the role of Teach in American Buffalo and George Aaronow in Glengarry Glen Ross. He and longtime collaborator B.J. Jones were working on a 15-minute play Mamet wrote specifically for them, titled Pilot’s Lounge, in the months leading up to Nussbaum’s passing.
On screen, Nussbaum’s credits included the movies Field of Dreams, Fatal Attraction, and Men in Black, and his episodic work includes Fraser, L.A. Law, and The X-Files. On stage, he appeared in the Peter Brook production of The Cherry Orchard, which opened at Brooklyn Academy of Music and then toured Russia and Japan. His classical roles include Polonius, Shylock, Friar Laurence, and John of Gaunt. He played Einstein in the drama Relativity, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, and, most recently, the Gravedigger in Hamlet at the age of 95.
During World War II, Nussbaum notably became the typist who wired the news of the Nazi surrender in Paris in 1945, signing the cable “Eisenhower” along with his own name. Before becoming an actor, he worked with family members as an exterminator.
Preceded in death by first wife Annette and daughter Susan, his survivors include second wife Julie, children Jack and Karen, and seven granchildren.
