Friday, July 3, 2026

Terrence McNally, Four Time Tony Winning Playwright, Author of “Master Class,” Has Died at Age 81 from Coronavirus

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This is really tragic: Terrence McNally is dead at age 81.

Four time Tony winner, Pulitzer Prize nominee, recipient of a 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tonys. Loved and respected by everyone in theater.

Terry’s Tony’s included “Master Class,” “Ragtime,” “Longtime Companion,” and “Kiss of the Spiderwoman.” But his total credits for great plays and musicals just goes on and on. They include the hilarious recent “It’s Only a Play,” as well “Anastasia,” “Frankie and Johnny,” and “Ragtime.”  He is simply irreplaceable and one of a kind.

McNally died in Sarasota of complications from COVD-19. He was a lung cancer survivor and suffered from COPD. He is survived by his husband Tom Kirdahy.

 

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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