Thursday, July 10, 2025

Broadway Great Paul Libin, 94, Died This Week: Won a Lifetime Tony Award for Being a Quiet Giant in Theater History

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I’ve been waiting for the New York Times to write an obit for Paul Libin.

The Broadway great, winner of a lifetime Tony Award, was a quiet giant in American theater.

Paul’s death is one of the last notes in the greatest chapter even in Broadway. I’ve included his Playbill obit here, and his Tony Award acceptance speech.

I was lucky enough to get to know Paul and his wife, Florence, over the last couple of decades — mostly on opening nights. He was an eminence grise, a repository of so much Broadway history, and full of great insights. He was also fun, don’t worry. Paul had seen everything during his time in showbiz, and I really appreciated the time he took to talk to me.

Condolences to his family and friends. I will really miss seeing Paul, always natty and full of enthusiasm, this theater season.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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