SARASOTA, FL (CelebrityAccess) — Terrence McNally, a Tony Award-winning, playwright, librettist, and screenwriter whose work explored themes of religion, gender and sexual orientation, has died of complications of COVID-19. He was 81.
A spokesman for McNally told USA Today that he died on Tuesday at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida.
McNally was regarded as one of the greatest playwrights of the contemporary era, penning musicals such as “Ragtime,” “Master Class,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” and “The Full Monty.”
His screenwriting credits include 1991’s “Frankie and Johnny,” starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer; the 1976 farce “The Ritz” and the 1994 adaption of McNally’s Broadway production “Love! Valour! Compassion!”
A lung cancer survivor, McNally suffered from chronic inflammatory lung disease, leaving him at high risk to COVID-19.
Over the course of his career, he won 5 Tony Awards, including last year when he was presented with a special Lifetime Achievement Award.
An outpouring of grief spilled out over Twitter following news of McNally’s passing.
Heartbroken over the loss of Terrence McNally, a giant in our world, who straddled plays and musicals deftly. Grateful for his staggering body of work and his unfailing kindness.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) March 24, 2020
He is survived by his husband, theater producer Tom Kirdahy.
