Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Accidental Tourist and Tony Award winner Frank Galati has died aged 79 after a glistening career, his husband has announced.
The Hollywood star tragically passed away yesterday, his partner Peter Amster has said. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.
His death was first reported in The Chicago Tribune, which carried a tribute to the theater director who enjoyed huge success in the late 80s.
Popular New York director Daniel Fish told the outlet that Frank was "a huge influence".
He said: "I remember in one class he gave everybody the first page of a short story and said, 'stage it and you can’t cut a word'.
"But he didn’t say how the words had to be represented, so all of your assumptions were challenged. That was incredibly freeing for me."
Frank had enjoyed five decades in Chicago theatre and was a "beloved longtime teacher" at Northwestern University, an ensemble member at both the Steppenwolf and Goodman Theatres.
His Academy Award nomination was shared with Lawrence Kasdan for their 1989 screenplay for The Accidental Tourist.
Frank's adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, featuring actors Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and many others, originated at Steppenwolf in 1988 and went on to Broadway.
It won Frank a Tony Award in 1990, and 'did more that any other single production to tell the world about the explosive talents in the Chicago theatre of the era,' reports the Tribune.
New York Times critic Frank Rich branded it "an epic achievement" at the time.
His long list of successful productions includes As I Lay Dying in 1995, After the Quake in 2005, Doctorow’s The March in 2012, The Herd in 2015, as well as the world premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s The Visit in 2001.
Recently, he worked on The March back in 2012 then he moved on to The Herd in 2015.
His final show was Knoxville at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, where he had retired with husband Peter.
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