Richard Warren Pugh, who was with the Broadway company ofThe Phantom of the Operafor 18 years and who was also the former vice president for Actors' Equity Association, died on Friday, June 9th at the age of 55, due to complications from diabetes. From its opening on January 26th, 1988 until his death, Pugh performed on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera. He played the Auctioneer and was a replacement in the role of Buquet (the role he played when Phantom became Broadway's longest-running show). He also at various points served as understudy for the roles of Piangi and Monsieur Firmin. Pugh also was seen in the original Broadway cast of Sweeney Todd. He was an understudy in the role of Beedle Bamford. His other Broadway credits included the 1983 revival of Zorba, the 1981 Dickens-based musical Copperfield and the 1980 revival of The Music Man, in which he played Marcellus to Dick Van Dyke's Harold Hill. His voice was also heard in the Disney film Pocahontas (he was in the film's chorus).Pugh served as Actors' Equity's Second Vice President from 1991 to 2000, and was also an Eastern Regional Principal Councillor, an Eastern Regional Chorus Councillor, as well as a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
He is survived by his father Henry Pugh, his sister Jeanine M. Pollack and his nephew, Rhys Pollock.
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