Drama Critic and Playwright Terry Teachout Dies at Age 65

Terry Teachout, biographer, playwright, director, and drama critic for The Wall Street Journal, has passed away. He was 65 years old.

In 2014, his play 'Satchmo At The Waldorf', a one-man-two-character play about Louis Armstrong and Joe Glaser, was produced at at The Westside Theatre, directed by Gordon Edelstein and starring John Douglas Thompson.

His second play, Billy and Me, a play about the relationship between William Inge and Tennessee Williams, premiered at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, Fla., on December 8, 2017.

Teachout began writing drama reviews for the Wall Street Journal in 2003 and is known for his biographies of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, George Balanchine and H.L. Mencken. In 1991, Teachout published a memoir titled, "City Limits: Memories of a Small-Town Boy" recounting his upbringing in Sikeston, Missouri.

Teachout is a graduate of William Jewell College, where he studied journalism and music. Teachout began his theatrical criticism career writing reviews for the Kansas City Star, he has also earned bylines in The New York Daily News and National Review.

Vote Now