Jeffrey Lane Tony-Nominated Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Playwright Dies at 71
He received the Best Book Tony Award for his work on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Jeffrey Lane, an Emmy-winning writer and producer who was most famous for Mad About You, Cagney & Lacey and Lou Grant and Ryan’s Hope as well as the Broadway musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, died at the age of 71 on May 20 in New York following a lengthy illness, reports Deadline.
Lane was born in St. Louis in 1954 and raised on Long Island, he graduated from Wesleyan University with degrees in theater and film history before beginning his professional career in television.
He established himself in television, working as a writer and producer on a number of series, starting on the daytime drama Ryan's Hope, followed by writing and story-editing work on Lou Grant and Cagney & Lacey. He later becameassociated with the hit NBC sitcom Mad About You, where he served as writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Further television credits included The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Bette, and the television film The Murder of Mary Phagan.
Although already highly respected in television, Lane achieved major Broadway success through his collaborations with composer David Yazbek. He wrote the book for the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, adapted from the 1988 film. The production opened on Broadway in 2005 and became both a commercial and critical success, earning 11 Tony Award nominations. Lane received a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical for his work on the show.
Lane and Yazbek later reunited for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, the Broadway adaptation of the Pedro Almodóvar film. The production opened in 2010 and featured Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti, and Brian Stokes Mitchell.
Throughout his career, Lane earned numerous honors which included winning three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award and two Peabody Awards. He also received multiple Writers Guild of America Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination.
Videos
