Playwright Robert Heide Has Passed Away at Age 90

Playwright Robert Heide passed away at 11:15am on Wednesday December 17 in New York City. He spent the last year and a half of his life at Isabella Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care under the care of a nurturing and attentive staff of doctors and nurses. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, his long time partner John Gilman said that Robert celebrated the day with a parry in the New Jersey that he loved dearly, and surrounded by his family. 

Robert’s life was rich with theater, and his career spanned decades. His scripts, photographs, programs, and other papers, including materials pertaining to Caffe Cino are with Special Collections and University Archives, at Rutgers University.

Robert Heide was born in 1939 in Irvington, New Jersey, received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University, in 1962, and moved to New York City. He began working with The Living Theatre; and his first two plays, "Hector" and "West of the Moon," were produced at the New Playwrights' Theatre. Heide was befriended by Joe Cino, owner of Caffe Cino and one of the dominant figures of the early Off-Off-Broadway movement. Joe Cino encouraged Heide to continue his writing and his first play at the Caffe was "The Bed,” a drama in which two men sit in a bed and argue without purpose. The play became a cult classic, and was filmed by Andy Warhol. Other Robert Heide plays include "Why Tuesday Never has a Blue Monday" (1966), which won a National Catholic Theatre Award in 1969, "At War with the Mongols" (1970), which premiered at Brecht West in New Brunswick, New Jersey, "Suburban Tremens" (1978) and "Crisis of Identity" (1986).

In addition to his work in theater, Heide wrote about modern culture. With John Gilman, he wrote several books, including: Dime-Store Dream Parade: Popular Culture, 1925-1955; Cowboy Collectibles, Cartoon Collectibles; and Starstruck. His books on the state of New Jersey include Greetings from New Jersey and O! New Jersey! With Gilman he also wrote “Mickey Mouse: The Evolution, The Legend, The Phenomenon!”  In 2017, his book “25 Plays “was published by Fast Books with a forward by Michael Townsend Smith. 
John Gilman said that a memorial will be forthcoming for Robert in the new year. 

"Robert Heide was an accomplished author, and I can confirm that he was a devoted enthusiastic for half the artists of Greenwich Village" - Magie Dominic..