Tony Award-Winning Producer Jack W. Batman Dies At 81
Batman’s career spanned more than six decades, producing over 60 plays and musicals on Broadway and beyond.
By: A.A. Cristi Aug. 11, 2025
Tony Award-winning producer and entertainment industry veteran Jack W. Batman died on August 1, 2025, at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, NJ, following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer earlier this year. He was 81.
Batman’s decades-long career included more than sixty plays and musicals produced on Broadway, in London, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, Berlin, Off-Broadway, regional theaters, national and international tours, and festivals. He is survived by his husband of 12 years and partner of nearly 50, Sidney J. Burgoyne.
Batman, in partnership with Bruce Robert Harris for more than 22 years, received Tony Awards for the Broadway productions of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Clybourne Park and the revival of Pippin. Recent projects with Harris included Good Night and Good Luck with George Clooney, John Proctor Is the Villain with Sadie Sink, The Roommate starring Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, New York, New York (which earned their thirteenth Tony nomination), The Who’s Tommy, Magic Mike Live, Criss Angel Mindfreak, and Titanic the Musical.
His producing credits also extended to five Original Broadway Cast albums and Gerald McCullouch’s award-winning film Daddy. His productions garnered numerous accolades including Tony, Olivier, London Critics Circle, London Evening Standard, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, Theatre World, Los Angeles Circle, Ovation, Grammy, and Chita Rivera Awards and nominations.
Born in Camden, NJ, in 1944, Batman’s love of theater began in childhood, attending productions with his mother, Kay. After moving to New York City in 1969, he worked his way from the William Morris Agency mailroom to becoming an agent, then built a career as a manager, casting director, actor, writer, and producer. He met Burgoyne in 1976, and the pair married in 2013. Their shared life in theater included collaborations such as Ragtime at the White Plains Performing Arts Center, where Batman was Executive Producer.
Outside of work, Batman was an avid traveler, a passionate cook, and a devoted caretaker of rescue animals. Even in his final months, he continued to work on upcoming projects. Reflecting on his life, he said, “All of my life, in business and in my personal life, if a door opened, I walked through. This is just one more door I’m walking through.”
In addition to Burgoyne, Batman is survived by cousins Sue Ellen Langhorne and Kathie Langhorne Campbell; brothers-in-law Paul and David Burgoyne; sister-in-law Catherine Ronan Burgoyne; godson Jackson Walti; nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews; and many dear friends, including Paula Cohen. He was predeceased by his parents, Kathryn and Ralph Batman, and his brother, Ralph.
Donations may be made in his honor to The Entertainment Community Fund and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
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