Tony-Winning Producer Jim Walsh, Of I'M NOT RAPPAPORT, Dies At 89
He is survived by his wife, casting director Juliet Taylor, and sons Sam and Jason.
James “Jim” Walsh (b. May 6, 1937) passed away at the age of 89 on August 27, 2026. He began his Broadway career as an assistant general manager on 1964's After The Fall. With a career spanning a remarkable 39 Broadway credits, Jim worked as a company manager, general manager, and eventually as producer. He won two Tony awards, for producing 1986's I'm Not Rappaport starring Judd Hirsch in a Tony-winning role and Cleavon Little, and 1989's Pulitzer-winning The Heidi Chronicles, and was nominated for a third for Once on This Island in 1991. He made his Broadway producing debut in 1969 at the Music Box with The Watering Place by Lyle Kessler, which opened and closed on the same night. Producing highlights include Doonesbury, Conversations with My Father, bringing Michale McClure's controversial play The Beard to off-Broadway, London, and Paris, and Norman Mailer's The Deer Park off-broadway. As a general manager for Broadway, additional credits include the Lenny Bruce bio-play Lenny, Is There Life After High School?, the musical Barnum, and the Dick Van Dyke revival of The Music Man.
He began his professional career as a Ford Foundation intern for administration in the arts at the Metropolitan Opera from 1961-1963. He then worked at the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center under Robert Whitehead and Elia Kazan, helping to manage their repertory company based in Greenwich Village at the ANTA Theatre while the Vivian Beaumont was still under construction, and that featured future stars such as Faye Dunaway, Jason Robards, and Roy Scheider.
After producing the 1992 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin, Walsh mostly retired from the theater, returning briefly to produce the 2003 musical Never Gonna Dance. He served on the Board of Governors for the League of American Theaters and Producers and on the Theatre Advisory Board for the American Soviet Theatre Initiative.
He is survived by his wife, Emmy and Oscar-winning casting director Juliet Taylor, and sons Sam and Jason.
