08-23-2017, 03:44 PM
Thomas Edward Meehan (August 14, 1929 – August 21, 2017) was an American writer. He was best known for Annie, The Producers, and Hairspray. Meehan wrote books for musicals Young Frankenstein and Cry-Baby. Meehan also co-wrote the book for Elf: The Musical and Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin.[3]
Meehan was born in Ossining, New York, but grew up in Suffern, New York.[4] He graduated from Hamilton College.[4]
Meehan moved to New York at age 24, and worked at The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town".[5]
He has received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times: Annie (1977), his Broadway debut; The Producers (2001); and subsequently shared the 2003 award with Mark O'Donnell for Hairspray.[6][7]
Additional credits include Ain't Broadway Grand; Oh, Kay!; Bombay Dreams, a musical adaptation of I Remember Mama; and Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge, which was subsequently reworked and re-staged Off-Broadway as Annie Warbucks.[8] He also wrote the libretto to the opera 1984.[6][7]
In addition, Meehan is a long-time contributor of humor to The New Yorker; an Emmy Award-winning writer of television comedy; and a collaborator on a number of screenplays, including Mel Brooks' Spaceballs; a remake of To Be or Not to Be; the film adaptation of The Producers; and One Magic Christmas.[9]
Meehan wrote the book for the musical Young Frankenstein, a 2007 musical stage adaptation of the 1974 film of the same name and Cry-Baby. He co-wrote the book, with Bob Martin, for Elf the Musical.[6][7][10] He co-wrote the book for the production of the musical Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin which ran at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010[11] and premiered on Broadway in 2012. In 2011 he revised the book originally written by Peter Stone for the Off-Broadway musical Death Takes a Holiday with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston.[12]
In 2012, Meehan wrote the book from the original screenplay by Sylvester Stallone[13] for the musical Rocky.[14] The show premiered in Hamburg in 2012,[15] before transferring to Broadway in 2014.[7][16]
Meehan held the distinction of being the only writer to have written three Broadway shows that ran for more than 2,000 performances.[17] Reflecting on his work in an interview with The New York Observer in 1999, Meehan said "I wrote stories that were serious, very somber, trying to be in the style of William Faulkner. My career has always been that every time I try something really serious, it's no good, but if I try to be funny, then it works".[18]
Meehan died on August 21, 2017, at his home in Manhattan, New York City, at the age of 88.[19][20] The cause was cancer.[21] Five months prior to his death, Meehan had undergone surgery, which later caused his health to deteriorate.[22]
In reaction to his death, Mel Brooks wrote on Twitter: "Stunned by the news that my friend/co-writer Tom Meehan has died. I’ll miss his sweetness & talent. We have all lost a giant of the theatre".[23] Similar to Brooks, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda released a statement on Twitter stating: "RIP to Thomas Meehan, one of the best around".[24]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Meehan_(writer)
Meehan was born in Ossining, New York, but grew up in Suffern, New York.[4] He graduated from Hamilton College.[4]
Meehan moved to New York at age 24, and worked at The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town".[5]
He has received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times: Annie (1977), his Broadway debut; The Producers (2001); and subsequently shared the 2003 award with Mark O'Donnell for Hairspray.[6][7]
Additional credits include Ain't Broadway Grand; Oh, Kay!; Bombay Dreams, a musical adaptation of I Remember Mama; and Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge, which was subsequently reworked and re-staged Off-Broadway as Annie Warbucks.[8] He also wrote the libretto to the opera 1984.[6][7]
In addition, Meehan is a long-time contributor of humor to The New Yorker; an Emmy Award-winning writer of television comedy; and a collaborator on a number of screenplays, including Mel Brooks' Spaceballs; a remake of To Be or Not to Be; the film adaptation of The Producers; and One Magic Christmas.[9]
Meehan wrote the book for the musical Young Frankenstein, a 2007 musical stage adaptation of the 1974 film of the same name and Cry-Baby. He co-wrote the book, with Bob Martin, for Elf the Musical.[6][7][10] He co-wrote the book for the production of the musical Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin which ran at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010[11] and premiered on Broadway in 2012. In 2011 he revised the book originally written by Peter Stone for the Off-Broadway musical Death Takes a Holiday with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston.[12]
In 2012, Meehan wrote the book from the original screenplay by Sylvester Stallone[13] for the musical Rocky.[14] The show premiered in Hamburg in 2012,[15] before transferring to Broadway in 2014.[7][16]
Meehan held the distinction of being the only writer to have written three Broadway shows that ran for more than 2,000 performances.[17] Reflecting on his work in an interview with The New York Observer in 1999, Meehan said "I wrote stories that were serious, very somber, trying to be in the style of William Faulkner. My career has always been that every time I try something really serious, it's no good, but if I try to be funny, then it works".[18]
Meehan died on August 21, 2017, at his home in Manhattan, New York City, at the age of 88.[19][20] The cause was cancer.[21] Five months prior to his death, Meehan had undergone surgery, which later caused his health to deteriorate.[22]
In reaction to his death, Mel Brooks wrote on Twitter: "Stunned by the news that my friend/co-writer Tom Meehan has died. I’ll miss his sweetness & talent. We have all lost a giant of the theatre".[23] Similar to Brooks, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda released a statement on Twitter stating: "RIP to Thomas Meehan, one of the best around".[24]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Meehan_(writer)
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.