Three-Time Tony-Nominated Playwright Arthur Kopit, Known for Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Dies at 83

Acclaimed dramatist Arthur Kopit, whose writing career spanned seven decades, died on April 2 at the age of 83. He is known for his play Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad as well as his Tony-nominated works Nine, Indians and Wings. 

“Arthur was one of the most uncompromisingly original writers that America ever produced," Kopit’s longtime friend and collaborator Maury Yeston said in a statement. The two notably collaborated on the Tony-winning musical Nine. "A genuine born playwright, his work possesses the kind of universality that is understood by the entire human race, across all cultures and languages. The worlds he created come to life inside the minds of every audience member who has the good fortune of attending one of his shows. But his greatest trait – even beyond his enviable brilliance—was a generosity that knew no bounds.”

Born in New York on May 10, 1937, his Broadway debut play was Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad in 1963, which Jerome Robbins directed while Kopit was an undergraduate at Harvard. The dark absurdist. comedy was an immediate smash. He went on to write Indians and Wings, both of which were nominated for Tony Awards and were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His third Tony nomination was for Nine. His additional Broadway works included Ghosts, End of the World and High Society.

Kopit's most recent projects included Discovery of America, a play based on the journals of the Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca, as well as two new plays, Secrets of the Rich and The Incurables. He was a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Lark Play Development Center, where he headed the Lark Playwrights’ Workshop, influencing and mentoring young playwrights.

Kopit is survived by his wife, Leslie Garis, his children Alex, Ben and Kat, his grandchildren Arthur, Beatrix and Clara as well as his sister, Susan.