Arthur Kopit, 3-Time Tony-Nominated Playwright, Dies

Arthur Kopit, 3-Time Tony-Nominated Playwright, Dies
(L-R) Actress Annabel Scholey, writer Arthur Kopit and actress Kate Fleetwood attend the press night for "High Society" at The Old Vic Theatre, in London, England, on May 14, 2015. (Miles Willis/Getty Images)

NEW YORK—Arthur Kopit, a three time Tony Award-nominated playwright and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, has died. He was 83.

Kopit died Friday, said Rick Miramontez, a senior publicist at DKC/O&M PR. No other details were available.

Kopit earned a Tony nod in 1970 for “Indians.” Nine years later, he received another nomination for “Wings.” Both “Indians” and “Wings” were Pulitzer finalists for drama.

Kopit earned his third Tony nomination in 1982 for “Nine,” an adaptation of the Federico Fellini’s film “8 1/2.″ “Nine” returned to Broadway in 2003 and won two Tony Awards, including best revival. In 2009, Rob Marshall directed the film based on Kopit’s script.

Kopit’s other works include “Phantom,” a musical version of “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux that has been overshadowed by the more popular version by Andrew Lloyd Weber, and “The End of the World.”

Kopit later taught at Wesleyan University, Yale University, and the City College of New York. He was a member of the Lark Play Development Center,

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

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