Ira Gasman ( – October 6, 2018) was an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, lyricist, and newspaper

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

. He was nominated for both Tony and

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

for his contributions to '' The Life'', the 1997 Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

that had its first production at

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Westbeth Theatre Westbeth Artists Housing is a nonprofit housing and commercial complex dedicated to providing affordable living and working space for artists and arts organizations in New York City. The complex comprises the full city block bounded by West, B ...

seven years earlier. Gasman grew up in Brooklyn, then attended James Madison High School and New York University. He became an advertising copywriter, best known for coining "The Quicker Picker-Upper" as a slogan for Bounty paper towels. His first major theatrical venture was a topical revue called ''What's a Nice Country Like You Doing in a State Like This?'' (1973), which played 543 performances. The composer was Cary Hoffman, and the cast included future stars Priscilla Lopez and

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

. After ''The Life'', he collaborated on the lyrics for '' Radiant Baby'', based on the life of artist Keith Haring, which was presented by the Public Theater in 2003 and received a

Lucille Lortel Lucille Lortel (née Wadler, December 16, 1900 – April 4, 1999) was an American actress, artistic director, and theatrical producer. In the course of her career Lortel produced or co-produced nearly 500 plays, five of which were nominated for ...

Award nomination for Outstanding Musical. Gasman regularly wrote a column for ''The Sag Harbor Express'', which serves the South Fork of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. Gasman died at the age of 76 on October 6, 2018, in Richmond, Virginia.

Theatre credits

References

External links

Lortel Archives listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gasman, Ira 1940s births Place of birth missing 2018 deaths American dramatists and playwrights American lyricists American columnists