Kevin Gray (February 25, 1958 – February 11, 2013) was an American actor who worked primarily in

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

Education

Gray, was a graduate of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and member of

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College, which is now the University of ...

fraternity.

Career

He was the youngest actor to play the title role in ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' on Broadway and in the U.S. national tour after a stint of playing Raoul on Broadway.Kevin Gray's biography on The Hartt School site.
Retrieved 2/12/2013. He received a The Carbonell Award for his portrayal of the title role. Gray played the King of Siam in the 1996 Broadway revival of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

'',

Simonson, Robert Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988. Career Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...

. (2013, February 12)
"Kevin Gray, Broadway Musical Performer, Is Dead At 55."
Playbill. Retrieved 2/12/2013. and in the UK touring production. He played

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...

in the 2000 Broadway revival of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

''. Gray played Kayama in the 1984 Off-Broadway revival of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

's ''

Pacific Overtures ''Pacific Overtures'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler. Set in nineteenth-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting ...

''.''Broadway's Kevin Gray dies at 55; Starred in Phantom, The Lion King, Showboat, Spider Woman & More''
Broadway World: Retrieved 2/12/2013. He received the

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moor ...

for his role as The Engineer in the Toronto production of ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'' and the

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would recei ...

for his same portrayal in the Los Angeles production. He sang the role on the Complete Symphonic Cast Recording. He also toured the United States as

Thomas Andrews Thomas Andrews Jr. (7 February 1873 – 15 April 1912) was a British businessman and shipbuilder, who was managing director and head of the drafting department of the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. He was the naval ...

in the musical ''Titanic''. Gray played Gaylord Ravenal in

Harold Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th-century theat ...

's production of ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

''. He originated the role of Valentin in ''Kiss of the Spider Woman''. Gray's television roles include the

daytime drama A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

s ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in ...

'' and ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' and the prime-time series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' and ''

The Equalizer ''The Equalizer'' is an American vigilante action thriller multimedia franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. It originated with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989 starring Edward Woodward. The concept ...

''. He co-starred in the film ''

White Hot The white hot is a variation on the hot dog found primarily in the Rochester, New York area, as well as other parts of Western New York and Central New York. It is composed of a combination of uncured and unsmoked pork, beef, and veal; the lack ...

''. He also performed in stage productions of the

Portland Stage Company Portland Stage Company is a professional LORT (League of Resident Theaters) theater company in the state of Maine. Founded as the Profile Theatre in 1974 as a touring theater company, the company made Portland its permanent location in 1976. In 1 ...

, Boston Shakespeare Company, Stonington Shakespeare Company,

The MUNY The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first s ...

, and The Mount Gretna Playhouse.

Personal life

Gray was a professor at

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

until 2011, when he went to the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

's Hartt School.Palm, Matthew J. (2013, February 12)
''Broadway actor, Rollins professor Kevin Gray dies''
The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2/12/2013. At Rollins he taught Meisner Technique Acting for Musical Theatre. He served as Associate Professor of Theatre at the Hartt School. Gray was married to Dodie Pettit, whom he met while acting in ''The Phantom of the Opera'' on Broadway. Gray and his wife performed together on two recordings: ''Voices of Broadway,'' a joint venture with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and ''Songs from the Journey''.

Death

Gray died suddenly of a heart attack on February 11, 2013, fourteen days away from his 55th birthday, and is survived by his wife Dodie Pettit.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Kevin Dora Mavor Moore Award winners 20th-century American male actors Duke University alumni University of Hartford Hartt School faculty Rollins College faculty 1958 births 2013 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing