Frank Galati, Tony Award-winning Chicago director, writer, actor, dead at 79
Frank Galati, a Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member, gives directions at a rehearsal for his new play.
CHICAGO - Frank Galati, the Tony Award-winning director, writer and actor who helped transform Chicago theater, has died at 79.
Galati was an icon in Chicago’s theater community, winning Tony Awards for best play and best director in 1990 for "The Grapes of Wrath," which moved to Broadway following its critically acclaimed debut production at Steppenwolf Theatre.
He was also Tony-nominated for best director for "Ragtime" in 1998 and was nominated for an Academy Award with Lawrence Kasdan for best screenplay for "The Accidental Tourist" in 1989.
His long list of works in Chicago also included productions of "The Drawer Boy," in which he starred opposite John Mahoney in 2001, and "The Tempest," a 2009 production in which Galati delivered an unforgettable performance as Prospero, the world-premiere stage adaptation of "Kafka on the Shore," "East of Eden" and Haruki Murakami’s "after the quake" at Steppenwolf as well as "The Winter’s Tale," "The Visit" and "Cry, the Beloved Country" at the Goodman.
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Galati was also known for his work in opera, directing productions of "La Traviata" and "Tosca" at Lyric Opera of Chicago and "A View from the Bridge" at both the Lyric and The Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Frank Joseph Galati Jr. was born on Nov. 29, 1943, in Highland Park. He graduated from Glenbrook High School in 1961 and went on to attend Western Illinois University and Northwestern University, where he got his master’s degree and a doctorate in speech.
He became a member of Northwestern’s faculty in 1972.
He also performed in nearly two dozen productions while an undergraduate at the university.
Galati solidified his presence in Chicago’s theater scene in the 1980s, becoming a Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member in 1985 and the Goodman Theatre’s associate director a year later. He remained in that post until 2008.
Galati was inducted in to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2004. He is the recipient of nine Joseph Jefferson Awards for his work in Chicago theater. Other accolades include the League of Chicago Theatres Artistic Leadership Award, and an NAACP Theatre Award.
Galati was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in November, an honor bestowed "on those who have made outstanding contributions to the American Theater."