Oscar-Nominated screenwriter Frank Galati Passes Away At 79

Tony Award-winning director, playwright, actor, and a key figure in the transformation of Chicago theatre, Frank Galati has passed away at the age of 79.

According to The Chicago Tribune, his husband Peter Amster announced his passing but did not provide a cause of death.

The seasoned Hollywood director found success when he turned the novel ‘The Accidental Tourist’ into a movie in 1988, starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and Geena Davis, the work which earned the Chicago native an Academy Award.

Galati won a Tony Award in 1990 for his stage adaptation of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, which starred actor Gary Sinise. However, Galati is best known for his work on ‘Broadway’.

In addition, he shared an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay with Lawrence Kasdan for “The Accidental Tourist” in 1989 and was nominated for a Tony Award for best director for “Ragtime” in 1998.

His extensive body of work in Chicago also included the world premiere stage adaptations 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. He also featured in Chicago productions of “The Drawer Boy,” in which he co-starred with John Mahoney in 2001, and “The Tempest,” a 2009 production in which Mr Galati gave an unforgettable performance as Prospero.

Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis, the co-artistic directors of Steppenwolf, paid tribute to Mr Galati in a joint statement: “Frank had a profound impact on Steppenwolf, and all of us, over the years. For some, he was a teacher, mentor, director, adaptor, writer, fellow actor, and visionary. Regardless of the relationship, Frank Galati always made others feel cared for, valued, and inspired in his ever-generous, joyful, and compassionate presence.”

Galati was also well-known for his work as an opera director, having overseen the stagings of “La Traviata,” “Tosca,” and “A View from the Bridge” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Metropolitan Opera in New York, respectively.

Frank Joseph Galati Jr. was born on November 29, 1943, in Highland Park. After graduating from Glenbrook High School in 1961, he continued his education at Northwestern University and Western Illinois University, where he earned his master’s and a doctorate in speech.