Douglas McGrath, the director, writer, and actor, who was nominated for an Oscar for the Bullets Over Broadway screenplay, died suddenly yesterday. He was 64. McGrath’s career included notable works through television, film, and stage, including his latest on-stage production Everything’s Fine. McGrath starred in the Off-Broadway show, at the Daryl Roth Theatre, which he penned based on his own life. Although the play was expected to run until next year, McGrath’s final performance took place on November 2nd, just one day before his unexpected passing.

McGrath’s death was announced by the show’s producers Daryl Roth and Tom Werner, and director John Lithgow. A tweet on behalf of the production confirmed the sad news:

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

“We are devastated by the sudden death of Douglas McGrath. The company of ‘Everything’s Fine’ was honored to have presented his solo autobiographical show. We send our warmest condolences to Jane and his family. May his memory be a blessing.”

McGrath was born and raised in Midland, Texas. Through his ironically titled play Everything’s Fine, McGrath revealed that he was groomed by a female teacher when he was just 14. As a young adult, McGrath attended Princeton University, where he became a member of the Princeton Triangle Club theater troupe. McGrath’s professional writing career began when he joined the Saturday Night Live team for the 1980-81 season.

McGrath’s Celebrated Career

McGrath and Woody Allen co-wrote the screenplay for 1994’s Bullets Over Broadway, which earned the two men an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Two years later, the Gwyneth Paltrow-starrer Emma premiered, which McGrath had written and directed. He went on to serve in both capacities once again for the 2006 Truman Capote biopic Infamous.

McGrath’s other notable credits include two Emmy-nominated HBO documentaries: His Way, about producer Jerry Weintraub, and Becoming Mike Nichols. For the stage, McGrath wrote Checkers, about young Richard Nixon, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. In 2014, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical for the latter.

McGrath also worked as an actor before taking the stage for Everything’s Fine. Notable film credits include Quiz Show, The Insider, and Company Man. A multiple-time collaborator of Allen’s, he also appeared in several of the director’s productions, including Celebrity, Sweet and Lowdown, Small Time Crooks, Hollywood Ending, Café Society, Crisis in Six Scenes and Rifkin’s Festival.

McGrath’s cause of death has not been reported. He is survived by wife Jane Read Martin, and son Henry McGrath.