Bernard Pomerance, the playwright best known for the Tony Award-winning play about a horribly deformed man that has lured some of Hollywood’s biggest names, such as John Hurt and Bradley Cooper, has died. It examines the life of John Merrick, an extremely disfigured but indomitable man who becomes a celebrity in Victorian London. Billy Crudup starred in a 2002 revival, and Cooper led one in 2014 that earned four Tony nominations. Pomerance was born and raised in New York City and educated at the University of Chicago. Along with Roland Rees and David Aukin, Pomerance founded the theater company Foco Novo in 1972, a name taken from Pomerance’s play of the same title.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 29, 2017 16:30 UTC