Thomas Meehan, the three-time Tony-award-winning book writer best known for the hit Broadway musical Annie, died in his Manhattan home, reports Playbill. He was 88. His death was confirmed by Martin Charnin, the lyricist for the 1977 musical.
In addition to teaming up with Charnin to adapt the Little Orphan Annie comic strip, Meehan wrote the stories for several other successful Broadway adaptations, including Rocky, Elf, Young Frankenstein, and Cry Baby. Meehan’s writing career also included contributions to the “Talk of the Town†section in The New Yorker and on the television series That Was the Week That Was, for which he was nominated for an Emmy.
Meehan holds the distinction of being the only book writer with three shows that each ran for over 2,000 performances on Broadway: Annie (2,377 performances); The Producers (2,502 performances); and Hairspray (2,642 performances). He won each of his three Tony awards for writing the aforementioned blockbusters, and received a fourth nomination for Cry Baby.
Meehan is survived by his wife.