New York, NY – September 26, 2019 -- The Broadway community mourns the loss of beloved performer, lyricist and women’s healthcare advocate Phyllis Newman, who passed away on September 15, 2019 at age 86. To commemorate her life and work, the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of the American Airlines, Broadhurst, Helen Hayes, Lunt-Fontanne, Lyric, New Amsterdam, Samuel J. Friedman, St. James, and Vivian Beaumont Theatres in New York for one minute on Friday, September 27 at exactly 7:45pm. 

“Broadway has lost a force of nature who was as much a leading lady offstage as on,” said Thomas Schumacher, Chairman of The Broadway League.  “Beyond her indelible mark as an actor, it’s impossible to overstate the extraordinary good that Phyllis Newman did over 30 years for our community through The Actors Fund and The Phyllis Newman Women’s Initiative.”

On Broadway Ms. Newman appeared in Broadway Bound (1986), Awake and Sing! (1984), The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971), On the Town (1971), The Apple Tree (1966), Subways Are for Sleeping (1961), Moonbirds (1959), First Impressions (1959), Bells Are Ringing (1956), and Wish You Were Here (1952). Winner of the 1962 Tony Award® for Best Featured Actress in A Musical for her performance in Subways Are for Sleeping, she was also the very first recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award in 2009, an honor that recognizes volunteerism by theatre professionals.

Ms. Newman’s television and film credits include: “100 Centre Street;” “Murder, She Wrote;” “Thirtysomething;” “Coming of Age;” “The Equalizer;” “Captain Kangaroo;” “One Life to Live;” “The Wild Wild West;” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.;” “Diagnosis: Unknown;” It Had to Be You; The Human Stain; A Price Above Rubies; The Beautician and the Beast; To Find a Man; Bye Bye Braverman; and Picnic and more. She was a frequent game show guest star on programs such as “What’s My Line?” “Password,” “To Tell the Truth,” and “The Match Game.” She also appeared many times on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and guest-hosted “The Johnny Carson Show”

A dedicated advocate and fund-raiser for women’s health, Ms. Newman founded the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative, a program of the Actors Fund of America.

Married to Tony Award winning writer and lyricist Adolph Green from 1960 until his death in 2002, Ms. Newman is survived by her children Amanda Green and Adam Green.

Her full Broadway biography can be found on the Internet Broadway Database:  https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/phyllis-newman-8166#Credits