Frank Galati dies at 79: Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Accidental Tourist and Tony Award-winner for Broadway’s Grapes Of Wrath, starring Gary Sinise, dies after a long career
Frank Galati died on Monday at the age of 79.
His death was announced by his husband, Peter Amster, but the cause of death was not disclosed, according to The Chicago Tribune.
The Hollywood veteran found his first success in 1988 adapting the book The Accidental Tourist for the screen with William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Geena Davis. The Chicago native was nominated for an Oscar for his efforts.
However, he is best known for his work on Broadway, when he won a Tony Award for his stage adaptation of Grapes Of Wrath, starring Gary Sinise.
A sad loss for art: Frank Galati died on Monday at the age of 79. seen in 2007
Frank’s theatrical ties ran deep.
From 1986 to 2008 he was Associate Director at the Goodman Theater in Chicago and has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theater Company since 1985. Galati also served as a professor at Northwestern University.
His success came in the 1980s when he worked in the theater. One of his first hits was a 1987 production of Aunt Dan and Lemon, starring Wallace Shawn.
Next came his Oscar-nominated work on The Accidental Tourist.
His hit film: The Hollywood veteran found his first success in 1988 when he adapted the book The Accidental Tourist for the screen with (pictured from left) Kathleen Turner, William Hurt and Geena Davis. The Chicago native was nominated for an Oscar for his efforts
He then returned to theater with an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
Production began in 1988’s Steppenwolf with actors Gary Sinise and Terry Kinney and then went to Broadway.
His work earned him a Tony Award in 1990.
He then had many hits with his Chicago productions, including 1995’s As I Lay Dying.
In 1998 he returned to Broadway directing Ragtime, a production of Terrence McNally’s adaptation of the EL Doctorow novel.
In 2005 he worked on the play After the Quake and in 2009 he took on the role of Prospero in The Tempest. It stood out as Steppenwolf’s first production of Shakespeare.
In 2012 he worked on The March and turned to The Herd in 2015.
His last show was Knoxville at the Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, Florida, where he retired.
Galati was born in 1943 in Highland Park, Chicago.
He graduated from Glenbrook High School in Northbrook in 1961 and spent a year in Western Illinois before transferring to Northwestern. In 1972 he joined the faculty of the university.