Ira Gasman ( – October 6, 2018) was an American playwright,

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

, and newspaper columnist. He was nominated for both

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

and

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for his contributions to '' The Life'', the 1997

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical that had its first production at off-Broadway's Westbeth Theatre seven years earlier. Gasman grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, then attended James Madison High School and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. He became an advertising copywriter, best known for coining "The Quicker Picker-Upper" as a slogan for

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paper towels. His first major theatrical venture was a topical revue called ''What's a Nice Country Like You Doing in a State Like This?'' (1973), which played 543 performances. The composer was Cary Hoffman, and the cast included future stars

Priscilla Lopez Priscilla Lopez (born February 26, 1948) is an American singer, dancer, and actress. She is perhaps best known for creating the role of Diana Morales in ''A Chorus Line''. She has had the distinction of appearing in two Broadway landmarks: one o ...

and Betty Buckley. After ''The Life'', he collaborated on the lyrics for ''

Radiant Baby ''Radiant Baby'' is a musical about Keith Haring, who was an artist and social activist in New York City. The music was composed by Debra Barsha, with lyrics by Ira Gasman, Stuart Ross, and Debra Barsha. It was based on ''Keith Haring: The Auth ...

'', based on the life of artist

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual language". Much of his wor ...

, which was presented by the

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American ...

in 2003 and received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Musical. Gasman regularly wrote a column for ''The Sag Harbor Express'', which serves the South Fork of Long Island. Gasman died at the age of 76 on October 6, 2018, in Richmond, Virginia.

Theatre credits

References

External links

Lortel Archives listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gasman, Ira 1940s births Place of birth missing 2018 deaths American dramatists and playwrights American lyricists American columnists