Douglas McGrath obit

Everything's Fine Star Douglas McGrath Dies Suddenly

The stage and film actor, director, and writer was performing his autobiographical solo show at Off-Broadway's DR2 Theatre.

He was not on the list.

Douglas McGrath died suddenly November 3 at the age of 64. He was currently starring in his autobiographical solo show Everything's Fine at Off-Broadway's DR2 Theatre, which has closed following McGrath's passing. The production's final performance was November 2. Cause of death has not been announced.

Born in 1958 in Midland, Texas, McGrath got his start as a writer for Saturday Night Live before moving on to film and stage projects. For the stage, McGrath wrote the Tony-nominated book to Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Checkers; and The Age of Innocence. He wrote and directed Emma, Company Man, Nicholas Nickleby, and Infamous for the screen, additionally directing His Way, I Don't Know How She Does It, and Becoming Mike Nichols. His 1994 screenplay to Bullets Over Broadway also served as the source material for a 2014 stage adaptation.

McGrath is survived by his wife, Jane Read Martin, and son, Henry.

Directed by John Lithgow, Everything's Fine featured set design by two-time Tony winner John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony winner Linda Cho, lighting design by Caitlin Smith Rapoport, and sound design by Emma Wilk. Amy Rauchwerger was production stage manager. Tony winner Daryl Roth and Emmy winner Tom Werner produced.

McGrath was also known for his documentaries including His Way which profiled film producer and talent manager Jerry Weintraub and for Becoming Mike Nichols (2016), both of which were produced by HBO. In 2011 he directed his final narrative feature film the romantic comedy I Don't Know How She Does It starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Christina Hendricks, Olivia Munn, and Kelsey Grammer. The film received mixed reviews and is considered a box office bomb. During this time he had a recurring role as Principal Toby Cook in Lena Dunham's HBO series Girls from 2015 t 2016. His final on television roles were in Woody Allen's Amazon Prime series Crisis in Six Scenes (2016) and in the Netflix western limited series Godless (2017).

He soon gained further success as both a writer and director of the film adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, Emma (1996) starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The film gained critical acclaim and McGrath received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination. During this time he also played supporting roles in critically acclaimed films such as Robert Redford's Quiz Show (1994), Greg Mottola's The Daytrippers (1996), Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), and Michael Mann's The Insider (1999).

Ticketholders for canceled performances can get refunds from their point of purchase.

McGrath died from a heart attack at his office in Manhattan on November 3, 2022, at the age of 64. He had been performing Off-Broadway in his solo autobiographical show Everything's Fine directed by John Lithgow at the Daryl Roth Theatre, a run which was cut short by his death.

Partial filmography

Writer

    Saturday Night Live (12 episodes, 1980–1981)

    L.A. Law (1 episode: "One Rat, One Ranger", 1989)

    Born Yesterday (1993)

    Bullets over Broadway (1994)

    Emma (1996)

    Company Man (2000)

    Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

    Infamous (2006)

    Checkers (2012) (play about young Richard Nixon)

    Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (2014) (musical book)

               

Actor

 

    Quiz Show (1994) – Snodgrass

    The Daytrippers (1996) – Chap

        aka En route vers Manhattan

    Prix Fixe (1997) – Bob Waterman

    Happiness (1998) – Tom

    Celebrity (1998) – Bill Gaines

    The Insider (1999) – Private Investigator

    Company Man (2000) – Alan Quimp

    Small Time Crooks (2000) – Frenchy's Lawyer

    Hollywood Ending (2002) – Barbecue Guest

    Michael Clayton (2007) – Jeff Gaffney

    Solitary Man (2009) – Dean Edward Gitleson

    Girls (2015-2016) - Principal Toby Cook

    Café Society (2016) – Norman

    Crisis in Six Scenes (2016) - Doug

    Godless (2016) - Edward Solomon

    Rifkin's Festival (2020) – Gil Brenner

Director

    Emma (1996)

    Company Man (2000)

    Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

    Infamous (2006)

    His Way (2011)

    I Don't Know How She Does It (2011)

    Becoming Mike Nichols (2016)