Caldwell married theatre producer and director Robert Whitehead in 1968. They were together until his death in 2002. She is survived by two sons, Sam and Charlie Whitehead; and grandchildren Ross and Ward Whitehe

Lynn Cohen

Amplified Entertainment

Veteran screen and stage actor Lynn Cohen, who was best known for her role as “Magda” on HBO’s Sex and the City and its two film versions, died today at age 86. No cause of death was given in the announcement by her management company.
Cohen’s television resume includes recurring roles on the shows Damages, Nurse Jackie, The Affair, and Law & Order. She also guest-starred on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, God Friended Me, Chicago Med and Master of None.
In film, Cohen co-starred as Golda Meir in the Academy Award-nominated Steven Spielberg film Munich. She also appeared in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Eagle Eye, Across The Universe, and Vanya on 42nd Street, among others.
Her stage roles on Broadway included Orpheus Descending and Ivanov. She was a staple in the New York Theater community, earning her Lucille Lortel and Drama League Award nominations, along with the New Dramatists’ Bowden Award, Fox Fellow, Lilly Award and the Richard Seff Award from Actor’s Equity Association,
Lynn is survived by her spouse, Ronald Cohen.. No memorial plans have been announced

editor's note: I have met Lynn Cohen many times as the wife of Theaterscene's esteemed writer Ron Cohen. She was always charming, funny and gracious. Our hearts go out to Ron in deepest condolences.

Jerry Herman, the Broadway composer who wrote ‘Hello, Dolly!’ and ‘La Cage aux Folles,’ is dead at 88

POSTED 9:39 AM, DECEMBER 27, 2019, BY CNN WIRE

NEW YORK — Jerry Herman, the beloved Broadway composer and lyricist who penned musicals like “Hello, Dolly,” “Mame” and “La Cage aux Folles,” has died. He was 88.

“Jerry gave us such joy through his music,” goddaughter Jane Dorian said in a statement to CNN. “He was the poet laureate of our time and gave so many extraordinary songs. He touched our hearts and souls with his music and we will miss him deeply.”

The musicals Herman scored, like the protagonists they starred, were all anchored by a buoyant optimism and a timeless quality even he admitted was uncommon toward the end of his nearly 40-year career. But his songs have since become standards.

Many of his most notable musicals centered around charismatic women, like “Hello, Dolly!” “Mame” and “Mack & Mabel,” which starred Broadway titans Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury and Bernadette Peters, respectively.

But with “La Cage aux Folles” in 1983, Herman quietly broke ground on Broadway with his portrait of a gay couple who ran a drag nightclub whose relationship woes and triumphs resembled that of any heterosexual couple portrayed on stage. It was a certifiable hit, running for 1,761 performances.

“When they passed out talent, Jerry stood in line twice,” Channing, who died earlier this year at 97, once said of Herman.

His work earned him four Tony Awards, including a Special Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. In 2010, his work was celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Oprah Winfrey and Sir Paul McCartney.

“I’m certainly aware of how different popular music is today from when I started in this business, and I realize that my songwriting is not generally in fashion,” he told the New York Times in 1985. “But ‘La Cage’ made me feel secure about going on and just being what I am, and writing simple, hummable tunes.”

He largely retired from composing in the 2000s

Editor's note:

Comments from my dear friend, Don Pippin, award winning Broadway Music Director, who worked with Herman over the years on many of his projects and most of his shows.

He said "he was a pleasure to work with because he was so knowledgeable about theater with which he was involved since childhood...

he is the only lyricist /composer left beside Sondheim -

and he also dressed very well".

The family has decided on a spring memorial tribute this Spring -

stay tuned

for more about Maestro Pippin see Theaterscene article: