Tony-Winning Playwright Brian Friel Dead at 86

Dancing at Lughnasa Tony winner Brian Friel died on October 2 at the age of 86. According to The New York Times, no cause of death was given for the playwright sometimes called "the Irish Chekhov." Friel lived in County Donegal, Ireland.

Friel was born on January 9 (or possibly January 10), 1929 in Killyclogher, County Tyrone. After initially studying for the priesthood, he turned to teaching and began writing short stories. He wrote his first play for the radio, A Sort of Freedom, which was broadcast by the BBC in 1954. A decade later came Friel's first big hit, Philadelphia Here I Come, which began life at the Dublin Theatre Festival. The play arrived on Broadway in 1966 and Friel received the first of his multiple Tony nominations for the piece.

Friel's work remained a mainstay on the Great White Way for much of the next four decades. He took home the Tony for Dancing at Lughnasa in 1992, and was also nominated for 1969's Lovers. Additional Broadway credits included The Loves of Cass McGuire, Losers, The Mundy Scheme, The Freedom of the City, Faith Healer, Wonderful Tennessee and Translations.

Friel was often likened to Chekhov and he freely admitted the Russian writer's influence on him as a dramatist. Friel translated the classics Uncle Vanya and The Three Sisters, and even used characters from both in his own 2002 Afterplay.

Throughout his career Friel penned 24 published plays and two short-story collections. Among his many notable achievements was the foundation of the Field Day Theatre Company with actor Stephen Rea in 1980, with the aim to tour productions as a response to the violence in Northern Ireland.

Friel is survived by his wife Anne Morrison, who he married in 1954, and their children Mary, Judy, Sally and David. He will be buried in Glenties cemetery on October 4.