Alvin Epstein, Original Lucky in Broadway's Waiting for Godot, Dies at 93

Alvin Epstein, a multifaceted, award-winning actor whose six-decade career on and off Broadway included roles in the works of Samuel Beckett, William Shakespeare and Kurt Weill, died on December 10 in Newton, Massachusetts. The cause of death, according to The New York Times, was pneumonia. Epstein was 93.

Epstein made his Broadway debut as The Fool in a revival of King Lear (1956) opposite Orson Welles. Soon after, he originated the iconic role of Lucky in the Broadway premiere of Waiting for Godot (1956).

Epstein's other Broadway credits include From A to Z (1960), No Strings (1962), The Passion of Josef D. (1964), Postmark Zero (1965) and A Place Without Doors (1970).

A revival of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's 3 Penny Opera (1989), featuring Alvin Epstein as Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum, marked his final Broadway credit.

Epstein's extensive off-Broadway career was highlighted by an Obie-winning turn in Dynamite Tonite! (1967), an acclaimed performance in Tuesdays with Morrie (2002) and a Lortel-nominated turn in The Cherry Orchard (2012). He took his final off-Broadway bow in Richard Nelson's Nikolai and the Others (2013) at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

Epstein is survived by his sister, Sandra Epstein, and stepsister Claire Stein.