Mark Medoff, Tony-Winning Playwright of Children of a Lesser God, Dies at 79

Mark Medoff, the celebrated scribe whose breakthrough work Children of a Lesser God led to acclaim in New York, London and Hollywood, died on April 23 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, following a battle with cancer, according to the Las Cruces Sun News. Medoff was 79.

Born on March 18, 1940 in Mount Carmel, Illinois, Medoff was raised in Miami Beach and attended the University of Miami. The aspiring playwright later received a master's degree from Stanford.

After several playwriting successes off-Broadway, Medoff made his Broadway debut with Children of a Lesser God (1980). Set at a school for the deaf, the play centers on the connection between a teacher named James Leeds and a deaf woman, Sarah Norman, he meets there. The play won Medoff the 1980 Tony Award for Best Play, with stars John Rubinstein and Phyllis French also taking home Tonys for their work as James and Sarah. (Medoff and French would reunite years later for his other Broadway credit, the 2004 play Prymate.)

Prior to Children of a Lesser God, Medoff made a mark with his off-Broadway play When You Comin' Back Red Ryder? (1973), which won him Outer Critics Circle, Obie and Drama Desk Awards. Later on, off-Broadway audiences would see his plays The Wager (1974) and The Hands of Its Enemy (1986).

Six years after its Broadway premiere, Children of a Lesser God received an Oscar-nominated screen adaptation (1986), netting Medoff a nomination for his adapted screenplay (with Hesper Anderson) as well as a nod for actor William Hurt as James and a win for co-star Marlee Matlin as Sarah.

In 2018, Children of a Lesser God received its first Broadway revival, headlined by screen star Joshua Jackson as James and Lauren Ridloff, a former Miss Deaf America, in a Tony-nominated Broadway debut as Sarah.

Following the premiere production of Children of a Lesser God, Medoff was presented with an honorary degree from Washington, D.C.'s Gallaudet University, a private university devoted to the education of the deaf and hard of hearing.

Medoff is survived by his wife, Stephanie, as well as three daughters and eight grandchildren.