Tony-Winning Actor George Grizzard Dies at 79

George Grizzard, the Tony Award-winning leading man best known for creating the role of Nick in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, died on October 2 at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center of complications from lung cancer, according to his partner, William Tynan. He was 79.

Grizzard's most recent stage appearance came last fall in Paul Rudnick's comedy Regrets Only at Manhattan Theatre Club, in which Grizzard played an Upper East Side fashion designer who becomes a gay activist in response to the politics of the husband of his socialite best friend Christine Baranski. His final Broadway appearance came in 2005 in a revival of Edward Albee's Seascape opposite Frances Sternhagen.

George Cooper Grizzard Jr. was born on April 1, 1928, in Roanoke Rapids, NC, and retained a hint of a Southern accent throughout his career. He was raised in Washington and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, returning to DC to work in advertising before launching his acting career at the Arena Stage. He moved to New York in 1955 and made his Broadway debut as Paul Newman's younger brother in The Desperate Hours. Two years later, he won the Theatre World Award for The Happiest Millionaire and was soon nominated for Featured Actor Tonys for his performances in The Disenchanted 1959 and Big Fish, Little Fish 1961.

The following year, Grizzard began a long and fruitful association with Edward Albee, playing the young professor Nick opposite Arthur Hill, Uta Hagen and Melinda Dillon as George, Martha and Honey in the Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He left after a few months to play the title role in Hamlet under Tyrone Guthrie's direction in Minneapolis and remained at the Guthrie for two years, starring in Henry V, St. Joan and Volpone.

After returning to New York, Grizzard's Broadway credits included The Glass Menagerie, You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running, The Country Girl, The Royal Family, California Suite and Man and Superman. On television, he won an Emmy Award for co-starring with Henry Fonda in The Oldest Living Graduate and was nominated for an Emmy for playing John Adams in The Adams Chronicles.

Grizzard finally took home a Best Actor Tony for his performance as the patriarch Tobias in an acclaimed 1996 Broadway revival of Albee's A Delicate Balance opposite Rosemary Harris, Elaine Stritch and Mary Beth Hurt.