Alan Mandell, Beckett actor known for San Quentin 'Godot,' dies at 98
Alan Mandell, an actor known for his work in Samuel Beckett's plays, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles at 98, the Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter reported. In 1957 he played Lucky in "Waiting for Godot" for inmates at San Quentin prison. He then helped start a drama group there with an inmate.
Alan Mandell, an acclaimed stage actor and one of the leading interpreters of Samuel Beckett's plays, died Tuesday at his home in Westwood, in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter reported. He was 98.
Representatives for his family confirmed his death to the Times. His son, Peter Mandell, and daughter-in-law, Sarah Mandell, told The Hollywood Reporter he died of natural causes.
In November 1957, as a member of the San Francisco Actor's Workshop, Mandell played Lucky in "Waiting for Godot" for 1,400 inmates at San Quentin State Prison, The Hollywood Reporter said. His performance inspired the prisoners and led to the San Quentin Drama Workshop, which he started with inmate Rick Cluchey, the Times reported. The paper said the troupe ran from 1958 through 1965 and was the first extended prison theater program in the U.S. launched by prisoners.
Beckett himself later directed Mandell in "Waiting for Godot" and "Endgame" in Europe, The Hollywood Reporter said. "It was about rhythm. It was about language. The pauses were like musical beats," Mandell once said of working with the playwright, the Times reported.
Mandell was born in Toronto on Dec. 27, 1927, and later managed the Repertory Theater at Lincoln Center in New York, the outlets reported. In Los Angeles, he worked at the Los Angeles Actors' Theatre, which became the Los Angeles Theatre Center. He won an Ovation Award in 2012 for playing Estragon in "Waiting for Godot" at the Mark Taper Forum, The Hollywood Reporter said.
On screen, he played a rabbi in the Coen brothers' 2009 film "A Serious Man," and he appeared on TV shows including "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "Grey's Anatomy," the outlets reported.
"As an actor, he just had a lyricism to him that was poetic," Daniel Segura, his main assistant for the past 10 years, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Mandell's wife, Elizabeth Heller, died in 1997, the outlets reported. He is survived by his two children and three grandchildren, the Times said.
What we know: Mandell died Tuesday at 98 at his home in Los Angeles.
What we don't: Details of any memorial service.
Where outlets agree The Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter both report that Mandell died Tuesday at his home in Westwood at age 98.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.