Adam Epstein dead at 49 after brain cancer battle as loved ones remember Hairspray producer in touching tributes

HAIRSPRAY producer Adam Epstein has died at the age of 49.

Adam died on Tuesday at Adventist Health Hospital in Glendale, Arizona , after a brief battle with brain cancer , his family confirmed.

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The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news.

He was known for the revivals of Amadeus and The Crucible and adaptations of The Wedding Singer and Cry-Baby.

Adam fell ill when he was in the middle of filming his podcast, Dirty Moderate With Adam Epstein , which he launched in 2021.

He was only 28 when he teamed up with Margo Lion as a co-producer on the original Broadway production of Hairspray in 2002.

Harvey Fierstein played Edna Turnblad in the original production.

Hairspray ran for more than 2,600 performances through 2009.

His time with Hairspray led him to win eight Tony awards, out of 13 nominations, including Best Musical.

Throughout his whole career, Adam won 12 Tonys and was nominated 46 times.

TRIBUTES FROM CO-WORKERS

Adam’s co-workers left tributes for him after his death.

“Adam was the youngest producer I had ever worked with when we met on Hairspray,” Jerry Mitchell, two-time Tony-winning choreographer, said in a statement.

“I will always be grateful for his support and encouragement and care for all of us.”

John Waters, who adapted Hairspray into a movie in 1988, also left a tribute to him.

“Who as a little boy wants to grow up to be a producer? Well, Adam did,” he said.

“That’s what gives him such tremendous confidence. He’s always known what he wanted to do.”

Adam Epstein's Broadway Productions

Adam Epstein was best known for producing the original production of Hairspray in 2002. He went on to win 12 Tony awards for multiple musical. Adam died at the age of 49 on August 13 from brain cancer. Here are all of the Broadway shows he produced.

The Life – production associate, 1997

A View From the Bridge- produced, 1998

Amadeus- produced, 1999

The Crucible – produced, 2002

Hairspray – co-produced with Margo Lion in 2002

The Wedding Singer – producer, 2006

Cry-Baby – produced, 2008

“Together, Adam and I had a hit, Hairspray, and a flop, Cry-Baby , and his enthusiasm for each was exactly the same. A cheerleader for his productions like no other,” John ended.

MORE ABOUT ADAM

Adam was born on September 7, 1974, in Miami Beach, Florida .

His father worked in radiology and his mother was a social worker.

Adam attended Miami Country Day School and starred in musical productions of The Wiz and Jesus Christ Superstar while there.

The producer earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from New York University.

He lived in London for a few years after graduating before returning to the US to take up a master’s in American Studies from Brown University.

Adam then became a political pundit on Fox News and an adjunct professor at NYU.

He then shifted to Broadway in 1997, where he was an intern, casting assistant, and production associate on The Life.

It only took him one year to become a producer on the revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge, which starred Allison Janney and Anthony LaPaglia.

Adam is survived by his parents Bonnie and Marc, his brother, Brett, his sister, Logan, his nieces, Hazel, Sophie, and Lucy, and his nephew, Oliver.

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