Dick Latessa, 87, the veteran song-and-dance man who stole hearts as Wilbur Turnblad in the original Broadway production of Hairspray, passed away on Monday, December 19.
Latessa was also a breeder and owner of Standardbreds and a 35-year member of the USTA.
Audiences will fondly remember Latessa’s Wilbur cutting a rug with his wife, Edna, played by Harvey Fierstein, in the 2003 Tony Award-winning musical. Latessa was rewarded with his first and only Tony Award, for best featured performance by an actor in a musical. He was 74.
A Cleveland native, Latessa was a regular on New York stages, as he appeared opposite Keith Carradine in Tommy Tune’s production of The Will Rogers Follies, and in revivals of such popular musicals as Damn Yankees and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, among many others.
His last show was a 2012 Broadway transfer of the Vineyard Theatre production of Nicky Silver’s The Lyons, with Linda Lavin.
Open-faced and quick with a smile, Latessa was loved by the companies he worked with, and always appeared to relish being part of a team putting on a show that would give pleasure to hundreds of people. He never lost that spirit.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Dick Latessa.
(USTA)