Mark O'Donnell, who won a Tony Award for his musical adaptation of the John Waters film "Hairspray," died Wednesday at the age 58.
The American stage and comedy writer collapsed and passed away shortly after in his apartment in New York. The cause of death has not been determined.
Waters said in an interview with the New York Times that Mr. O'Donnell "was an eccentric guy".
"An old-fashioned wit. He looked like central casting had sent him, just an odd theater person, and I mean that with great respect. He was assured but soft-spoken, which was kind of confusing," Waters added.
O'Donnell won the 2003 Tony Award for best book of a musical as a co-author of "Hairspray" with Thomas Meehan, and they received Tony nomination in 2008 for "Cry-Baby", another John Waters work.
Adapted from the 1988 film of the same name, "Hairspray" gained a huge success when it opened on Broadway in 2002. It continued to play for seven years.
O'Donnell is survived by his twin brother, Steve, and eight other siblings.
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