Tony Award-winner Frank Galati dies aged 79

Writer and director Frank Galati (Jeff Barnard/AP)

Frank Galati, an actor, director, teacher and adapter who was a pivotal figure in Chicago’s theatre community and a two-time Tony Award winner, has died aged 79, according to Steppenwolf Theatre.

Galati won twin Tonys in 1990 – best play and best director – for his adaptation and staging of Steppenwolf’s production of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes Of Wrath, starring Gary Sinise as Tom Joad.