SHARON, CONNECTICUT: Tom Jones, who created the book and lyrics for the 42-year-running musical 'The Fantasticks', died on Friday at his home in Sharon, Connecticut. 'The Fantasticks' debuted in Greenwich Village in 1960 and is most known for its introductory song, 'Try to Remember'.
Jones and late composer Harvey Schmidt collaborated on the musical allegory, which ran off-Broadway for 42 years.
How did Tom Jones die?
According to his son, Tom Jones was 95 years old and died of cancer in his house in Sharon, Connecticut. Jones was born on February 17, 1928, in Littlefield, Texas. He went to the University of Texas at Austin, where he met his long-term friend Schmidt.
Tom Jones' early work
Jones arrived in New York after serving in the Korean War and began his theatre career by composing for the revues performed by the impresario Julius Monk.
He also collaborated with composer John Donald Robb on 'Joy Comes to Deadhorse', a musical western based on Edmond Rostand's 1894 play 'Les Romanesques'. It premiered in 1956 at the University of New Mexico, where Robb was dean.
However, Jones and Robb had a falling out over creative disagreements, and Jones went to Schmidt to finish the piece. The two eventually presented a one-act version of their production as 'The Fantasticks' during a summer festival at Barnard College in 1959.
Lore Noto saw the production at Barnard and brought it, expanded to two acts, to the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village on May 3, 1960. Jones played Henry the Old Actor, while Jerry Orbach portrayed El Gallo, the narrator who sings 'Try to Remember'.
Jones and Schmidt also worked together on 'I Do! I Do!' and '110 in the Shade', which had its Broadway debut in 1963 and ran for 330 performances.
Tom Jones: Major awards
Jones was nominated for Tony Awards for 'I Do! I Do!' and '110 in the Shade', and he received the Drama Desk Vernon Rice Award for 'The Fantasticks' in 1961.
He and Schmidt received Tony Award nominations for each of their shows. In 1967, Ed Ames' version of 'My Cup Runneth Over', a song from 'I Do! I Do!', reached No 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received Grammy Award nominations.
Michael and Sam Jones, from Jones' second marriage to choreographer Janet Watson, who died in 2016, are his only children.
