Frederick Combs

Frederick Combs, An Actor, Director And Playwright, 57

By LEE A. DANIELS
Published: October 02, 1992

Boys In The Band

Frederick Combs, an actor, playwright, director and teacher, died on Sept. 19 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 57 years old.
He died of AIDS, said a friend, Jane Richmond.
Mr. Combs created the role of Donald in the 1968 play "The Boys in the Band." Its blunt, provocative and sympathetic examination of homosexuality drew extensive notice and critical praise. One reviewer described Mr. Combs's character as "the all-American man-about-analysis who can't figure out why he prefers boys to girls and books to both." Mr. Combs continued in the role during the play's London tour, and repeated it for the 1970 film version of the play. A Broadway Debut
Mr. Combs was born in Virginia Beach, Va., and trained at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Va. He made his Broadway debut in the 1961 play "A Taste of Honey." He was a member of the cast for both the Broadway production and the play's national tour.
Mr. Combs later appeared in Franco Zeffirelli's production of "The Lady of the Camellias" and several productions of the New York Shakespeare Festival, including "A Midsummer Night's Dream, and "The Knack."

Franco Zeffirelli

He was a writer in residence at the Edward Albee Playwriting Foundation in Montauk, L.I., and his first play, "The Children's Mass," was produced at The Theatre de Lys in New York City in 1973. He had several of his one-act plays produced in Los Angeles, and he also directed several plays, including Harvey Fierstein's "International Stud," a part of Mr. Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy.
In 1979, Mr. Combs founded the L.A./ Actor's Lab, where he taught privately and conducted classes. He was also active in a pilot program headed by Jacques d'Amboise, the dancer and founder of the National Dance Institute, under the auspices of the Los Angeles Unified School District introducing theater to grammar school students in Los Angeles.

He is survived by a sister, Sandra Flanigan.