Posted: 7/9/23 at 8:50am
I'm seeing reports on social media that the actor Jeffrey Carlson has died, including the linked tweet from Time Out New York theater critic Adam Feldman. He was 48.
Carlson made his Broadway debut in the original cast of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? He also appeared in Taboo and the Roundabout revival of Tartuffe. A Juilliard graduate, he appeared frequently in regional theater, usually in classical roles: Hamlet and Mercutio at Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC); Richard II at Yale Rep; Prince Hal and Edward II at Chicago Shakespeare; Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest at Paper Mill Playhouse; and others.
Outside of theater, Carlson is probably best known for his stint on All My Children (2006-2007), where he is generally considered to have played the first openly trans character in daytime television. Although he wasn't trans himself, and likely would not be cast in such a role today, it was definitely a cultural milestone in its moment.
It seems that he was living in Chicago in recent years and primarily teaching. The most recent stage acting credit I can find is from 2016; it looks like he was scheduled to do a play in Philadelphia in 2020 that was canceled by the pandemic. A sad loss.
https://twitter.com/FeldmanAdam/status/1677862081545003009?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet