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RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE

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#1

RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE

He was only 71 but Playbill says he died on Wednesday following a lengthy illness. I hope we'll get to see his posthumous collab with David Yazbek sometime in the near future!

https://playbill.com/article/tony-nominated-book-writer-jeffrey-lane-has-died-at-71

 

From his Playbill obit:

On the small screen, he wrote and produced for Mad About YouCagney & Lacey, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, The Murder of Mary Phagan, Lou GrantRyan’s Hope, and more. He was nominated for five Primetime Emmy awards, winning three, as well as three Writers Guild Awards, two Peabodys, and one Golden Globe.

On stage, Mr. Lane was the scribe behind the musicals Dirty Rotten Scoundrels andWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Written alongside composer David Yazbek, both musicals explored the bounds of musical comedy, with Mr. Lane picking up a Tony nomination for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Prior to his death, Mr. Lane and Yazbek had completed a third original musical together: a period piece called Whiz-Bang!, inspired by the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drewnovels. It is unclear when or if the material will receive a public presentation.

#2

RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE

I had no idea that Mr. Lane wrote for so many TV shows including Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey and Mad About You.  
 

I just loved Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and saw it twice on Broadway. Last year the Stratford revival was sublime. Fingers crossed for a Broadway revival soon.   RIP Mr. Lane.

https://deadline.com/2026/05/jeffrey-lane-dead-1236919176/

 

#3

RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE

Melissa25 said: "I had no idea that Mr. Lane wrote for so many TV shows including Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey and Mad About You.


I just loved Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and saw it twice on Broadway. Last year the Stratford revival was sublime. Fingers crossed for a Broadway revival soon. RIP Mr. Lane.

https://deadline.com/2026/05/jeffrey-lane-dead-1236919176/


Is it too soon to say a Dirty Rotten Scoundrels revival would be great, and I need Raul Esparza as Lawrence

#9

RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE

Re: the omission of “Bette” from the announcement of Jeffrey’s passing:

I was a friend of his and there may be a reason for this: not only was the show both a critical and ratings flop, but Bette reportedly hated the experience and Jeffrey hated working on it. (Bette, I believe, even went on Letterman and openly trashed the series.) As the Showrunner, he really had to battle through a difficult behind-the-scenes situation.

RIP to such a talented and genuinely lovely gentleman.

Updated On: 5/25/26 at 11:00 AM

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