Les Mis & Miss Saigon Coffee Table Book Author Dies at 81

Edward S. Behr, the acclaimed and versatile biographer, has died at the age of 81, according to the New York Times.  He passed away in his Paris home on Saturday, May 27th.

Behr, who was born in Paris on May 7th, 1926, authored two coffee table books on blockbuster musicals by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michael Schonberg: the 1989 tome Les Miserables: History in the Making and the 1991 book The Story of Miss Saigon (which he co-authored with Mark Steyn). 

Les Miserables: History in the Making tells how Les Miserables was adapted from the Victor Hugo epic about the French student uprising of the 19th century.  It includes photos from many Les Miserables productions, interviews and a full libretto. The Story of Miss Saigon traces the evolution of the Vietnam War-set musical, based on Madama Butterfly, from its inception through staging, and also includes such features as interviews with the cast and creative team.

Behr, a Cambridge-educated former news correspondent who worked for Newsweek from 1965 through 1988, wrote 19 biographies, including ones of Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and Pu Yi, who was the last emperor of China.  Other historical books included Kiss the Hand You Cannot Bite: The Rise and Fall of the Ceausescus and Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America.  He also penned several novels.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, the former Christiane Wagrez.