Playwright James McLure Dies at 59

According to published reports, playwright James McLure passed away on February 17 at the age of 59. McLure lost a battle to cancer. He is survived by his sister Jenny.

McLure's  Lone Star and Pvt. Wars were presented off-Broadway in 1979 after having been presented at the Humana Festival at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. In 1980, Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon were shown together as 1959 Pink Thunderbird at the McCarter Theatre. His subsequent plays include: Thanksgiving, The Day They Shot John Lennon, The River Cane, and an adaptation of John O'Keeffe's 18th-century comedy Wild Oats (moving it to the Old West), which was produced as an official entry for the 1984 Olympics Arts Festival. He was also a part of the Biennial Festival of New American Plays at Stephen F. Austin State University. The latest play he presented there was Seduction, a play about the inner workings of a stage production.

In 1992, his play Max and Maxie was presented at the Denver Center Theatre, followed by Fran and Brian (1993), Ghost World (1993), The Agent (1993), and Southern Christmas (1995). His most recent play Iago was developed at the Playwright's Project in Healing Springs, North Carolina and premiered at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

In addition to his work in the theatre, McLure wrote for the screen and television including Sangre starring Holly Hunter, and (uncredited, reportedly) Kingfish starring John Goodman and Reckless starring Aidan Quinn.