Tony Nominee and Folk Singer Leon Bibb Passes Away at 93

BroadwayWorld is saddened to relay the news that Tony nominee Leon Bibb died on October 23, 2015. He was 93.

Bibb made his debut on the Great White Way as a porter in the original production of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN with Ethel Merman. He later appeared in FINIAN'S RAINBOW, LOST IN THE STARS, FLIGHT INTO EGYPT, SANDHOG and LIVIN' THE LIFE.

The actor earned a Tony nomination in 1967 for the play A HAND IS ON THE GATE, which also starred James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson and Josephine Premice.

Bibb then transitioned into folk singing, taking the stage at the Village Gate, the Bitter End, the Hungry I, the Bon Soir, the Embers Nightclub, Town Hall and Carnegie Hall. He was also among the lineup for the first Newport Folk Festival in 1959.

An activist in the Civil Rights Movement, Bibb often performed with stars such as Paul Robeson and Harry Belafonte.

He moved to Vancouver in the early '70s, where he appeared in local theatre productions and on TV through 2014. Bibb is also the founder of A STEP AHEAD, a Canadian educational program that tackles social issues and bullying through theatre.

Pictured: Leon Bibb in 1976.