Stage veteran and Samuel Beckett interpreter Alan Mandell dies at 98

The actor Alan Mandell died on Tuesday at his home in Westwood at the age of 98, The Hollywood Reporter reported. His death was announced by his son, Peter Mandell, and his daughter in law, Sarah Mandell. The Toronto native built a distinguished career as a stage actor and was known as a leading interpreter of the works of Samuel Beckett. [1][3]

Mandell began his professional career in the early 1950s as artistic director of Theater '49 in Toronto. After moving to the United States, he became a founding member of the San Francisco Actor's Workshop. The Hollywood Reporter reported that he helped stage Waiting for Godot and played the character Lucky inside San Quentin State Prison in 1957. He co-founded the San Quentin Drama Workshop that same year. [1][5]

During his career, Mandell legally changed his name from Albert to Alan in 1968. He served as managing director of the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center in New York and toured Europe in connection with his Beckett productions. On Broadway, his roles included playing the Prince of Aragon in a 1973 production of The Merchant of Venice. [5]

In film, Mandell appeared as Rabbi Marshak in the 2009 Coen brothers movie A Serious Man, playing an aging rabbi who quotes song lyrics to a parishioner. More recently, he assisted actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter with their Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot, The Hollywood Reporter reported. [1][3]