Harry Haun, one of theatre journalism’s biggest champions, died February 2, 2026, at the age of 85 following complications from congestive heart failure. His passing marks the end of a career that spanned half a century and helped define how generations of theatergoers understood and loved the stage.
Mr. Haun’s love of writing and entertainment began early. He got his start in 1956 as a newspaper delivery boy tossing The Dallas Morning News on stoops in his hometown of Greenville, Texas. After graduating with a degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University, he wrote for The Tennessean before making the move to the theatre capital of the world: New York City.
In New York, he spent 17 years at the New York Daily News, where he wrote features, reviews, and a weekly Q&A column, Ask Mr. Entertainment.
But Mr. Haun was perhaps best known for his long and influential tenure at Playbill, where for 37 years he penned features like On the Aisle and Theatregoer’s Notebook. Mr. Haun’s writing was distinguished by his incredible depth of knowledge and passion for the arts and artists alike.
I was Harry’s editor for close to a decade. He was the first to raise his hand and volunteer for any assignment that got him into a theatre, a place he called home. He loved alliterations and thoughtful, often funny, reflections of times gone by. He was a fixture at opening nights and industry events—notebook in hand, grin at the ready, making sure the moment would be written into record. No matter how late the party ended, I was sure to get the story from Harry first thing in my inbox before my first cup of coffee.
“Harry was a long-term presence in our community. He showed up—night after night, decade after decade—with an unmatched love for the theatre. He wrote with wit, listened with care, and always tried to treat the art form and its people with adoration and respect. Our community is filled with loyal soldiers who devote their lives to this genre. They represent an endearing part of the foundation beneath all that the public sees. He was one of those loyal soldiers and we will miss him,” said Playbill President and CEO Philip Birsh.
“When I started working at Playbill in the early '90s, an always-good spirited Harry would come by the office, usually once or twice a month, to drop off his typewritten features,” recalls Senior News Editor Andrew Gans. “As the years progressed and technology changed, he would bring in hard disks, then floppy disks, and eventually copy would be emailed. I was always impressed by not only his encyclopedic knowledge of the theatre but also his equally exhaustive knowledge of classic film, which he loved to share and discuss. I’m not sure if anyone enjoyed going to a theatre as much as Harry. In his heyday, he would catch a play or musical, either on Broadway or off, or a new film most every day of the week. I could never figure out how he was able to watch so many performances and write as much as he did for Playbill. At one point he was penning several columns and features, all with amazing speed, flourish, and accuracy. I’d like to think Harry now has a front-row seat to every show of his choice.”
Former longtime Editor Judy Samelson adds, “As one of Playbill’s former editors, I worked closely with Harry throughout his tenure at the magazine. He used to refer to me as his boss, but surely what we enjoyed was a symbiotic relationship where I knew I always could rely on him—whether it was to get me out of many a deadline jam or to trade quips from classic movies or to connect as friends. He will be sorely missed by the theatre community, and by me.”
Mr. Haun was the author of two books, The Movie Quote Book and The Cinematic Century. He was also a longtime member of the Outer Critics Circle, where he was awarded a Special Achievement Award in 2024. Outer Critics Circle president and Editor in Chief of TheaterMania, David Gordon said, "Harry Haun was among the last of a vanishing breed of newspaper men. More than anything—except perhaps his husband, Charles—he loved theatre. Even as the cold weather and his recent illness took hold, he was still out multiple nights a week, seeing shows in big theatres and holes in the wall alike. As an Outer Critics Circle Awards nominator, we called him our canary in the coal mine: the man simply saw everything. His enthusiasm could be unbridled. He sang the praises of high-profile shows like Liberation and Oedipus, often in the same breath as extolling smaller works like Grangeville, Walden, and The Fires. He especially enjoyed the recent film Blue Moon. Just as memorable as his raves were his zingers, often unprintable, always prefaced by a ‘Brace Yourself!’ The OCC was thrilled to present him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024, recognizing his illustrious career as a theatre journalist. He deserved it, he earned it, and we will miss him terribly."
On August 7, 2011 at the now-shuttered Broadway haunt Angus McIndoe, Mr. Haun married his beloved, Charles Nelson (for whom he is survived). They were rarely seen apart.
In recent years, despite health issues from multiple strokes, Mr. Haun continued writing features for The Observer. And of course, whenever he could, he was there in a theatre seat.
“Harry was a critic of strong opinions but an even stronger commitment to the theatre and its practitioners. He was an example for all of us who are lucky enough to be part of this extraordinary community,” said Brian Lipton, a longtime colleague of Mr. Haun’s and Chief theatre critic for Cititour.com.
I’ll leave you with this quote from an interview Harry did with Nectar News. “Entertainment defines who you are. What you respond to animates you and makes you a better person. It rounds you out and makes you whole. I love it and cannot get enough of it. There is not a day that goes by that I am not seeing a show and if I’m not seeing a show it is because I am seeing a movie. I write down everything that I see. I keep a spreadsheet of all of the possible things I can go see on a given night or day and if I decide to do it I put an asterisk next to it and that way I know what I’ve seen it.”
