Writer Jay
Presson Allen, who wrote the screen adaptation of
Cabaret as well as Tru , the acclaimed one-man show about Truman
Capote, died Monday at her home in New York City, according
to The New York Times. Allen was featured in the
1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet
discussing her work on Cabaret , one of the first mainstream Hollywood films
to portray bisexuality in a positive light. Robert
Morse covered himself in latex and won a Tony for his
portrayal of Capote in Tru. Allen's other
Broadway hits include The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie (which she adapted into an Oscar-winning film)
and Forty Carats.
Her other
screenplays include Sidney Lumet's Deathtrap (which
featured a legendary kiss between Michael Caine and
Christopher Reeve), Just Tell Me What You Want , Prince of the City, Alfred Hitchcock's
Marnie, George Cukor's Travels With My
Aunt, and the musical sequel Funny Lady. In
addition to Morse's Tony win for Tru, Allen's
scripts led to Tony awards for Zoe Caldwell (The
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) and Julie Harris
(Forty Carats) as well as Oscars for Liza
Minnelli and Maggie Smith for Cabaret and
Brodie, respectively.
Her daughter,
Brooke Allen, told the Times that the cause of
death was a stroke. Born Jay Presson in Fort Worth,
Texas, she took the name of her husband, producer Lewis
Allen, to whom she was married from 1955 to 2003, when
he died. She is also survived by two grandchildren.
(The Advocate)