Daniel B. Meltzer

VCCA has learned the sad news that Daniel B. Meltzer has died in hospice in New York City where he lived.

Primarily known as a playwright, Dan also worked as a film editor and researcher, actor, comedy writer, play doctor, speechwriter, as a newspaper editor and reporter, and as a senior writer and editor for CBS News.

Dan’s plays have been staged in theaters across the U.S. and overseas. He was the author of the popular stage comedies The Square Root of Love, Movie of the Month, Intermission, and A Cable From Gibraltar.

Dan also published hundreds of humorous and serious Op Ed essays in newspapers via the Chicago Tribune and Associated Press syndicates. His short stories won both the O. Henry and Pushcart Prizes. 

Dan taught at NYU, Penn State, and Marymount Manhattan College. He also lectured and entertained widely on topics ranging from Early Greek Theater to writers block to Albert Einstein’s pursuit of a “Theory of Everything.”

Dan was recently honored for his leadership of the Save the Beacon Theatre Committee, a citizens’ movement that prevented the destruction of New York's historic landmark Beacon Theatre, which today thrives as a popular music hall. He was a member of the Pen American Center and the American Academy of Poets.

Dan was a great friend to VCCA and was a very real part of the VCCA family. He was in residence eight times since his first residency in 2000. His final residency was in 2011. He was always such a positive member of the community. 

Dan worked hard while in residence and pushed himself in new directions even making small sculptures in addition to his playwriting.  

A few years ago, Dan bought a painting from the VCCA's collection by VCCA Fellow Ryan Russell — a beautiful Virginia landscape. He wanted that bit of Virginia in his living room — a little bit of VCCA was with him in his daily life.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to Dan’s family and wide circle of friends.