Edward Graczyk, Playwright of ‘Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,’ Passes Away at 84
Edward Graczyk, Celebrated Playwright and Screenwriter, Dies at 84
Edward Graczyk, the acclaimed playwright and screenwriter renowned for his work on Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, passed away in Sidney, Ohio, on February 11 after a lengthy illness. He was 84 years old. His death was announced on Monday by his agent.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1941, Graczyk began his career writing children’s plays. A pivotal moment came in the mid-1970s when he drove through Marfa, Texas, the backdrop for the iconic 1956 film Giant. The closure of traditional five-and-dime stores and the reflections on change inspired him to create what would become his signature work.
Graczyk described Come Back to the Five and Dime as "the result of my own observations and frustrations with progress that ignores a past; the lack of personalization and pride, and the recurring need of people to build facades to conceal the truths of their lives." He believed that these facades made "abnormal people seem normal and the sad people seem happy," ultimately leading to characters that were “colorful, theatrical, but most of all, honest.”
After relocating to Ohio, Graczyk served as the Artistic Director of the Players Theatre in Columbus, where the play premiered in September 1976. The production made its way to New York City in early 1980, directed by Robert Altman in his Broadway debut.
Despite featuring renowned actors such as Karen Black, Cher, Sandy Dennis, and Kathy Bates, the Broadway production did not receive favorable reviews and closed on April 4, 1982, after only two months. Nevertheless, Altman opted to film the production with the original cast, leading to its win for Best Feature at the 18th Chicago Film Festival. Graczyk also earned the Best Screenplay Award at the Belgium Film Festival that year.
Cher’s portrayal of Sissy, a former employee and James Dean fan club member at the five-and-dime, garnered nominations for a Golden Globe and a Los Angeles Film Critics award. The reunion also included memorable characters like Mona, played by Dennis, and the enigmatic Joanne, portrayed by Black.
Following Jimmy Dean, Graczyk debuted A Murder of Crows at New York’s South Side Theater in September 1988. In the early 1990s, he collaborated with Keith Carradine on a one-man show titled My Time Ain’t Long. By 2003, Graczyk was residing in Ohio’s Miami Valley, continuing to write plays with several scripts "running around in my computer looking for an exit."
His most recent work, The Blue Moon Dancing, premiered in Dallas in August 2010. Graczyk also contributed to the theater as a designer and administrator, partnering with numerous institutions, including the Hartford Stage Company and the Erie Playhouse.
A musical adaptation of Jimmy Dean is set to premiere in June 2025 at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.
Graczyk is survived by his partner of many years, Jeffrey Billiel, and his sister, Shirley.
