Cunningham, busy actor, dies at 47

T. Scott Cunningham

T. Scott Cunningham, 47, a Shelbyville Central High School graduate who had a busy career as an actor in stage, television and film, died Saturday at New York University Medical Center in New York City from complications due to pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, according to Sam Rudy, a spokesperson for The Vineyard Theatre.

Cunningham was a founding member of Drama Dept. and The Vineyard. Playbill magazine called him "a simultaneous[ly] zany and empathetic performer .... equipped with a soft, malleable face and large brown eyes which, depending on the role or the scene, could express a soulful sorrowfulness, a pained yearning or a verging sense of panic."

He originated roles in three plays by Nicky Silver: "Pterodactyls" and "The Eros Trilogy" at The Vineyard Theatre and "Fit to be Tied" at Playwright's Horizons.

"T. Scott Cunningham was a brilliant actor, an inspiration, and a dear, dear friend," said Silver in a written statement. "We were very close for the last 17 years. I will miss him every day."

Cunningham last appeared in April at the Philadelphia Theatre Company in Edward Albee's "At Home at the Zoo," giving what the Philadelphia Inquirer called "a perfectly measured performance," according to Playbill.

On Broadway, he was in "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and revivals of "Design for Living" and "Tartuffe." His off-Broadway credits include "As Bees in Honey Drown" and "Music from a Sparkling Planet," both by Douglas Carter Beane; "Wintertime"; "The Dear Boy"; and "New England." He was recently in the National Tour of "Twelve Angry Men" and the Las Vegas production of "Mamma Mia!" and was also in the west coast tour of "Take Me Out."

He appeared in the Kennedy Center's production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with George Grizzard. His work in regional theatre includes South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Old Globe, Long Wharf, McCarter, Alliance, Williamstown, NY Stage & Film, Portland Stage Co., Utah Shakespeare and many others.

Cunningham's big screen credits include "Our Very Own," the independent movie filmed and set in Shelbyville; "Serendipity"; "The Out-Of-Towners"; "People I Know" and "The Boys of Sunset Ridge." His TV credits include multiple appearances on "Law & Order," as well as "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Cybill," "Central Park West," "Queens Supreme" and "Maximum Bob."

Playbill called Drama Dept., of which Cunningham was a co-founder, "a vivacious theatre troupe that thrived Off-Broadway in the late 1990s and early 2000s" and quoted Cunningham as saying it was satisfying to start a theatrical company.

"That's got to be the reason you hear about people starting companies all the time," he said of Drama Dept. "It's about having a place to go. I sometimes just like having a place to go."

Cunningham is survived by his partner of 14 years, Harry Bouvy of New York City, and by his parents, Judy and Tim Cunningham, of Shelbyville; and by a brother, Kevin Cunningham of Shelbyville.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel.

Memorial contributions may be made to Bedford County Arts Council, P.O. Box 762, Shelbyville, TN 37162.