William F. Brown II ’50

Bill died June 23, 2019, in Westport, Conn. He was the Tony-nominated book writer of The Wiz.

Bill came to Princeton from Montclair (N.J.) Academy. He was editor of the Tiger and art editor of the Bric-a-Brac. He graduated with honors in psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and belonged to Charter.

He began his professional writing career contributing to Look magazine in 1950. After a year in the Army, he worked as a television producer and embarked on a freelance career as an author, illustrator, cartoonist, and TV writer

He made his Broadway debut in 1967 with the comedy The Girl in the Freudian Slip. Books for several other musicals followed.

Bill’s most famous credit remains his book for The Wiz, a contemporary retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz, featuring an all-black cast. It won seven Tony Awards in 1975, including Best Musical.

He had more than 100 television writing credits, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Johnny Carson Show. He was also a syndicated cartoonist with the comic strip “Boomer,” and wrote and illustrated five books.

Bill, undoubtedly one of our most creative classmates, is survived by his wife, Tina; son William; and daughter Debra.