It is with great sadness that I report the death of our friend Stuart Kaminsky, author of Theatre Northwest’s premiere play, The Final Toast. Stuart died last Friday, October 9, 2009.

Primarily a mystery writer, Stuart started out as a journalist who fell in love with film and television and earned a doctorate in film from Northwestern University. He wrote several biographies of significant directors before turning to fiction in the 1970’s, becoming well known for his mystery novels featuring Toby Peters, Abe Lieberman, and Inspector Rostnikov. The Mystery Writers of America bestowed its highest honor, Grand Master, on Stuart in 2006.

We met Stuart first through email correspondence, and then in person when he and his wife Enid Perll spent several days in Tacoma as Theatre Northwest’s guest for the opening of his play, The Final Toast. The Final Toast had come to our attention when we were researching mystery plays, and came across the website for the International Mystery Writers’ Festival, which is held at RiverPark Center in Owensboro, Kentucky. Kaminsky’s play, which premiered at the 2008 IMWF at RiverPark Center, won the 2008 Angie Award for Best Playwright at the festival. The play appeared to be a good fit for us, and Stuart was excited to see it produced here. Excited might be a slight understatement; in the 6 days they were in Tacoma, Stuart attended every rehearsal and every performance of The Final Toast, taking great pleasure in seeing his characters come to life on stage.

The day Brett and I took Stuart and Enid sightseeing in Seattle last February was so much fun. After lunch at Anthony’s we headed, unannounced, to Seattle Mystery Bookshop, where, with a twinkle in his eye, Stuart quietly announced, “I’m Stuart Kaminsky. Do you have any books you’d like me to sign?” And sign he did- from hardbacks to well-loved used paperbacks- every Kaminsky book in the store. This is the Stuart Kaminsky I will remember: quiet, unassuming, kind, keen sense of humor, a mensch in every way. Brett and I became friends for life with Stuart and Enid that weekend. Our friendship is something I will treasure always.