| Jeffrey Mylett | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1949 North Canton, Ohio |
| Died | May 7, 1986 (aged 36) Los Angeles, California |
Jeffrey Mylett (June 8, 1949 – May 7, 1986) was an American actor and songwriter. Born in North Canton, Ohio, he attended Hoover High School there, and studied theater at Carnegie Mellon University.
He appeared in the original off-Broadway production of Godspell. During its initial two-week run at La MaMa in New York City, the show featured songs by cast members, including two by Mylett. When a team of producers interested in presenting the show in an open-ended commercial transfer brought in songwriter Stephen Schwartz to compose a new score, all the original songs (including Mylett's) were replaced, except for "By My Side" by Jay Hamburger and Peggy Gordon.[1]
He also appeared in the off-Broadway musical Thoughts (1973), written by Godspell castmate Lamar Alford, and the Broadway musical The Magic Show (1974), in which he was Doug Henning's standby and also played the role during Henning's vacations. During his scheduled appearances in the show, the character's name was changed from "Doug" to "Jeff."
He recreated his stage role in the film version of Godspell (1973), and also appeared in the films Money Talks (1972), Brewster's Millions (1985) and My Man Adam (1985). He hosted The Rock 'n' Fun Magic Show, a 1975 television special featuring music, magic and comedy, with appearances by Doug Henning, Bill Cosby and the Hudson Brothers.[2][3] An anticipated series following this special never materialized.
In early 1977, he participated in the workshop in which the musical Working was created, but when the show premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and later played on Broadway, the roles he developed in the workshop were performed by Joe Mantegna.
He was devoted to spiritual teacher Meher Baba.[4] In The God-Man, a documentary concerning Meher Baba produced for Australian television in 1976, he is interviewed and performs his song "House of the Lord."
He died in Los Angeles of AIDS in 1986.