Stage Wizard George Abbott Dies At 107

George Abbott, the stage wizard who wrote, directed, produced or acted in more than 120 plays and musicals in a career that spanned more than 80 years, died of a stroke Tuesday night. He was 107.

Abbott died at his home, said his wife, Joy. “It was a beautiful, peaceful exit,” she said.

Abbott first appeared on the New York stage as an actor in 1913, when he was 26. He was still going strong well past the age of 100.

He directed a revival of his 1926 hit, “Broadway,” that opened on his 100th birthday in 1987, and in 1989, he wrote and directed “Frankie,” an offBroadway musical adaptation of “Frankenstein.” In 1994, he helped revise the book for a Broadway revival of his ‘50s hit “Damn Yankees.”

He said he kept busy because “I’d hate not to have a job of some kind.”