Greg Leevy, S.C. actor, director, dies at 55

COLUMBIA -- Greg Leevy, a longtime theater director, sometimes actor, and member of a prominent Columbia family, died Tuesday. He was 55 and had been battling cancer.

Leevy, who last year directed "Damn Yankees" at Town Theatre, died in Greenville. He had been living there about a year, after he began working at the S.C. Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities.

For about 30 years, Leevy worked extensively at theaters in the Midlands. He had a long affiliation with Trustus Theatre, but also worked frequently at Workshop Theatre. Among the plays he directed were "The Full Monty," "A Raisin in the Sun," and "The White Problem," an original play about the first black faculty member at the University of South Carolina.

"It's a huge loss to the community and the state," said Paul Kaufman, another theater artist who was friends with Leevy for 24 years. "I'm proud to call him my very best friend in that time. He was a star among men for me and for others."

One of the most memorable plays the two did together was William Shakespeare's "Othello," with Leevy in the title role and Kaufman as the villain Iago.

Known to his friends as "Bougie," a childhood nickname, Leevy graduated from Dreher High School and Wofford College. He then studied at the American Academy of the Dramatic Arts in New York and pursued an acting career in New York for several years. In 2006 he became director of Alumni and Diversity Affairs at the Governor's School.

"He was terrific," said Bruce Halverson, president of the school. "He loved the kids and was like a bulldog.

"It's a real heartbreaker."

Leevy and his sister Gloria Leevy once owned the Leevy Funeral Home in Columbia. The company, founded in 1930, went into bankruptcy and was sold to I.S. Leevy Johnson, a cousin, in 1995. A bitter court battle ensued.

Thomas McAfee Funeral Home in Greenville is handling the arrangements.

This story was originally published January 7, 2009 at 12:53 AM with the headline "Greg Leevy, S.C. actor, director, dies at 55."