Edmund Lyndeck

Edmund Lyndeck (October 4, 1925 – December 14, 2015) was an American actor and musical theatre performer born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A former college professor, he spent more than a dozen years working in stock and regional theater before arriving on Broadway, where his career spanned from 1943 to 1997.

Lyndeck made his Broadway debut in the original production of 1776, in which he originated the role of John Witherspoon. During the run he also took on the roles of Stephen Hopkins, Dr. Lyman Hall, and Charles Thomson, and he subsequently toured the production as John Dickinson. His Broadway credits across his career included Ziegfeld Follies of 1943, Mrs. Warren's Profession, A Doll's Life, Merlin, Piaf...A Remembrance, and Into the Woods, among other productions.

The role for which Lyndeck became most widely recognized was Judge Turpin in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He reprised the part for the first national tour, earning a Drama-Logue Award for his performance during the tour's Los Angeles engagement, and again for the 1980 television broadcast and a 1994 production at the North Shore Music Theatre. He followed Sweeney Todd with another Sondheim musical, Into the Woods, originating the role of Cinderella's Father and later returning to the production in the role of the Mysterious Man. In 1990, he played Sir Danvers Carew in the world premiere of Jekyll & Hyde.

Lyndeck maintained a sustained presence in Pennsylvania regional theater throughout his career. For many years he appeared at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, most notably performing the role of Scrooge in their annual musical production of A Christmas Carol, a role he took on nearly every year from 1992 to 2007.

Beyond the stage, Lyndeck worked in film and television. He was a contract player on the soap opera The Doctors and made guest appearances on series including The Cosby Show, Ed, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His film credits included Road Trip, Big Daddy, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and The Notorious Bettie Page. He also contributed voiceovers to numerous television and film documentaries. Lyndeck died on December 14, 2015, at the age of 90.