Broadway producer James Walsh has died of sepsis in New York City at the age of 89. Best known for producing the Tony-winning plays I’m Not Rappaport and The Heidi Chronicles, he helped bring influential American theatre to Broadway during the 1980s and 1990s.

Born in Colorado in 1937, Walsh began in arts administration at the Metropolitan Opera and later worked at Lincoln Center’s Repertory Theatre before taking management roles on numerous Broadway productions. His producing career included the unsuccessful 1983 musical Doonesbury, followed by major successes: I’m Not Rappaport won Tonys including Best Play, while The Heidi Chronicles won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony for Best Play. His death was announced by his wife, casting director Juliet Taylor.