Harry Koutoukas — playwright, flaming creature, one of the pioneers of Off Off Broadway theater — died recently. Excerpts from a memorial tribute at the Judson Church are available on YouTube, as well as this fantastic eulogy from minister Michael Ellick. For more background, you can read an interview with him conducted by the late great Cookie Mueller from BOMB magazine.

March 9, 2010 at 11:23 pm
ohh harry you will be missed but never forgotten.. so will you stick around in the afterlife to harass Oscar Wilde and the other fey spirits lurking about or will you rush back to claim your new body buddha style.. you always did love tibetan momos..
March 10, 2010 at 12:35 am
Tributes to Koutoukas will be held at Judson Church this Thuirsday at 7 pm (Washington Square South) and at La Mama Saturday at 3 (74a E. 4th street). The photo above is by Marshall W. Mason. See many more photos of Harry in the Caffe Cino days on 64 Caffe Cino pages starting here: http://caffecino.wordpress.com/
March 30, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Thank you for posting this about dear Harry…who has the world’s best last request…I think I have this right (from the NYT) that his last wish was to be buried on a spit so that when every show bombed in the theater he would turn…I think that is right…so funny, and so telling.
I wrote a post about him and wanted to share it with you as well.
http://whatsarahsees.com/2010/03/14/harry-of-heels-koutoukas-of-words/
Wish I was in NY to come to these important memorials/celebrations.
Sarah
July 19, 2010 at 11:37 am
The School for Gargoyles truly changed my life. Starting with the Butterfly Encounter, followed quickly by Quicksilver, HMK’s phone number is forever etched in my heart (mr jigbo). I only found out today, while web-skipping that the master has passed on his duties to us. Cheeky of him isn’t it.
To all of you still in the village, I’m so very sorry to have missed catching up with you to remember Harry the way he would have secretly loved (but openly gawked, no squawked, at) publicly.
“Be not afraid, for night is but a sleep mask.”