Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright, Lanford Wilson has died Wednesday in an acute care facility in Wayne, New Jersey. He was 73.

The award-winning playwright said the Associated Press is best known for his plays including "The Hot L Baltimore," "Burn This," "Fifth of July" and "Talley's Folly".

Citing a statement from officials of the Steppenwolf Theater, the Associated Press noted that the playwright succumbed to his death on the eve of the first preview production of one of his works, the staging of his “Hot L Baltimore”.

"His tremendous spirit is with us in the theater and tonight's show will be in his memory and honor," the AP quoted the director of the production, Tina Landau as saying Thursday.

Wilson, who as noted by AP had been a longtime resident of New York’s Sag Harbor, had founded, with three others, the Circle Repertory Company in New York. The company is considered as the ‘incubator of important off-Broadway works’.

"Lanford was a singular voice in the American theatre_an important artist, a gentle soul and a good friend," Steppenwolf co-Founder , Terry Kinney, said according to the AP, adding, "We will miss him sorely."

The highly acclaimed playwright was also nominated for Tony Awards for his works including, “Angels Fall”, Talley’s Folly” and “Fifth of July”.

Wilson had a Pulitzer prize to his name after winning for his 1980 drama for “Talley’s Folly”. It is the second in a trilogy of plays, said AP that uses as inspiration and follows the Talley family from Lebanon, Mo, the same place where Wilson hailed from.

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