Obituary of Thomas (Thom) Fogarty

October 6, 2025

Thom Fogarty – artist, activist, husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend – died in his sleep in the early morning of October 6th, after a two and a half year battle with bladder cancer. He was 70.

Thom was born in St. Augustine, Florida, and moved to New York City in 1977 after graduating with a BFA in Dance Performance and History from The Ohio State University. He appeared in dance and theatre productions at DTW, LaMaMa E.T.C., PS 122, Joyce Soho, and The Public. He toured in Europe and the U.S. with Timothy Buckley, Ping Chong, and Jane Comfort, and he created works with Joseph Chaikin (The Open Theater), Paul Zimet (The Talking Band), Kinematic, Alice Farley, Yoshiko Chuma, Tamar Rogoff, DV8 Physical Theatre (London), and H.M. Koutoukas. He created his own hour-long pieces that he performed with dancers he admired, several presented at Judson Church in Greenwich Village and Dixon Place, LES.

Committed to improving school communities through parent engagement and high quality educational opportunities for public school kids, Thom also worked for the NYC Department of Education and for not-for-profit after-school organizations, while still finding ways to perform. Then, after 32 years in the dance world, he turned his immense energies to directing, producing, and writing plays, directing the first play at Theater for the New City in early 2010. Over the next 8 years Thom established a small theater NFP, 360Repco, and produced and directed several black box theater productions and hosted many play readings, employing professional actors. Among those actors was Lulu Fogarty, his daughter, about whom he would proudly say that doing theatre with her was like going to the playground.

In Thom's own words, “My mission as a Director is to provide a safe space to create a performance that moves an audience. For me it always comes back to the words and illuminating the writer’s vision, by finding actors who know their craft and have a propensity to share and learn through the rehearsal and performance process…I am always interested in the audience using their imaginations, to be active participants in the performance.”

As a playwright, Thom adapted two works:  a short story TEN TALL TALES ABOUT THE MEN I LOVE (written by Ronn Smith) performed at Judson Church; and LILLIAN SMITH’S STRANGE FRUIT, written by Lillian Smith in 1945, which saw a brief run on Broadway in 1945-46. Thom directed his adaptation at Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia, in 2015. He also wrote a semi-autobiographical play about living, loving and dying during the early days of the AIDS crisis, PATIENT LOVER FRIEND, and was working on a play inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska album. Thom also created a story based on a frequently recounted incident by Lee Guilliatt and made into a “book for coloring” with Ted Dawson, titled SONNY.

But what people will remember about Thom is this: he was larger than life – constantly searching for exciting art to share and celebrate. He fought for everyone marginalized by the mainstream, and he loved his family and friends fiercely. Thom is survived by his wife of 41 years, Leslie Dennis; daughter, Lulu Fogarty; son-in-law, Jason Prover; grandson, Felix; sister, Mary Ann Fogarty; sister-in-law, Florence Yee; and niece, Stephanie Fogarty-Yee. He was predeceased by his parents, Robert Fogarty and Barbara Slattery; Aunts Helen Fogarty (John) and Ethel Johnson-berg (Ray).

Thom’s legacy as a creative — dancer, choreographer, director, playwright, performance artist — is what remains to inspire his friends and family, EVER ONWARD.