Adrian Bailey, the singer, actor and dancer whose long career in Broadway musicals ended when he fell through a trap door and suffered serious injuries before a production of The Little MermaidHe died. He was 67 years old.
Bailey died Sunday at a rehab facility in New York, the day before his birthday, his brother Karl Bailey said. The Hollywood ReporterHe had recently fallen in his New York apartment.
Originally from Detroit, Bailey made his Broadway debut in 1976 in Your arms are too short to fight with God.
Then he appeared in Sophisticated ladies, My one and only, Diamond Legs AND Prince of Central Park in the 80s; in Black and blue, Jelly's Last Jam, Tommy by The Who, Kiss of the Spider Woman AND Smokey Joe Coffee in the 90s; and in The wild party, The Cage of Crowds AND Warm feet in the 2000s.
Bailey was an understudy in the role of King Triton and a member of the The Little Mermaid on May 10, 2008, when he walked through an open trap door on a suspended boat and landed on the stage 36 feet below, shortly before the start of a matinee at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater.
Bailey promptly underwent surgery on his wrists. Four months later, he sued Disney, which produced the show, and the companies that built the sets and motion-control systems. In his lawsuit, he said he also suffered multiple fractures to his back, hip, pelvis, tailbone, sternum, ribs, and foot, and herniated discs that required at least five surgeries.
“My life has changed forever,” Bailey said at the time. “It will never be the same again. My immediate goal is to somehow walk to my apartment and take care of myself. I try to stay positive.”
Bailey's brother said he was eventually able to walk again, but couldn't travel more than two hours at a time, causing him to miss his mother's funeral. “I know he wanted to go,” he said.
Growing up, Bailey took dance and voice lessons while attending Osborn High School and the University of Detroit Mercy. “Right out of high school, she was on the road to New York,” her brother said. “She always knew what she wanted.”
Bailey has also appeared in The magician (1978) and The Kings of Brooklyn (2004) and in the 1991 HBO TV series The Story of Josephine Bakerwith Lynn Whitfield.
In addition to Karl, the survivors include two other brothers, Louis and Frank, and a sister, Angela.
Bailey “fought for his life for years, relearning EVERYTHING,” said Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, who appeared with him in My one and onlyhe wrote on Instagram. “He lived decades longer than expected because he was Adrian Bailey.”