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BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that accomplished orchestrator, composer, conductor, record producer and arranger Harold Wheeler passed away yesterday, June 24, 2026. He was 82 years old.
In a career spanning more than five decades, Wheeler received numerous accolades, including Emmy, Tony and Drama Desk nominations and a lifetime achievement award from the NAACP Theatre Awards. He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater in 2019.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Wheeler began studying piano at age five, when he played for Sunday school at his church. He continued his studies through elementary and high school, which eventually led him to Howard University. While at Howard, Wheeler met other budding musical talent, including Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway and his future wife, Hattie Winston.
Wheeler’s talents led him to legendary composer Burt Bacharach, who hired him to conduct his musical Promises, Promises. At the time, Wheeler became the youngest conductor on Broadway. He would go on to work on some of Broadway’s most memorable shows, including: Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death, A Chorus Line, The Wiz , Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music and Dreamgirls. He has earned six Tony Award nominations for his work on The Life, Little Me, Swing, The Full Monty, Hairspray and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and won a Drama Desk Award for his work on Hairspray.
Wheeler also arranged and produced for Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Peabo Bryson, Della Reese, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Freda Payne, Kathleen Battle, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Joe Cocker, Dizzy Gillespie, Gloria Gaynor, Whitney Houston, Stephanie Mills, and Debbie Allen among scores of other performers.
Wheeler is survived by his wife Actress Hattie Winston and his daughters, Marian and Samantha, and his grandchildren.
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Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos
