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NEW YORK (AP) — Jerome Kass, a writer whose screenplay "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom" became a movie starring Maureen Stapleton and Charles Durning and later earned him a Tony Award nomination, has died. He was 78.
His wife, the writer Delia Ephron, said Kass died Thursday of prostate cancer at his home in Manhattan. Kass was also the brother-in-law of the late screenwriter and director Nora Ephron.
In "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom," a widow meets a mail man at a local dance hall. The Broadway version, called "Ballroom," starred Dorothy Loudon and Vincent Gardenia and was directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett. It lasted 116 performances but Kass' story was one of eight Tony nominations it earned.
Kass co-wrote the screenplay for the 1983 telefilm "The Black Stallion Returns" and the TV mini-series "Evergreen." His other film credits include "The Fighter," ''Last Wish" and "A Brand New Life."
He also is survived by two children, Julie and Adam Kass.
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