Veteran Atlanta stage actor Chris Kayser died Tuesday at age 75, according to an announcement from the Alliance Theatre.
Kayser was was a regular on the Alliance stages for four decades, including roles in “A Christmas Carol” for 22 years, 16 times as Ebenezer Scrooge.
In addition to his work at the Alliance, Kayser was a company member of the seminal Academy Theater for nine years and a resident artist with Georgia Shakespeare for 25 years, according to a blog post from the Alliance.
Kayser also helped found Théâtre Du Rêve, the city’s French language theater. With Théâtre Du Rêve, he was able to tour theater in France six times.
Among his honors, Kayser was cited with the Lexus Leader in the Arts award by the City of Atlanta and named Best Actor by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Creative Loafing, and the Suzi Awards.
The Atlanta theatre community took to social media to share their grief and memories of Kayser, including playwright and director Topher Payne, who called the loss “seismic.”
“His presence, his talent, his generosity, his work ethic,” Payne said in a Facebook post. “He was an essential support beam in the architecture of Atlanta theatre. His contributions simply cannot be overstated.”
Freddie Ashley, artistic director at Actor’s Express also posted on Facebook, calling Kayser’s death “devastating.”
“His artistry was as impeccable as his kindness was enormous,” Ashley wrote. “Our collaborations were among my happiest, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to make some beautiful theatre together following years of having simply been his fan. His death is a huge loss to the many who loved him onstage and off. Rest well.”