{"id":762086,"date":"2026-04-29T20:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/762086\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T20:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:07:24","slug":"chicago-actor-matt-decaro-dies-at-70","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/762086\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago actor Matt DeCaro dies at 70"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the actor Matt DeCaro was not feeling well Saturday morning, he was reluctant to go in an ambulance to the hospital, said his wife, Sheila O\u2019Callaghan. \u201cHe said he had a matinee,\u201d O\u2019Callaghan recalled.<\/p>\n

Alas, DeCaro, who was 70, died at home in Bridgeport before that curtain time and the Goodman Theatre was forced to cancel<\/a> its matinee performance of \u201cMa Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following a company meeting, the cast of that August Wilson play nonetheless decided to proceed with the Saturday night show in DeCaro\u2019s honor. His understudy, Scott Aiello, played DeCaro\u2019s role of Sturdyvant and, following the performance, the lead actress, E. Faye Butler paid tribute to their departed colleague from the stage. \u201cThis is a bittersweet night for this cast, this company, the Chicago theater community and our industry at large,\u201d Butler said. \u201cWe lost an icon today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The famously genial and generous DeCaro was a busy and long-standing Chicago actor whose decades-long slate of credits, mostly in so-called character roles, includes appearances in Robert Falls\u2019 Goodman Theatre production of \u201cThe Cherry Orchard\u201d in 2023 and the Goodman world premiere of Rebecca Gilman\u2019s 1999 play \u201cSpinning into Butter.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, DeCaro relished playing Winston Churchill, some strikingly effective casting, in Drury Lane Theatre\u2019s production of \u201cThe Audience.\u201d\u00a0 And, in an indication of this actor\u2019s range, he also played Doc in the Marriott Theatre\u2019s 2022 production of \u201cWest Side Story,\u201d one of several of DeCaro\u2019s forays into musicals.<\/p>\n

In 2018, DeCaro won a Jeff Award for his work in Drury Lane\u2019s production of \u201cCat on a Hot Tin Roof.\u201d Decades earlier, DeCaro\u2019s very different 2005 performance in \u201cMen of Tortuga\u201d at the Steppenwolf Theatre was named one of the Tribune\u2019s top performances of the year. DeCaro often played likable, even jovial characters, a match for his own personality. But he occasionally scored roles in which he was able to surprise his audiences by turning on a dime.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatt was both a mainstay of Chicago theater and one of its stars,\u201d said Marc Grapey, a longtime friend and fellow cast member in \u201cMa Rainey\u2019s Black Bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeCaro was born in Chicago in April 1956. During his career as an actor, he\u00a0appeared at almost every major theater in the city and many other regional theaters across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the loveliest guy in the world,\u201d said Jim McCaffrey, DeCaro\u2019s agent at Stewart Talent. \u201cHe always made everything fun, even when the business was not fun. He also had a deep appreciation for other artists and helped them with their careers. He just cared very deeply for this art form and the people who do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMatt always pulled his energy from his scene partner,\u201d said Susan Booth, artistic director of the Goodman. \u201cAnytime you would watch Matt on stage, he\u2019d be locked on to the other people in the scene and that\u2019s what lit him up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other notable work across the years by DeCaro includes a role in Lanford Wilson\u2019s \u201cTally\u2019s Folly\u201d at Northlight Theatre, as Duke Frederick in \u201cAs You Like It\u201d at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and in \u201cThe Lieutenant of Inishmore\u201d at Northlight and as a judge in David Mamet\u2019s \u201cRomance\u201d at Goodman in 2006.<\/p>\n