L. Gershe, 79; Wrote ‘Butterflies Are Free’

Leonard Gershe, 79, a screenwriter and playwright best known for the hit play “Butterflies Are Free,” died March 9 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of complications from a stroke.

Opening in October 1969, “Butterflies Are Free” ran three seasons and included 1,100 performances. The story of a young blind man who overcomes his mother’s protectiveness and moves into his own apartment, the play became one of the most successful in Broadway history.

Gershe also wrote screenplays, including “Funny Face.”