‘Les Miserables’ Star Kyle Jean Baptiste Dies In Accidental Fall From His Family’s Clinton Hill-Bed-Stuy Home
The Broadway and Clinton Hill-Bed-Stuy communities are in mourning at the loss of Kyle Jean Baptiste in a tragic accident at his Greene Avenue apartment this weekend.
According to news reports, Baptiste, 21, was on the fire escape balcony at his fourth-floor apartment at around 4am on Saturday morning, August 29, when he lost his balance and fell. He was rushed to Woodhull Hospital, where he died.
Baptiste had just finished a run on stage that Thursday as the hero Jean Valjean in the musical “Les Miserables,” where he made history as the first African American and youngest actor to take on the internationally renowned role. He began his Broadway debut as the understudy for the role on July 23.
The cast, crew, and extended Les Miserables/Broadway family is holding a memorial tribute to the rising star TODAY at 2pm at Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain, near the West 72nd Street entrance.
A fundraiser is also being held to fund a scholarship in Baptiste’s name at his alma mater, Baldwin Wallace University.
The official Les Miserables Broadway statement describes him as “a remarkable young talent and tremendous person who made magic – and history – in his Broadway debut.”
His family and friends remembered him as an energetic, talented, focused young man with a powerful voice, telling the New York Daily News:
The actor’s aunt, Marie Jean-Baptiste, fought back tears as she remembered the nephew who was “like a second son” to her.
“I don’t have the words for it,” said the 53-year-old woman. “Kyle was a lovely boy. His voice — he had a voice that would sing out.”
Hours after Jean-Baptiste’s shocking death, castmate Ramin Karimloo — who played Jean Valjean in Saturday’s matinee — dedicated the performance to the show’s fallen cast member.
“He was going to be a star,” Karimloo said as some castmates wiped away tears. “He had a lot of moxie. It’s a very sad day for us.”
. . . “He had the world ahead of him. He touched the world. And now he has left the world,” the father [Serge Jean Baptiste,] said.