ST. LOUIS — Philip M. Coffield, an actor and director who spent much of his career at the Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock, Mo., died Jan. 9 in St. Louis of complications from AIDS. He was 42.
A native of New Mexico and an alumnus of Webster University in St. Louis, Coffield performed in 132 productions at the Lyceum, located in a tiny western Missouri town and part of the state's straw-hat circuit. He also acted and directed at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the New Jewish Theatre, and the New Theatre, all in St. Louis. He was associate artistic director of the Lyceum from 1989 through 2003 and became artistic director in 2004.
His survivors include his partner, Daryl Vaughan; brothers Edward, Conrad Jr., and Michael; a sister, Megan Coffield Lyon; and his father and stepmother, Conrad and Mona Coffield. His mother, Maggie Murphey Coffield, died in 1990.