Fact Check: Is Tom Jones the singer dead? All you need to know as creator of longest running musical The Fantasticks dies aged 95

By Srishti Marwah

Modified Aug 13, 2023 12:41 GMT

Social media users mourn the loss of the creator of The Fantasticks as the writer and lyricist passed away at 95. (Image via Everett Collection)

With the surge of fake death news and death hoaxes becoming popular on social media, the latest one to fall victim to this is singer Tom Jones. Many internet users have thus been sharing tributes for the She’s a Lady singer since they assumed that Jones has died. However, there has been no confirmation on the same from the family’s end, nor has there been any such news from any trusted source. As such, singer Tom Jones is alive.

Moreover, some fans of the singer took to social media platforms like Twitter to clarify that he is not dead. In fact, it was the creator of the longest-running musical, The Fantasticks, Tom Jones who died at the age of 95. Since his name was also Tom Jones, many mistakenly assumed that it was the singer Tom Jones who had passed away.

Social media users mourn the loss of the creator of The Fantasticks as the writer and lyricist passed away at 95. (Image via Twitter)

Hence, the news is fake. The friends and family of The Fantasticks director (also named Tom Jones) stated that the cause of his death was cancer, which he had been battling for a while now. His son also stated that his father died at his home in Sharon, Connecticut, on Friday, August 11, 2023.

As the news surfaced on social media, many netizens took to internet to share how they couldn't believe the news. Many even started pouring tributes for the singer as he was much loved for The Fantasticks, which opened for the first time in 1960 in Greenwich Village.

Director of The Fantasticks, who shares his name with singer, passed away recently

Legendary entertainer Thomas John Woodward, better known by his stage name Tom Jones, died at the age of 95, social media was filled with tributes remembering his remarkable journey.

Born to a family of coal miners, Tom Jones began singing at an early age. When he was just 12 years old, he actively participated in his school choir, church singing, and even gatherings and weddings. However, he was soon diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent nearly two years in bed recovering.

Jones, who was born in February 1928, attended college at the University of Texas, where he also met his longtime friend and collaborator, Harvey Schmidt. However, he later decided to make music his career and teamed up with composer Harvey Schmidt for The Fantasticks.

The duo rose to fame, making the show enter into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1998. With actors like Jerry Orbach and Rita Gardner to even Ricardo Montalban and Kristin Chenoweth, The Fantasticks was a hit amongst many, which soon became the longest-running show in history.

Moreover, Try To Remember is the best-known song from the show and was recorded by more than 100 artists over the decades. After this massive success, Jones and Harvey wrote another Broadway show, titled 110 in the Shade. This also garnered a lot of love and success for the creators and was also awarded many awards and nominations.

Talking about Tom Jones’ personal life, he married Linda Trenchard in 1957. The couple welcomed their first child when they were just 16 years old. However, Linda tragically passed away in 2016 due to cancer. Jones is survived by two sons, Michael and Sam, who are grief-stricken and are mourning the loss of their father.

As the news spread on social media, netizens took to various platforms and poured in their messages stating how sad they were sad to hear the news of Tom Jones’ demise. At the same time, others are also clarifying how the singer Jones, aged 83, is alive.

At the moment, the family has not revealed many details about the The Fantasticks director and lyricist's funeral or memorial service.

Edited by Priya Majumdar