Playwright-actor Tom Poole, 56

Tom Poole, a Twin Cities playwright, screenwriter, actor, director and talent agent, died Wednesday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, surrounded by family. He was 56.

He had been in a coma with brain trauma after being struck by a car June 25 in St. Paul.

Although Poole acted on a variety of stages, he was best known for plays produced at the Children's Theatre, the Illusion and Theatre de la Jeune Lune. He and actor Chris Carlson recently completed a Web/TV series.

Poole moved to the Twin Cities on a Jerome Fellowship in the early 1980s, becoming known for his wit and literary aplomb.

"He had this wickedly funny sense of humor and a huge heart," said actor Tracey Maloney, who collaborated with Poole in Thirst Theater, which presents playlets in bars.

A native of Warren, Ark., Poole studied theater at the University of Arkansas, where he earned a master's degree in 1976 in theater and film. He earned a master of fine arts degree in creative writing in 1980 from Bowling Green State University.

He adapted "Robin Hood" for Children's Theatre in 1988. He also adapted a trio of Hans Christian Andersen tales as "The Nightingale" for Theatre de la Jeune Lune in 1991, a production that critic Mike Steele called "loopily enchanting."

Poole's biggest acting role came in Eye of the Storm's 1998 production of Paula Vogel's "How I Learned to Drive." Poole played alcoholic molester Uncle Peck.

Last year, he wrote and directed "Safe as Houses," a comedy about a real estate agent trying to sell a property near the gates of hell, for Joseph Scrimshaw's Joking Envelope company.

"Some comedians can be sort of tortured -- that was not Tom at all," said Scrimshaw. "The sense of humor that he presented onstage was the same sense of humor you would see over dinner. We ... both believed that comedy can be used to talk about anything."

Survivors include Poole's wife, Geanette, his partner in the Talent Poole agency, and their two daughters, Nora and Molly, of St. Paul, as well as Arkansas family, including father, Royce Poole, and brothers Michael and Philip Poole.

Service details have not been announced.