Mark Houston

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Mark Houston (December 5, 1946 – February 28, 1995) was an American composer, lyricist, playwright, actor, and newspaper columnist. He was born in Jacksonville, Texas, grew up in East Texas, and moved to Oklahoma at fourteen. He studied political science at the University of Oklahoma, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1969, and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1971. After the war he briefly moved to Los Angeles to pursue songwriting before returning to Oklahoma for an MFA in theater, which he earned in 1976.

Houston began his theater career at the Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado as an actor in 1976, writing music and lyrics for several productions. He later worked in Kansas City as a director, composer, and writer, contributing to many shows, including the children’s pieces Harbledown! and Tommyknockers. His best-known work is the satirical musical Six Women with Brain Death or Expiring Minds Want to Know, for which he wrote the music and lyrics. In 1987 the Lake George Opera premiered his opera Hazel Kirke.

In the 1980s and 1990s he also directed and music-directed numerous productions in Kansas City and wrote plays and songs for local companies. In his later years he wrote a political and cultural column for the Oklahoma Gazette, titled “Is It Just Me?” He lived in Oklahoma City with his partner, James LaFever.

Mark Houston died of AIDS-related complications at his home in Oklahoma City on February 28, 1995. His funeral was held at St. Eugene’s Catholic Church.