Friends Remember Boston Playwright Lipsky

Tributes poured out Monday for a longtime playwright and director in Boston and Martha's Vineyard.

Burial services were held in Vineyard Haven for Jon Lipsky, a playwright and director who taught at Boston University for nearly three decades.

Arnie Reisman is a longtime friend of Lipsky's who worked with him at the weekly newspaper Boston After Dark, which is now known as the Boston Phoenix. He says Lipsky was a great listener and interviewer.

"That combination of traits is perfect for a playwright," Reisman said. "I mean, he had a great ear, he listened, he could understand dialogue, he could build characters. He was a real voice of realism."

Jon Lipsky died Saturday after a battle with carcinoid cancer. He was 66.