UPDATE: Adam Carter gets one last standing ovation during service at State Theatre

KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Kalamazoo theater community is mourning the death of Adam Carter, of one of its most energetic and flamboyant personalities.

His sister Kara Pelfresne said Carter died late Friday night. He was 31. He died at Borgess Medical Center, where he'd been hospitalized following a serious fall on Thursday night.

At the opening night curtain speech for "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at Farmers Alley Theatre on Friday night, Adam Weiner, executive director of the theater asked the audience to share a moment of silence for Carter, who appeared in numerous shows at the theater.

He said Carter was "one of the funniest men I ever met...a dear friend to many who've come across him," Weiner said.

Pelfresne said her brother was a born entertainer. "He has always had style and confidence, really, from birth. I'm surprised he didn't come out of the womb doing jazz hands."

"His personality was contagious," she said. "He was the life of the party, the star of the show. With that being said, he was anything but arrogant. Confident, yes, of course. Always smiling and laughing. Definitely witty, sometimes you think about how he even comes up the things he says."

Carter was well known in the community as an actor, director, make-up artist, hairstylist and female impersonator. Among some of his most memorable performances were Hedwig in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" at Whole Art Theatre and the Emcee in "Cabaret" at Farmers Alley Theatre.

He was also a producer. He and Carol Zombro opened the Fancy Pants Theatre after the closing of the Whole Art Theatre in 2010. He also was a member of the improv comedy troupe Crawlspace Eviction, and with fellow Crawlspace member Tara Sytsma also performed as the improv duo T&A. He also shared posts on Facebook about doing make-up and hair on movie sets in Michigan.

"What did he love about performing? The whole 'kit and kaboodle' as Adam would say," his sister said. "Performing was his life. That's how he met so many people. He just wrapped up (the movie) 'Believe,' and we were all proud of that -- he was going to walk the red carpet in Los Angeles (and was already planning his outfit) in March for that."

James Sanford, a longtime friend of Carter's, said Carter hosted a sneak preview screening of a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on Thursday night, where Sanford works at the creative manager. Carter texted him after the show saying "everything was great."

On Friday morning, Sanford received a phone call from Carter's aunt saying that Carter had fallen down a flight of stairs at his mother's house and had been hospitalized with severe brain trauma.

Friends and fans have been sharing stories and thoughts about Carter on social media, such as Facebook since news broke of his injury and death.

Kathryn Williams, a choreographer at Western Michigan University and in the area, said, "You may not know the facts of a person but you know a piece or all of their soul. So now, we grieve for Adam as a family of theatre people. We will miss his outrageous personality, his living life large, his unique flair for being himself and the dare he took in performing, sharing so much with fellow cast, company members and the audiences."

Julie Rogers Davis, choir teacher at Maple Street Magnet School for the Arts, where Carter directed several shows, said, "He was a force in life, filling up the room with his huge personality, whether he was on stage, out at a post-show gathering, or just hanging out in someone's living room. He lived a too-short life, but one that will ensure we are all fondly remembering him forever."

Karen Trout, an area actress whose children worked with Carter said, "As much as I admired him as a performer and friend, Adam was also a teacher of life to my -- and many other --kids. I am especially grateful for his presence in their lives."

"He could walk into a crowd of hundreds and still be the most captivating person in the room. The one everyone would remember and talk of for years afterwards. He made you feel important and special always," said Emily F. Chateau, a fellow performer who used to work at the Kalamazoo Civic and now lives in Memphis.

Carter is survived by his sister, his mother and stepfather Terry and William Pelfresne and his father and stepmother Ric and Connie Carter.

Funeral arrangements are pending through Redmond Funeral Home, with plans for visitation and services for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14. Pelfresne said friends are trying to organize a downtown Kalamazoo memorial.

Linda S. Mah is a reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Reach her at 269-303-6567 or her at lmah@mlive.com. You can follow her on Twitter.