art.wikisort.org - Artist

Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher in the 1986 movie Poltergeist II: The Other Side. The Living Theatre and its founders were the subject of the 1983 documentary Signals Through The Flames.

Julian Beck
Born	(1925-05-31)May 31, 1925 New York City, U.S.
Died	September 14, 1985(1985-09-14) (aged 60) New York City, U.S.
Resting place	Cedar Park Cemetery, New Jersey
Occupation	Actor stage director poet painter
Years active	1943–1985
Spouse	Judith Malina ​ (m. 1948)​
Children	2

Early life

Beck was born on May 31, 1925, in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, to Mabel Lucille (née Blum), a teacher, and Irving Beck, a businessman. He briefly attended Yale University, but dropped out to pursue writing and art. He was an abstract expressionist painter in the 1940s, but his career turned upon meeting his future wife. In 1943, he met Judith Malina and quickly came to share her passion for theatre; they founded The Living Theatre in 1947.[1]

Career

Beck co-directed the Living Theatre until his death. The group's primary influence was Antonin Artaud, who espoused the Theatre of Cruelty, which was supposed to shock the audience out of complacency. This took different forms. In one example, from Jack Gelber's The Connection, a drama about drug addiction, actors playing junkies wandered the audience demanding money for a fix. The Living Theatre moved out of New York in 1964, after the Internal Revenue Service shut it down when Beck failed to pay $23,000 in back taxes. After a sensational trial in which Beck and Malina represented themselves, they were found guilty by a jury.[2][3]

Beck's philosophy of theatre carried over into his life. He once said, "We insisted on experimentation that was an image for a changing society. If one can experiment in theatre, one can experiment in life." He was indicted a dozen times on three continents for charges such as disorderly conduct, indecent exposure, possession of narcotics, and failing to participate in a civil defense drill.[4]

Besides his theatre work, Beck published several volumes of poetry reflecting his anarchist beliefs, two non-fiction books: The Life of the Theatre and Theandric and had several film appearances, with small roles in Oedipus Rex (1967), Love and Anger (1969), The Cotton Club (1984), 9½ Weeks (1986), and his role as the main antagonist in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986). Beck also appeared in an episode of Miami Vice that was aired 13 days after his death.

Personal life

Beck and Malina were life partners in an open marriage, and Beck had a long-term relationship with Ilion Troya, a male actor in the company. Malina and Beck shared a lover in Lester Schwartz, a bisexual shipyard worker who was the third husband of Andy Warhol acolyte Dorothy Podber.[5] Beck and Malina had "two offstage children", Garrick and Isha.

Death

Beck was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 1983, and died two years later on September 14, 1985, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, aged 60.[4] He was survived by his wife, their two children, Garrick and Isha, and a brother. He was interred at Cedar Park Cemetery, in Emerson, New Jersey.

In 2004, 19 years after his death, Beck was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. Judith Malina was also inducted to the Hall of Fame that same year.[6]

Filmography

• Narcissus (1958) - Narration (voice)
• The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man (1963)
• Oedipus Rex (1967) - Tiresia
• Après la Passion selon Sade (1968)
• Candy (1968)
• Love and Anger (1969) - Dying Man (segment "Agonia")
• The Cotton Club (1984) - Sol Weinstein
• 9½ Weeks (1986) - Dinner Guest
• Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986) - Rev. Henry Kane (final film role)
• Miami Vice (1985) - J.B. Johnston ("Prodigal Son" episode)

References

Further reading

• Living Theater Records, circa 1947-2007 (344 boxes) are housed in the Yale University Beinecke Library.
• Julian Beck Collection, at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

External links

• Living Theatre records, 1945-1991, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
• Julian Beck at IMDb
• Julian Beck at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Julian Beck at AllMovie
• Julian Beck at Find a Grave

На других языках

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[de] Julian Beck

Julian Beck (* 31. Mai 1925 in Washington Heights (New York City); † 14. September 1985 in New York City) war ein amerikanischer Schauspieler, Regisseur, Maler und Poet.

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- [en] Julian Beck

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[es] Julian Beck

Julian Beck (Nueva York, 31 de mayo de 1925 – 14 de septiembre de 1985) fue un actor de cine y teatro, director, poeta y pintor estadounidense más conocido por fundar el The Living Theatre en 1947 con su esposa, Judith Malina.

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[fr] Julian Beck

Julian Beck (né le 31 mai 1925 à New York et mort dans la même ville le 14 septembre 1985) est un acteur, un metteur en scène, un directeur de théâtre, un poète et un peintre américain.

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[it] Julian Beck

Julian Beck (New York, 31 maggio 1925 – New York, 14 settembre 1985) è stato un attore, regista teatrale, poeta, pittore, saggista, attivista e anarchico statunitense.

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