Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 â€" September 14, 1985) was an American
actor, director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding
and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as 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.Beck was born on May 31, 1925
in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City, the
son of 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 (born 1926) and quickly came to share her
passion for theatre; they founded The Living Theatre in 1947.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.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.
actor, director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding
and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as 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.Beck was born on May 31, 1925
in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City, the
son of 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 (born 1926) and quickly came to share her
passion for theatre; they founded The Living Theatre in 1947.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.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.
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