Robert Beecher

Bob was born in Hollywood and grew up in the Baldwin Hills area in a house his father had built. A natural showman even when he was very young, he would put on shows for the neighborhood kids, charging them a penny to attend. Bob attended Dorsey High School and was active in their drama productions. During WWII, Bob was a weatherman in the 10th Weather Squadron, 14th Air Force (the "Flying Tigers") in Kunming, China. He was later reassigned to organize the mail for all the units in the China-Burma-India theatre. His first acting "job" was in an Area Entertainment Guild production of "Room Service" for the troops. Returning to L.A. after the war, Bob attended the Pasadena Playhouse, then also a school of theatre arts, and graduated in 1949. He then went on to be one of the founding members of the Orchard Gables Repertory Theatre Company at the corner of Fountain and Wilcox in Hollywood. Wanting to manage his own theatre, he purchased property in 1955 and built his own 90-seat theatre with seating "in-the-round." In January of 1956, Bob opened the Horseshoe Stage Theatre on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood where he produced, directed, and starred in plays for many years. The theatre is now known as the Zephyr Theatre. When not working as an actor or teaching students, Bob could be found traveling in his motorhome, searching for the perfect fishing spot! After living with some mobility challenges for a couple of years, Bob passed away peacefully February 12, 2016, surrounded by his two sons and their family.