Gary Beach
About
Biography
Biography
The theater called to Gary Beach as he left his home state of Virginia to study acting at the North Carolina School of the Arts, which led directly into the start of his stage career at the age of 22 in 1969. His first show was "1776" where he performed in touring productions with the occasional appearance as a fill-in on Broadway. For the first decade and change of his career, he stuck around the world of the theater, with his most notable run during this time being on "Annie" in the late '70s and early '80s. He made his first appearances on television in the mid-'80s, including one-off appearances on everything from "Cheers" (NBC 1982-1994) to "Saved by the Bell" (NBC 1989-1993). He crossed over into more mainstream notoriety after his Tony-nominated turn as the candelabra Lumiere in the Broadway run of "Beauty of the Beast" in 1994. That notable role put Beach on the path to his most enduring role: Roger De Bris in Mel Brooks' Broadway debut "The Producers" in 2001. The smash hit musical cleaned up at the Tony Awards, netting Beach an award of his own for his performance. Beach played the role on and off for years, even reprising it for the 2005 film version. His leading role in the 2004 revival of "La Cage aux Folles" earned another Tony nomination and Beach's last few performances included everything from Thenardier in the 2006 revival of "Les Miserables" and a touring run as King Arthur in "Spamalot" in the late 2000s. In 2018, Beach passed away at his home at the age of 70.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Music (Special)
Life Events
1971
Began touring with the road company "1776"; later joined the Broadway cast, making his Broadway debut, when most of the original cast left to make the movie of the show
1980
Took over the role of Rooster Hannigan in the broadway musical "Annie," playing opposite Sarah Jessica Parker
1981
Left the production of "Annie" to take part in "The Moony Shapiro Songbook," a musical biography of an imaginary song-writer, Moony Shapiro
1983
Played the role of Uncle Duke in "Doonesbury," a Broadway musical based on the popular comic strip
1986
Cast in the theatrical production of "Legends!" playing a young producer who cons two over-the-hill actresses who have a long-standing feud, into coming together for a new play
1991
Appeared as a car salesman in the Albert Brooks' comedy "Defending Your Life"
1994
Earned his first Tony Award nomination as the candelabra, Lumiere in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast"
1997
Returned once again to play Lumiére in "Beauty and the Beast"
2001
Cast as Roger De Bris, the beyond-flamboyant director who gets to go on as Hitler in Mel Brooks' Broadway musical, "The Producers"; won the Tony for best featured actor for his performance
2005
Earned a Tony award nomination for his performance in the broadway musical, "La Cage aux Folles"
2005
Reprised the role of Roger DeBris, for the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "The Producers"
2006
Appeared in the revival of "Les Misérables"
2008
Joined the U.S. touring cast of "Monty Python's Spamalot" as King Arthur
