JOHN BEAL
(Harrison Bellows)
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Mr. Beal, who has been labeled "one of the best actors in our theatre," by no less an
appraiser than Brooks Atkinson, recently played the starring role of the father in "Take
Her, She's Mine" in New York while Art Carney was on vacation. In 1959 he gave a
heartwarming performance as the Stage Manager in "Our Town" in the highly regarded
Circle in the Square production staged by Jose Quintero. Hollywood utilized his talents
most recently in Walt Disney's "Ten Who Dared" as Major John Wesley Powell, the
geologist who explored the Colorado River, and in William Faulkner's "The Sound and the
Fury." He is a veteran of more than fifty films, including "My Six Convicts," "The Little
Minister," and "That Night," the story of the heart attack and recovery of a commuter, a
role he first played on the television program "Robert Montgomery Presents" which won
the Sylvania Award. Other television programs which starred Mr. Beal include the U.S.
Steel Hour, Road to Reality, Alcoa Presents, The Nurses, The Defenders and Studio One.
On Broadway his career has included a wide range of comedies, dramas and musicals.
Playgoers have applauded him in such varied fare as "Liberty Jones," "Soliloquy," "Russet
Mantle," "Another Language," "Lend An Ear," "Teahouse of the August Moon," "She
Loves Me Not" and "Voice of the Turtle." On tour he played the title role of "Mr. Roberts,"
and starred in "The Fourposter," "Lend An Ear" and "Everyman Today." In addition to
being one of Broadway's better performers Mr. Beal is also a director of note and an
artist. He staged the sketches for "New Faces of 1952" and directed fifteen Air Force films
while in the service. He has been commissioned to paint many portraits at his Connecticut
studio in Killingworth. Mr. Beal is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and began
his acting career at the Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania. He is married to
actress Helen Craig and they have two daughters.