IN MEMORIAM: Brian Benson, IATSE 22
Monday, July 11, 2011
(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)IN MEMORIAM: Brian Benson, IATSE
22
Brian Benson (r), 58, a stagehand who was a past
president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
Local 22, died June 30 after a motorcycle crash in McLean. Benson was riding
east on Georgetown Pike when a car headed the other way crossed the center line
and struck him head-on. Benson began working on Washington area stage
productions in the mid-1970s and had served as an electrician at venues that
included the National Theatre, the Warner Theatre, the Kennedy Center and Wolf
Trap. He also worked on television and motion picture productions, and served as
president of IATSE Local 22 from 2008 to January 2011. Survivors include his
wife of 32 years, Barbara Tymann (l), and their daughter, Amelia Benson (c),
both of Hyattsville; a brother; and two sisters. “Brian’s untimely death is
a shocking loss to the entire labor community,” said Metro Council President
Jos Williams, “please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.” In lieu
of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Amelia Benson Scholarship
Fund, checks may be made out to the Brian X. Benson Memorial Fund c/o Bank of
the West, P.O. Box 51, Oakdale, CA 95361-0051. Click here to sign Benson’s
online obituary Guest Book.
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excerpted from reports in The Washington Post; photo
from the IATSE 22 website