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.
- excerpted from
reports in The Washington
Post; photo from
the IATSE 22 website