American painter
Marta Becket
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Marta Beckett's last show at the Amargosa Opera House, February 12, 2012
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Born
| Martha Beckett
(
1924-08-09
)
August 9, 1924
New York, New York
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Died
| January 30, 2017
(2017-01-30)
(aged 92)
Death Valley Junction, California
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Nationality
| American
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Occupations
|
- Actress
- dancer
- choreographer
- painter
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Known for
| Performed for more than four decades at her own theater, the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, California
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Notable work
| Show Boat, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Wonderful Town
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Marta Becket
(August 9, 1924 ? January 30, 2017) born Martha Beckett,
[1]
was an American actress, dancer, choreographer and painter. She performed for more than four decades at her own theater, the
Amargosa Opera House
in
Death Valley Junction
,
California
.
[2]
[3]
Amargosa
(2000), Todd Robinson's documentary about Marta Becket, won a 2003
Emmy Award
for cinematographer
Curt Apduhan
, in addition to the film's numerous festival awards and nominations.
[4]
Early life and career in New York
[
edit
]
Becket began ballet lessons at age 14, which eventually led to performances as a
ballerina
. She was in the
corps de ballet
at
Radio City Music Hall
and on Broadway she appeared in
Show Boat
,
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
and
Wonderful Town
.
[5]
Later, she took her one-woman show across the country, performing in small theaters and school auditoriums. She married in 1962, and she was on her way with her husband to an engagement in 1967 when, due to a flat tire, she discovered a theater in Death Valley Junction and decided to stay.
[6]
[7]
Relocation to Death Valley and operation of Amargosa Opera House
[
edit
]
The theater was part of a company town designed by architect Alexander Hamilton McCulloch and constructed in 1923–24 by the
Pacific Coast Borax Company
. The U-shaped complex of Mexican Colonial-style adobe buildings included company offices, a store, a dorm, a 23-room hotel, dining room, lobby and employees' headquarters. At the northeast end of the complex was a recreation hall used as a community center for dances, church services, movies, funerals and town meetings.
[8]
Becket rented the recreation hall, then known as Corkhill Hall, began repairs and changed the name to the Amargosa Opera House.
[9]
In 1970, journalists from
National Geographic
discovered Becket doing a performance at the Amargosa Opera House without an audience. Their profile and another in
Life
led to an international interest in Becket and her theater. She began performing to visitors from around the world, including such notables as
Ray Bradbury
and
Red Skelton
.
[6]
[10]
In later years, Becket dropped the dancing to perform weekly
The Sitting Down Show
.
[2]
Becket ceased performing in her Amargosa Opera House at the end of the 2008-09 season but began performing again in 2010.
[11]
Her final show was February 12, 2012.
[12]
Becket occupied the theater since 1968, and personally created the murals and sets. The performances were a source of income for both the Opera House (now owned by Marta's non-profit organization) and the entire town.
[2]
Death
[
edit
]
Becket died on January 30, 2017, at her home in
Death Valley Junction
,
California
, from natural causes, aged 92.
[13]
Books
[
edit
]
- Her autobiography,
To Dance on Sands: The Life and Art of Death Valley's Marta Becket
, edited by Ginger Mikkelsen Meurer, was published in 2007.
- For the book
Star Performance: The Story of the World's Great Ballerinas
, by Walter Terry (Doubleday, 1956), Becket did 42 full-page illustrations, plus ten smaller illustrations for the glossary.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sandomir, Richard (2017-02-04).
"Marta Becket, Dancer Who Built a Theater in the Desert, Dies at 92"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
2023-02-07
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Dancer, Artist Enlivens Death Valley Junction"
.
National Public Radio
. Retrieved
2008-07-03
.
- ^
"Documentary Chronicles Marta Becket's 40-Year Solo Career"
.
Santa Barbara Independent
. Archived from
the original
on 2008-12-04
. Retrieved
2008-07-03
.
- ^
24th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards
Archived
2010-11-23 at the
Wayback Machine
, emmyonline.org; accessed January 31, 2017.
- ^
Sandomir, Richard (3 February 2017).
"Marta Becket, Dancer in the Desert, Dies at 92"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
4 February
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"S.Y. Valley to help preserve theater"
.
Santa Maria Times
. Retrieved
2008-07-03
.
- ^
"Chapter 7: New Problems for Rio Tinto and Conservancy Funding to the Park Declines"
.
Desert Fog
. 5 September 2019
. Retrieved
3 January
2023
.
- ^
Lingenfelter, Richard E (1986).
Death Valley & the Amargosa: a land of illusion
. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 394?395.
ISBN
0520056639
.
OCLC
12613471
.
- ^
About Marta.
- ^
Mulvihill, John. "Lost Highway Hotel"
Archived
2008-02-16 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Peterson, Kristen (8 September 2010).
"Amargosa Opera House visionary Marta Becket prepares to bow out"
. Las Vegas Sun
. Retrieved
25 May
2011
.
- ^
Dean, Charlene. "Soiree planned for Becket’s final stage performance"
Archived
2012-07-20 at
archive.today
- ^
Henry Brean (January 31, 2017).
"Marta Becket, who made Amargosa Opera House famous, dies at 92"
.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
. Archived from
the original
on 2017-02-03
. Retrieved
January 31,
2017
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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Other
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