IN MEMORIAM: Brian Benson, IATSE 22
Brian Benson, 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, and their daughter, Amelia Benson, 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.
- excerpted from reports in The Washington Post