Memorial Service Held to Celebrate the Life and Accomplishments of Ben Bradley

The Fountain Theatre will host a memorial service to honor the life and accomplishments of Bennett (Ben) Bradley on Saturday, January 23 at 11:00 a.m. at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Barnsdall Art Park. The service will feature guest speakers, live music, and a video montage celebrating Ben's life and career. A potluck reception will immediately follow at the Arts Center next door.

Prior to his death on January 1, Ben had been with the Fountain Theatre for over seventeen years as a Producer and Director, and he was also the Director of Audience Development. Most recently Ben directed the Fountain's critically acclaimed production of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean (LADCC Awards for Production of the Year and Best Director). He received the 2006 OVATION Award and the 2007 NAACP Award for his direction of the Fountain's critically acclaimed production of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Other directorial credits at the Fountain include Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (winner of the NAACP Award for Best Actress) and Direct from Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys (winner of Best Ensemble, L.A. Weekly Award, and Best Ensemble, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award). Ben produced the Fountain's acclaimed productions of Photograph 51, Yellowman, Master Class and Central Avenue, and co-produced the Fountain's The Darker Face of the Earth, I Am A Man, and Four by Tennessee. Before joining the Fountain Theatre family, Ben worked at the Los Angeles Theatre Center as Lobby Subscription Manager. Ben was born in Wilkes County, Georgia, but his family moved to Baltimore, MD when he was very young. He was a graduate of Carroll College in Wisconsin, where he majored in theater. Most of all, he loved to cook.

Ben was a gourmet cook and a lover of the arts. His hobbies included oil painting and collecting music and works of art. He was a warm, gentle, generous, loving man who enjoyed entertaining friends and family with a story and a meal.

"In memory of Ben, and because he cooked for us for all these years, we will now cook for him," says Fountain Theatre co-artistic director Stephen Sachs. "The reception will be potluck. We are asking guests to bring a favorite dish, dessert or drink to feed Ben's spirit and soul and to celebrate his love of food."

Ben will be buried in Baltimore on Friday, January 15 at the Fountain Baptist Church. Flowers may be sent to March Funeral Home, 1101 East North Avenue, Baltimore MD 21202.

The Fountain Theatre has established The Ben Bradley Memorial Fund, to offset funeral expenses for his family, and to develop new plays at the Fountain. For more information, go to www.FountainTheatre.com or call Diana at (323) 663-1098.

The Memorial Service in Los Angeles takes place on Saturday, January 23 at 11:00 a.m. The Barnsdall Gallery Theatre is located in Barnsdall Art Park at 4800 Hollywood Blvd. (at Vermont), Los Angeles CA 90027. There is free parking. A potluck reception will immediately follow the service. Please RSVP to fountaintheatre1@aol.com or (323) 663-2235. (Do not call Barnsdall Art Park.)