Thomas Scott Walker, 50-year veteran of the Living Theatre, died on Jan. 29. He was 76. He was found in his sixth floor walkup on East 10th Street in Manhattan by his best friend, Jerry Goralnick, another long-time Living Theatre actor.
A native of Cornwall, Conn., Tom he was a recognized talent in the undergrad theatre world at Yale, performing as Malvolio in Twelfth Night and Biedermann in Max Frisch’s The Fire Bugs. But he experienced the restlessness of his generation: He’d read Ken Brown’s article about the Living Theatre in City Lights Journal #3 (Brown had authored the Living Theatre’s benchmark production The Brig in 1963), and was ignited. He first encountered the Living at Yale in 1968 during their three-week residency, which kicked off an American tour organized by Saul Gottlieb.
In Tom’s own words: “It was as if the circus had come to town. At the final performance of Paradise Now, when Julian Beck shouted, ‘The theatre is in the streets!’ the packed house stormed the theatre exits. Fearing Judith Malina would be trampled to death, I hoisted her onto my shoulders and carried her to safety. I became a Living Theatre groupie. Summering in Europe, I met up with them. I was also at the free Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park. I saw the Berliner Ensemble in East Berlin. In Oslo, Norway, I did a three-week seminar with Eugenio Barba’s Odin Theater and met Grotowski, Andre Gregory, George Bartenieff, Joe Chaikin. I was streaming through life in my steady way.”
Tom joined the Living in Brazil in 1971, spending prison time with them when the government entrapped them on a possession charge. He acted in such productions as Prometheus, The Money Tower, Seven Meditations on Political Sado-Masochism, Antigone, and Frankenstein. From the late 1980s up to his death, he was a lead actor in works such as Elsa Laske-Shuler’s I & I, Armand Schwerner’s The Tablets, Hanon Reznikov’s Anarchia, Judtih Malina’s Eureka, Korach, We Are Here, and numerous others.
Walker’s influence on the world of experimental theatre spread far beyond the Living. He performed with Iranian director Reza Abdoh’s legendary Dar A Luz company, as well as gracing several productions directed by visual artist/master puppeteer Theodora Skipitares. He worked with Al Limite Collective, which counts among its founders actor/director/playwright Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li. A lifelong supporter of the Black Panthers from Yale days, Tom was deeply involved in the struggle against racism and for LGBTQ+ rights—a warrior against oppression.
He had a long-time relationship with St. Marks Church in-the-Bowery, where he participated in worship, led poetry workshops with colleague Larry Marshall, and sang with the choir under Jeannine Otis. He was universally loved for his gifts and valued even more as a member of the congregation.
Tom’s last production was the cross-cultural endeavor Rosetta, directed by Living Theatre alumnus Yossef K. Junghan in collaboration with Brad Burgess (Living Theatre artistic director), performed at the Asian Culture Center in Gwangju, South Korea. “Tom was treated like a rock star,” Brad recounted. “He finally got the recognition he deserved. He was very optimistic about the future.”
Although Tom dealt with ailments, his sudden passing came as a shock to his entire community. A memorial service was held at St. Marks on Saturday, Feb. 17 in his honor. As befits a man of his theatrical stature, upon learning of his death the tributes came pouring in:
“Talented soldier in the non-violent revolution, consummate actor, historian for The Living Theatre, and loving mentor,” said director Theodora Skipitares.
“He embodied the erotic enigma of the human body and its presence,” said Carlo Altomare, Alchemical Theatre and the Living. “He understood the deliberate moment of the Artaudian actor.”
“Tom, where are we going?” said Martin Reckhaus, Loretta Auditorium, the Living, in a comment. “Had we not thought that elegance and truthfulness was the currency of change and solidarity? Foolish we are to think ourselves so important. I hope your movement will connect geometry and the soul ‘til kingdom come. That the clarity of your voice will be heard in every theatre’s last row.”
Added Monika Hunken, co-founder, Al Limite Collective: “I’ll never forget his Man at Attention in Mysteries and smaller pieces. He’d march onto a bare stage and stand stock still. In Ecuador they jumped onstage and tried to wind him up like a clock while others defended his right to stillness, launching a debate while he stood his ground. In NYC they threw trash at him, but he remained steadfast. When he sang, it was a sermon. When he performed, his long arms extended, his imposing figure took over the stage.”
Garrick Beck, Judith Malina’s and Julian Beck’s son and Tom’s contemporary: “How could we have done all of this without him? From page boy to aged king. A poet, a player, a prince, even a president. An archivist, an artist, an actor, an anarchist. A kindhearted, truly humane human being. Brimful with creativity and patience. Let there be beautiful remembrances that bring us joy; let there be Tom in the ever-living theatre of our lives.”
History will long remember you, the Artaud of the East Village,” wrote the poet Valery Oisteanu. “Your soul still glows with glorious fires of rebellion.”
Tom was an anarcho-pacifist man of action. He would have made a great Don Quixote, with his impressive stature and handsome visage, his earnest, powerful voice in turn soothing and convincing. He exuded a sense of urgency in an inexplicable world.
Since its formation in 1948, hundreds of people have joined and left the Living Theatre. Why did this remarkable person stay? As Tom once put it:
Theatre is not a mirror to reality, but a hammer to shake it. We are catalysts. We go in, we do our thing, we leave. We stir up feelings. The Living Theatre is in the hope business. We are the combatants for peace.
Joanie HF Zosike received an Albee Foundation residency, grants from Foundation for Jewish Culture and NY State Council on the Arts and Bronx Council on the Arts, and a Sara Patton Poetry Stipend. She has authored seven plays, and four solo theatre works. Joanie performed extensively with the Living Theatre for 25 years and directs and performs with DADAnewyork in the U.S. and abroad.
