'Founding Father of Anchorage Theater,' Frank Brink, Dies at 93

The Anchorage Daily News reports that Frank Orville Brink, considered one of the leading pioneers of theater in Anchorage, died just over a week ago from Alzheimer's disease in Eureka Sprinigs Ark. He was 93.  In addition to his work as a director in theater, Brink was also a newsman, broadcaster, filmmaker, archivist and author.

According to "The History of Theatre in Anchorage," by former Daily News critic Catherine Stadem, Brink he studied under playwright Paul Green, known for his epic historical dramas.

After serving in the Navy during WWII, Brink worked as a radio announcer on KFQD and in April, 1945 took over direction of the show.

Hereafter, he established the Anchorage Little Theatre which, now called the Anchorage Community Theatre, in addition to the drama program at Alaska Methodist University (now Alaska Pacific University).

Anchorage experienced a theatrical boom in the 1950s, with Brink  overseeing the production of nearly 50 plays in one season.  He was the first director to utilize auditoriums at (West) Anchorage High School and AMU's Grant Hall and attracted national stars including Boris Karloff and Will Rogers Jr. to performing in Alaska with with local casts.

Says former collaborator Bob Pond in the Anchorage Daily News, "Brink wanted a theater program for all the community, not just the experienced or the wannabes," "His theater included the powerful and the unemployed; the dedicated and those who just wanted to make coffee and hang out. He had a category of casting for 'need casting,' putting people in a play just because he sensed that they really needed and wanted to be in community theater. The shows rarely suffered, as Brink was the master of staging; it was stunning to watch his work."

To read the full obituary in the Anchorage Daily News, click here.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie, and leaves behind son, David in Anchorage.

Photo From Anchorage Daily News