FRANK BEACHAM is a New York City-based independent writer, director and producer who works in print, radio, television, film, theatre and on the Internet.
A former staff reporter for United Press International, the Miami Herald, Gannett Newspapers and Post-Newsweek, Beacham’s articles and stories have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Village Voice. The second edition of his non-fiction book, Whitewash: A Southern Journey through Music, Mayhem and Murder, is currently in publication by Booklocker of Bangor, Maine.
Beacham was executive producer of Tim Robbins’ Touchstone feature film, Cradle Will Rock, which was released nationally in 1999 and is currently available on home video. Maverick, a new stage play by Beacham and George Demas, is now in development in New York City.
Beacham wrote and directed the award-winning American Public Radio drama, The Orangeburg Massacre, starring David Carradine, Blair Underwood and James Whitmore. The program portrayed the true story of the killing of three black students and wounding of 27 others on the South Carolina State college campus in 1968 and the subsequent cover up by the FBI and state government officials.
The Orangeburg production won the 1991 Gold Medal for Best History and the Silver Medal for Best Social Issues programs in international radio competition among 26 nations at the New York Festivals.
Beacham produced, with the late Richard Wilson, the six-hour retrospective, Theatre of the Imagination: Radio Stories by Orson Welles & the Mercury Theatre and wrote, directed and produced the documentary, The Mercury Company Remembers with Leonard Maltin. Previously, he has written for Riverwalk: Live From the Landing, a weekly jazz broadcast from American Public Radio.
In 1985, he teamed with Orson Welles over a six-month period to develop a one-man television special. Orson Welles Solo was canceled after Mr. Welles died on the day production was set to begin. His experiences with Welles are the topic of a stage play, Maverick, which currently in development. Other video credits include A Tribute to John Huston hosted by Jack Nicholson and Richard Brooks; Ronald Neame on the Director; Hollywood Chronicles: The Great Movie Clowns and Private Lives, Public People.
Frank Beacham has a B.A. in Journalism, 1969, from the University of South Carolina and was winner of a 1966 scholarship from South Carolina Broadcaster's Association. He did post-graduate studies at UCLA, the University of Southern California, and the American Film Institute.