Sad news for fans of Phantom of the Paradise: Beef is dead. For real, this time.
Phantom of the Paradise is the fantastically campy 1974 Brian De Palma film set in the world of music. The big star was Paul Williams (yes, the guy who wrote hits for The Carpenters and “Rainbow Connection” for Kermit the Frog) as Swan, the evil sold-his-soul-to-the-devil rocker.
The rest of the film was stocked with then-unknowns. (Beck’s mom is one of the dancers in the big final scene with the botched wedding and assorted deaths). Next to Jessica Harper, the love interest in the movie, the main characters were William Findley as Winslow “The Phantom” Leech, and the wildly weird Gerrit Graham as Beef, Swan’s quasi-horor-Goth new discovery that’s part Alice Cooper, part Frankenstein.
Graham steals every scene he’s in. Sadly, Beef is electrocuted onstage in front of a live audience by The Phantom. Buh-bye Beef.
Graham went on to a do much more in film and music. His filmography included “Demon Seed,” “Pretty Baby,” “Used Cars,” “Child’s Play 2,” and “National Lampoon’s Class Reunion.” When it came to TV, he was seen on “Seinfeld,” “Laverne and Shirley” and “The Wonder Years,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and “Star Trek: Voyager.”
He was also a screenwriter: “The Little Mermaid,” “Oliver & Company” and episodes of “The Twilight Zone.” And he was a friend of Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead, co-writing several songs for The Dead.
Gerritt Graham died this week at the age of 77. He had a long history of lung disease and other illnesses. The people of Winnipeg–the Phantom of the Paradise capital of the world–are in mourning.
