Scott Beach

Scott Beach (born Alvin Scott Beach) was born on January 13, 1931 in Oregon.

He used to say, "I am more than an intersection in the Marina," referring to the name of the two well-known San Francisco streets, Scott and Beach.

Scott Beach hosted a variety of classical music programs on the now-departed KKHI (1550 AM and 95.7 FM) in San Francisco, including the latter-day version of "Music Till Dawn," once hosted by Dave McElhatton and Ken Ackerman on KCBS.

In addition to his hosting duties on KKHI, Beach also presented a regular feature on the station known as "Musicdotes," vignettes on the stories behind the great composers and their works. A compendium of Beach's favorite "Musicdotes" was published in book form by Berkeley's Ten Speed Press in 1977.

Scott also appeared on a program that was probably rarely seen outside the San Francisco Bay Area, "Oh My Word." It was taped in the city and hosted by Jim Lange. (Both Lange and Beach were announcers at San Francisco's KSFO during the 1960s.)

The contestants, generally "regular folks," were given a word, then listened to the panelists give their definition of the word, and then had to figure out which panelist gave the correct definition. Scott had an uncanny and tremendously convincing knack of making a false meaning sound believable and the true meaning sound like it was a complete fabrication.

He was an original member of the noted improvisational comedy troupe known as The Committee. He appeared in numerous movies and television series, including George Lucas' American Graffiti, THX-1138 and the first Star Wars. He made his major motion picture debut in 1968 playing a killer in Bullitt, which was filmed in San Francisco.

Scott Beach was also the original voice of the animated cat Garfield in its television debut.

With his regal demeanor and commanding voice, he was much in demand as the Lord Mayor at Renaissance festivals and Merrie Olde England events. Scott was also skilled in building, by hand, Renaissance instruments such as the dulcimer and the hurdy-gurdy.

Scott Beach died on February 13, 1996, in San Francisco.