Elaine Anderson

1934—2024

Elaine Anderson (Andi) died on August 21st in New York City. She was 90. Andi was a company member of The Barnstormers Theatre from 1956, arriving first as an assistant scenic designer. She quickly became a member of the acting company, making her first appearance on The Barnstormers stage that same year in The Seven Year Itch. Her last appearance was in Toad of Toad Hall in 2014. In the six decades in between she appeared in approximately one hundred fifteen productions, easily making the transition from ingenue to character actress. A few of her favorite roles were Laura in The Solid Gold Cadillac, Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Varya in The Cherry Orchard.

— Doug Shapiro

Michael Brindisi

Michael Brindisi died Feb 5, 2025. He started as an actor in 1975 and at the end of his life was the Artistic Director of the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in Minnesota for 37 years! He was in the first national tour of Grease and on Broadway in Once in a Lifetime. His wife, Michelle is still a working actor and their daughter, Cat, is the associate director of the Asolo Rep theatre in Sarasota Florida.

— Michelle Barber

Lispet Nelson

Photo by Steve Roland

Lispet Nelson Roland née Mary Elizabeth Taylor, aka “Biz," Broadway actress and singer, died April 1, 2025 at her residence in Portland, OR.

Born March 31, 1936 to Col. Edward M. Taylor and Ruth Nelson Taylor at Scofield Barracks, Oahu, HI. A self-described “army brat," she grew up on army bases in San Francisco, CA, Colorado Springs, CO, Ft. Lewis, WA, and Cheyenne, WI, before moving to Columbus, OH where she graduated high school in 1954.

She earned a Bachelor's degree in Music from Denison University in 1957, where she was a charter member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

She then moved to New York where she appeared in a Broadway revival of Finnian's Rainbow in 1960. Also on Broadway, she appeared in the singers' ensemble in Kean with Alfred Drake in 1961, then in Irving Berlin's last musical, Mr. President, starring Robert Ryan, Nanette Fabray, and Anita Gillette in 1962. She toured the US with Harry Belafonte in his singers' ensemble for a time, then worked with Mary Martin in the 1963 Broadway musical Jennie before being cast in the singing ensemble of the 1964 Buddy Hackett Broadway vehicle I Had a Ball, in which she met her late husband, actor Steve Roland. 

Married in 1966, they raised two children and split their time between their apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan and their house in Warwick, NY.

Even after retiring from Broadway, Lispet still kept up her singing, performing in recitals and the occasional community opera, and served on the Board of Directors for the New York Mercantile Library for several years.

After living in NYC for 61 years and having survived the death of her husband Steve in 2012, she moved to Portland, OR in 2018, where she lived for the remainder of her life. She is survived by son Richard Roland (Raymond Sage), and daughter Kris Roland (Chris Kolb).

— Richard Roland

William Cabell

William Cabell was a proud member of Equity for over 50 years. He was a company stalwart with The Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, NH for nearly 30 of those years, performing in everything from The Seagull to The Norman Conquests to Ghost Train. He was also a talented puppeteer and ran the Starbird Puppet Theater with his wife, Susan Ackley, for many years. He also worked with Underground Railway Theater in Cambridge, MA, Advice to the Players, in Sandwich, NH, and various other theaters and puppet companies in and around New England. He is survived by his daughter, Hannah Cabell, also a proud member of Equity for over 30 years, and his son, Andrew Cabell, owner of an Arthur Murray dance studio. He was beloved by his community and family and will be sorely missed.

— Doug Shapiro

Ken Page

Equity member Ken Page passed away in September at the age of 70. Recently, The Muny in St. Louis, where Page got his start and worked frequently his entire career, held a memorial ceremony for the theatre artist. They inducted him posthumously into the theatre's Hall of Fame, and they renamed the stage in The Muny's upper concourse as The Ken Page Stage. In addition, the formerly named St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards will now be named The Ken Page Awards.

Read more about the celebration of Page's life here.

— Equity News Staff

Edie Cowan

Edie Cowan, actor, choreographer and former Equity councilor, died of lymphoma on May 22 at the age of 83.

Cowan was born on April 14, 1942, in New York City to Pincus and Stephanie Cohen. She attended Queens College and Butler University. Upon joining Equity in 1963, she worked a large variety of contracts throughout the country, including serving as dance captain. Her Broadway credits included Funny Girl and Annie, and she also toured in Annie nationally. 

Cowan first joined Equity's National Council in a special election to fill a vacant seat, and ended up serving as a chorus councilor from 1975 to 1986. Her priorities included expanding diversity in the industry, establishing a national theatre and getting discounted theatre tickets for Equity members.

Cowan's other volunteer work for the union included the Legislative Committee, Election Procedures Committee, Casting Directors Liaison Committee, an ad hoc committee regarding a 1980's dues referendum and sitting on the League of Resident Theatres negotiating team for a cycle.

Her career continued onstage, on screen and beyond; Cowan's choreography work included the original Off-Broadway run of Little Shop of Horrors.

Cowan's other memberships included SAG-AFTRA, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the League of Professional Theatre Women. As a volunteer, she served as an executive board member for the SDC and on the board for the Career Transition for Dancers for what is now the Entertainment Community Fund.

Cowan is survived by her sister, Sybil Moser; her brother, Sam Cohen; her nieces, Serena and Lauren Moser; nephews, Danny and Gary Cohen; and great-nephews Alex and Alejandro.

— Equity News Staff

David Westberg

David Westberg, actor, agent and former Equity councilor, passed away June 12 of last year at the age of 83.

Westberg was born July 13, 1940 and raised in Seattle, where he fell in love with acting at a young age. After graduating Washington State University in 1962, he served as a naval officer, mostly in the Western Pacific, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1966 to begin his acting career. His work spanned both stage and screen, and his film roles included parts in The Graduate and Logan's Run.

Westberg joined Equity in the early 1970's, and he became active in the union at a time when the Western Region had an advisory board, joining it in 1977, until becoming a Western principal councilor in 1981. He served in that role until 1986, and his priorities including advocating for Equity merging with SAG-AFTRA at a time when the union was seriously considering the proposal.

"I became actively involved with the unions because I needed an outlet for my creative energies when not working. It has been enormously satisfying," he wrote in his 1981 candidate statement.

Westberg also joined Equity staff for a time, leading to a career transition to becoming an agent for both film and theatre work and eventually establishing his own firm. In 2006, he returned to acting onscreen until nearly the end of his life.

Westberg was also heavily involved in SAG-AFTRA, including serving on several committees, chairing the board of directors for their federal credit union and sitting on the board of directors for their LA local. His other volunteer work included chairing the Western Council of what is now the Entertainment Community Fund.

— Equity News Staff