Thomas Williams; Opera House Co-Founder

Thomas Brandon Williams, co-founder of Death Valley Junction’s remarkable Amargosa Opera House, has died. He was 65.

Williams, who lived in Winslow, Ariz., died of cancer April 1 in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, his third wife, Matilda Ann Williams, announced Thursday.

His 100-seat, single-performer opera house, which has been featured in the National Geographic, Life and The Times, opened Feb. 10, 1968.

Williams, who served as manager, master of ceremonies, usher, prop man, stagehand, electrician, and carpenter for 17 years, bought the old theater for his then-wife, dancer and co-founder Marta Becket. (After their divorce in 1985, Becket continued to operate the theater.)

“We realized it was crazy,” Williams conceded to former Los Angeles Times drama critic Dan Sullivan, who discovered the theater by accident a few years after Becket’s thrice-weekly performances began.

“But we had had it with touring,” Williams explained. “We thought this could be a studio for Marta, and maybe she’d give lessons. The rent was next to nothing--$75 a month for the theater and the two apartments next door. . . . Well, we had some very rough times in the first few years. . . . But we stuck it out.”

Williams rigged sophisticated lighting, Becket painted a Renaissance “audience” on the walls, and “crowds” ranging from one to 100 came to the Opera House from Las Vegas, 108 miles away, and from Death Valley resorts. The one-person ballet and pantomime went on no matter how small the audience.

Born in Troy, N.Y., Williams worked for many years as a New York City advertising account executive, and then became media consultant for General Electric.

He discovered the Amargosa Opera House while Becket’s dance act was touring Western colleges. Williams set about cleaning and refurbishing what had been Corkill Hall, a long-abandoned public meeting place for borax miners and former theater for silent films.

During his years in Death Valley Junction and subsequently in Arizona, Williams maintained an interest in flying as a member of the Experimental Aircraft Assn., based in Oshkosh, Wis.

In addition to his wife, Williams is survived by a son, Dick Williams of Denver; two daughters, Linda Aber of Potomac, Md., and Leslie Metzler, of Glen Ellen, Ill.; a brother, Douglas of New York City, and eight grandchildren.

At the time of his death, Williams was affiliated with Shoshoni Productions, 16145 E. Glendora Drive, Fountain Hills, Ariz. 85268.