John Beal; Actor in Movies, Television and on Stage

John Beal, 87, an actor whose career spanned six decades in movies and television and on the stage. He began in Hollywood in the 1933 film “Another Language” with Helen Hayes and Robert Montgomery. A year later he played opposite Katharine Hepburn in the romantic film “The Little Minister.” Beal was a student revolutionary in the original film of Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables,” starring Fredric March and Charles Laughton in 1935. He concluded his long career in 1993 as a villain in the Tom Cruise film “The Firm” and on stage as a member of Tony Randall’s National Actors Theatre. On television, Beal guest-starred on the variety shows of Kate Smith and Loretta Young and in such series as “The Waltons,” “Kojak,” “Bonanza” and “Streets of San Francisco.” He performed in more than 50 live theater productions, including such well-known plays as “Our Town” and “The Front Page.” On Saturday in Santa Cruz, Calif., of complications after a stroke.