Jerry Willis; Manager of Public Events at Caltech
Jerry Willis, impresario of Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium and head of the university’s public events for 27 years, has died. He was 59.
Willis died Sunday of cardiac arrest, Caltech officials announced.
“I am charged with offering ‘a broad spectrum of cultural opportunities’ within the tastes of the community,” Willis told The Times in 1984. “That gives me a lot of leeway, and I enjoy the challenge.”
He not only developed a showcase for the for the performing arts in the San Gabriel Valley, but also successfully withstood competition offered by Ambassador Auditorium after it opened in 1974.
A California native, Willis graduated from UCLA and began his career in fine arts production at UCLA. He joined Caltech in 1964 as promotion director of the auditorium program, later serving as auditorium manager and assuming the title manager of public events in 1970.
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