Reathel Bean, 81

Entertainer Reathel Bean, 81, died Oct. 4, 2023, in Evanston, Illinois, after a long fight with cancer.

He was born Aug. 27, 1942, in Jefferson City, the son of Floyd and Thelma Luna Bean. He grew up in West Plains and earned a bachelor's degree at Drake University in Iowa. 

As a college student, he was involved in the Civil Rights movement, once riding a bus carrying people of mixed races to Baltimore, Maryland, to integrate a park that was for Whites only. They were immediately arrested. They had been told in advance that White people could pay $10 and be released after arrest, but it would make a stronger statement if they spent the night in jail. That's what Reathel did. His Ozark County uncle Judson Luna was horrified to learn his nephew had spent a night in jail. Reathel also joined Drake’s Black fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psy.

During the Vietnam War he declared as a conscientious objector and was assigned to work at Judson Church in New York City for two years.

Later, he and his wife, Holly Vincent, lived in the New York area and attended Judson Church for more than 60 years. In 2022, they moved from their home in Montclair, New Jersey, to the Chicago area to be closer to their family. 

Reathel credited Ozark County native Larry Clark with influencing his interest in acting, and his 50-year career spanned theater, film and television. On Broadway, he appeared in Caroline or Change, Our Town, Inherit the Wind, Big River, Baby and Doonesbury. He also appeared in several films, including Box of Moonlight, Going in Style, The Nanny Diaries, The Good Sheppard and Dancer in the Dark. On television, he was in all three of the Law-and-Order series as well as The Third Watch, Ed, Spin City, White Collar, Nurse Jackie and the Black List. 

For several years, he returned to Missouri to visit Larry Clark in Columbia and his cousins, uncles and aunts in Ozark County. 

He is survived by his wife, Holly Vincent; two children, Emmy and Samuel; one grandchild, Floyd; and three nieces, including Phyllis Wood Fisher of Marshfield, formerly of Ozark County.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Jerry; his Ozark County uncles Judson Luna, Gene Luna and William Wood, and aunt Madge Parker.