In Loving Memory of Linda Ann Gehringer

January 31, 1954 – May 17, 2024

Linda Ann Gehringer, much loved wife, stepmother, sister, aunt and acclaimed actress, died at her home in Laguna Beach, California, on May 17, 2024, at the age of 70. Her passing created a void in the lives of those who loved her, but also leaves a spectacular legacy of joy, laughter, love, friendship, boundless energy, endless spirit, and tremendous accomplishment in the acting world, on-screen, but especially on stage, where Linda was truly at home.

Linda was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, where she attended St. Mary's of Redford, where she first found the stage in various high school
productions. She received her BFA from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where she frequently performed in productions at the Barn Theater there. Linda went on to receive her MFA from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and upon graduation was awarded the  prestigious Bush Fellowship, which entitled her to spend a year performing at the Guthrie Theater, one of the top regional theaters in the country. She also met her first husband, Ken Bryant, a theater director and MFA recipient there and they were married in 1980. Ken's extended family are also Laguna Beach residents.

Linda and Ken spent several years in New York before moving to Dallas. Linda performed in many plays in Dallas while Ken became the youngest artistic director in the country when he was named the Artistic Director of the Dallas Theater Center. Their idyllic lives were torn apart
when Ken was accidentally killed in 1990.

Shortly before that tragedy, Linda had been cast in a regular role on Evening Shade, a sitcom which ran for four years from 1990 through 1994. So after Ken's death, she made her home in Laurel Canyon. In 1993 while visiting Ken's parent's home in Laguna Beach, Linda met Chris Farley, their next door neighbor. Linda and Chris were married in 1998. Linda took on her new roles as Chris's spouse and stepmother to Chris's two children, Margot and Brian, who were then teenagers, while remaining fully engaged as a theater, film and television actor.

Linda achieved remarkable success and gained a stellar reputation as an actor with appearances in over forty television shows and several films but Linda's true home and the place she most loved to perform was the live stage. She captivated audiences and had an enviable ability to fully embody a wide range of leading characters from classic Shakesperean roles to the most modern, leaving no detail too trivial to execute to perfection. Beginning in 1997, Linda became an integral player at South Coast Repertory Theater where she eventually appeared in 23 plays
as well as participated in developing new plays through readings and the annual Pacific Playwrights Festival and the Ojai Playwrights Conference. Linda also performed at major theater venues throughout the country including New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Berkeley, Baltimore, Seattle and the Berkshires. More information about her roles in tv, movies and stage productions can be found on the memorial website and these links:
https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/gallery-person/Linda-Gehringer/10/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0311816/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

The Covid pandemic curtailed not only her career but all live theater. Her final play, The Outgoing Tide, was staged at the North Coast Repertory Theater in the Summer of 2022.

Though her work was incredibly important to her and to the theater world, what Linda contributed most uniquely to all who knew her was her beautiful spirit. Linda not only always injected fun, warmth and laughter into every room she entered, she also made every person feel they were the most important person in the room and Linda would do anything to make their life easier, richer, better, or just more fun. She could be silly, goofy, or intensely emotional, but always was pure, unadulterated, and inimitable Linda, a truly extraordinary treasure.

Linda will be sorely missed by her audiences, her fellow professionals and her extended family. With her passing, the world lost a truly shining star.

Linda is survived by her husband, Chris Farley, her stepchildren, Margot Farley Stuart (Sean) and Brian Farley, her grandchildren, Baillie, Avery, and Weston Stuart, and Lia Farley, her brother, Matt Gehringer (Su Metzel), and her sister, Carole Whitney (Mike), and her niece Ava (Brennan
Hutson), nephews, Jackson Gehringer and Jake Whitney and grand-niece, Lucy Hutson. She was predeceased by her mother, Beata Maria Gehringer (nee Karabees), father, Charles K. Gehringer, Sr., brother, Charles (Charley) Gehringer, Jr., and sister-in-law, Nancy Gehringer (nee
Richter), and her first husband, Kenneth Bryant.

There will be a Celebration of Life in Laguna Beach for friends both personal and professional and extended family, details to come. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in Linda's memory to South Coast Repertory or another theater of your choice.

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Remembering Linda Gehringer

It is with great sadness that SCR shares the passing of beloved actor and friend Linda Gehringer.

Well known and well respected by Orange County audiences, Linda appeared in 23 productions and numerous play readings over more than two decades, beginning with Good as New in 1997.

Linda entertained SCR theatregoers in such productions as Arcadia (1998), All My Sons (2000), A Delicate Balance (2001), Hold Please (2001), The Last Night of Ballyhoo (2003), A Naked Girl on the Appian Way (2005), The Piano Teacher (2007), Doubt, a parable (2007), The Language Archive (2010), How to Write a New Book for the Bible (2012), The Parisian Woman (2013) and The Roommate (2017).

"I'll stand by this. If you had Linda Gehringer in the show, it would be a happy production. No feuds, no fights, no issues, no gossip," said SCR Founding Artistic Director Martin Benson, who directed Gehringer in eight productions. "Linda was the perfect citizen in every production and a great actress on top of that. The only reason I had her in eight plays was I couldn't have her in nine."

"The thing about Linda is not only was she a consummate actress and always a pro, she brought joyousness and light to every cast to which she was a part," said SCR Casting Director Joanne DeNaut, a longtime friend. "This resulted in life-long relationships; she just collected friends along with the way. There was a six-degrees (of separation) with her for most everyone."

Kent Nicholson, who directed Linda in How to Write a New Book for the Bible said that it was her "wish and desire" to perform that play at SCR. Nicholson said she wanted to bring that production to SCR because she considered it her artistic home.

"It is always fun and joyful to watch someone who is really, really good at what they do, do that thing," Nicholson said. "That's how I felt about Linda. It was always a joy to see her on stage because she was so proficient as an actor that you always felt wonderful watching her do it."

Her television work included a recurring role as Fontana Beausoleil in CBS's "Evening Shade," which ran from 1990-1994. Linda's film and TV credits include American Pie, As Good As It Gets, "Justified" and Under Wraps.

"Linda's loss leaves a huge hole in the SCR and larger communities in which she thrived," SCR Artistic Director David Ivers said. "I was devastated to hear the news but am confident we and so many others will keep her legacy with us. She was an inimitable and formidable presence in all walks of life and an artist of great significance."

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Memorable Monday—The Last Night of Ballyhoo

The SCR community has expressed appreciation of actor and friend Linda Gehringer since her recent passing. In celebration of her many talents, this week's Memorable Monday takes a look at the 2003 production of The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Alfred Uhry.

Warner Shook, who directed Gehringer as Reba, echoed the sentiments of many when he wrote the following tribute.

"When Linda Gehringer walked into the rehearsal room, the sun came out: Beautiful. Radiant. Loving. Mischievously funny and with a heart as big as all outdoors," Shook said. "She was such a versatile talent: a true chameleon, a real pro. How she will be missed by all of us who had the great good fortune to work with her and got to call this extraordinary woman our friend."

The Last Night of Ballyhoo told the story of Atlanta's elitist German Jews, who—as the Nazis are invading Poland in the fall of 1939—are more concerned with who is going to Ballyhoo. Considered the social event of the season, Ballyhoo is front-and-center on the minds of the Freitag family—Adolph (played by SCR Founding Member Richard Doyle), his widowed sister Beulah "Boo" Levy (Kandis Chappell) and their sister-in-law, Reba (Gehringer). The play won the 1997 Tony Award for Best Play and was nominated for that year's Pulitzer Prize in Drama.

The picture shows Gehringer, Chappell, Doyle, Guilford Adams and Blair Sams.

Michael Olich designed the set, Frances Kenny designed the costumes, Tom Ruzika was the lighting designer and Michael Roth composed the music and designed the sound.

The Last Night of Ballyhoo opened SCR's 40th season, running Aug. 29-Oct. 5, 2003 on the Segerstrom Stage.