Brian B Benoit

Brian Benoit of Los Lunas passed away on Tuesday, November 18, 2014, of sudden cardiac arrest. Brian was born in Taunton, Massachusetts and grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to California in 1969 and was employed as a computer technician for various companies including Magnavox and Alcatel. There he met and married Marie Fioroli who was his partner for the next 43 years. Both Brian and Marie shared a passion for the theater. While living in California, he appeared in The Lady's Not for Burning, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Twelve Angry Men, and Merry Wives of Windsor in the Shakespeare-by-the-Sea series, as well as in dozens of other theatrical roles and in the television shows including NYPD Blue. He and Marie appeared together in Witness for the Prosecution, My Fair Lady, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, and The Crucible. He was also active in other facets of theater from production, light, sound, and stage management to ushering. He co-wrote the play All's Swell the Ends Swell, and won a Best Producer Award for producing Pure as the Driven Snow with the Palos Verdes Players. He regularly played Santa (for which he was a natural!) at Christmas events, frequently accompanied by Marie as Mrs. Claus. After his retirement, he and Marie moved to Los Lunas. When they found there was no community theater in Valencia County, they immediately decided to create one. They became the founders of the Mansion Players, which today is a successful theatrical company producing several shows each year. Brain was active in many of those shows in various capacities including production and acting. A dedicated lifelong Republican, Brian was active in local politics, and in 2011 was named Republican of the Year by the Valencia County Republican Party. He and his wife were also active supporters of the campaigns of several local and state Republican candidates. The Fifth Annual Christmas Show of the Mansion Players, A Christmas Carol for Valencia County, is dedicated to Brian Benoit, who was a firm believer in the show must go on. Arrangements entrusted to Riverside Funeral Home of Los Lunas, 820 Main St. NE, (505) 565-1700.