The Passing of a Legend: Marta Becket has died
She may have been, among so many other things, prophetic. In a smaller mural inside the Amargosa Opera House Hotel, Marta Becket painted a scene of the desolate ruins of the hotel and opera house in Death Valley Junction, with a ghostly dancer taking flight on the desert winds above. Now, having died today, January 29, 2017, Marta dances again.
One of the leading human cultural treasures of the California deserts, Marta's story is tumultuous and larger than life. Born in New York City as Martha Beckett on August 9, 1924, she grew up with a keen interest in dance and art. She studied piano and art on a scholarship at age nine, began taking ballet lessons at 14, and wound up dancing in the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall, and even on Broadway, in Show Boat, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Wonderful Town. She performed in solo shows across the country at schools, performing arts centers, and theaters.
But her destiny awaited in the California deserts.
In 1967, times were changing. Marta prepared to depart New York for another solo tour. It had been more difficult booking her tour this time. A new competitor on the tour circuit was getting increasingly popular - rock and roll. As a result, Marta and her husband took a small trailer with them on the tour, allowing them to camp out in between performances.
Before she left New York, Marta had a party, where a friend who did a bit of fortune telling on the side, told Marta she wouldn't be returning to the city. It was a prediction that came true.
In between performances, the couple camped in Death Valley. When their trailer got a flat tire, they were told the closest place to get the tire fixed was Death Valley Junction. The town had originally been a company town, built by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, built between 1923-1925. At its core was a three-sided U-shaped complex of Mexican Colonial style adobe buildings that included offices, a store, hotel, dining room, lobby, and more.
With their tire being fixed on desert time, Marta was able to explore the premises while waiting. At the far end of the complex, she peered through a hole in a door into Corkhill Hall, an unused auditorium. Inside was the stage where she would become a legend, far away from the bright lights of New York.
"Peering through the tiny hole, I had the distinct feeling that I was looking at the other half of myself. The building seemed to be saying.....Take me.....do something with me...I offer you life"
Marta knew what she needed to do. The next day, she and her husband rented the hall. It would cost them $45 and some basic repairs.
She began working on it, teaching dance lessons, and on February 10, 1968, she gave her first performance, dancing on that rainy night for an audience of 12 adults and children. After that, regular performances took place Friday, Saturday, and Monday nights for years to come, with Marta performing on stage in the hall - sometimes without an audience.
Then, she created her own audience. Over a period of six years, Marta put her talents as a visual artist to work and transformed the auditorium into the Amargosa Opera House. On the walls she painted scenes of a 16th century opera house mid-performance. You sit to watch performances among royalty, gypsies, socialites, and others who are putting on a show of their own. It remains one of the greatest artistic treasures of the California deserts.
Eventually, Marta's husband left her, but Thomas J. "Wilget" Wilett took over as stage manager and emcee, working with Marta, even playing parts in her productions, up until his death in 2005. Marta had considered Tom her soul mate. Marta created her own productions, danced and choreographed her own dance numbers, and designed her own costumes and sets.
"I am grateful to have found the place where I can fulfill my dreams and share them with the passing scene...for as long as I can."
In addition to her performances, her paintings and murals established her as a uniquely gifted artist. Marta officially retired in 2012, after her final show, The Sitting Down Show. I was happy to have caught one of those shows, which was filled with stories, singing, and humor, and later a performance of her Backdrop Show, where she showed off the various backdrops for her original productions while telling their stories.
But Marta's last years were hard. For years, she had been the sole resident of the town of Death Valley Junction. Employees at the hotel there would depart by 9 p.m. to go home to Pahrump, Nevada, leaving hotel guests on their own, miles from anywhere. On one winter's stay, our pipes froze overnight at the hotel, leaving guests with no water, and no hotel employee to help until later that morning. But while it's not a five star facility, it's also a hotel where guests may encounter wild mustangs coming to see what treats they may find (Marta used to feed the herd, so they're used to coming around).
Being alone, and older, she fell victim to the opportunistic grifters that prey upon the vulnerable. The Sun Runner became involved as the absentee board of her nonprofit organization that was supposed to oversee and preserve the town abdicated their power to an opportunistic manager who reportedly stole funds from the hotel, spent money raised for construction of a museum on a pickup truck for himself, drove out the operators of the cafe, and left Marta in a hotel room neglected for days at a time. Our publisher's assistant at the time, Barbara Buckland, a former nurse, became so incensed at the allegations of abuse and neglect that she considered moving to Death Valley Junction to care for Marta herself.
Investigations into elder abuse pushed the tough talking, threatening, and gun wielding manager out the door a few years ago, but operations at the Amargosa Opera House & Hotel have never been the same. Indeed, a mysterious GoFundMe fundraiser recently appeared, ostensibly raising funds for the nonprofit, which has apparently not filed required IRS forms for several years and is listed as delinquent in the State of California charitable database. We contacted GoFundMe regarding this matter, but they do not appear to be concerned whether donors may be getting swindled or fraud perpetrated. The last IRS Form 990 on record with the State of California dates back to 2009, though we have found a 990 on file for the organization from 2012, but not later.
Other performers who valued Marta's legacy, people such as Sandra Scheller and Jenna McClintock, attempted to carry on performing in the opera house when Marta left off, but were met with obstacles that led to them being forced to discontinue performances.
"Marta, may you dance with the stars forever and ever," noted McClintock. "Thank you for inspiring so many to follow their dreams."
"I just know she has found peace," Scheller said. "It was heaven getting to know her, just hell dealing with Rich [the manager]."
Now, the future of the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel, as well as the town of Death Valley Junction, is up in the air. Overseen by a board of directors that I've not been able to locate (but am still seeking), this magazine will support any viable and reputable effort to continue Marta's legacy and preserve the Amargosa Opera House as a cultural treasure.
Somewhere, out on the desert breezes that swirl around the tiny town of Death Valley Junction, I'm certain Marta dances still. Freed from mounting health issues, swindlers, neglect, abuse, and the challenges of this physical realm, she dances over her beloved opera house where she truly created magic in this world. God bless you, Marta.
