Salt Lake native Parley Baer, 88, a well-known character actor who appeared in more than 60 movies and 1,600 television shows during a six-decade career, died on Nov. 22 at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland, Calif., of complications following a massive stroke he had suffered two weeks earlier. The Tarzana, Calif., resident was born Aug. 5, 1914, in Salt Lake City. He graduated from West High School and studied theater at the University of Utah. In 1965, he returned to dedicate the new Babcock Theatre in the basement of the Pioneer Memorial Theatre building. Mr. Baer was a former student of the venue's namesake, Maude May Babcock. According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, Mr. Baer had performed on 15,000 radio programs, including the voice of Chester in the original version of "Gunsmoke." He was probably best-known as Mayor Stoner of Mayberry on "The Andy Griffith Show." He was also the voice of one of the Keebler Cookie elves, and enjoyed a six-year run on "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," playing their next door neighbor, Darby, 1955-61. Prior to moving to Los Angeles in 1947, Mr. Baer was busy in radio. His first radio work was at KSL, which included handling broadcasts from Wendover Field in the early 1940s. His acting career was ended by a stroke in 1997. As a sideline, Mr. Baer was also a publicist and ringmaster for circuses, including tours with Barnum & Bailey and the Circus Vargus. He met and married his wife, aerialist and bareback rider Ernestine Clark, in 1946. She died in 2000. They were the parents of two daughters, Kim Baer and Dale Sloane. Baer is also survived by three grandchildren.

I was born on March 7th, 1974 at an Air Force base in Marysville, California. I am currently living in Califronia with my my wife, Jenni and my dog, Chewie. I've lived in Thousand Oaks, California, and Sandy, Utah, as well as spending two years in Cordoba, Argentina. I moved from Utah when I was 12. My trip to Cordoba, Argentina was for my two year mission as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I've been in many movies and television series, including a recurring role on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Growing up in Sandy, Utah, my school performed a lot of stage productions. One of my early performances was as Oz in The Wizard of Oz. When I was young, my father was in a dance band. I would get up on stage and entertain even then. Looks like entertainment was in my life from the beginning.

When my family moved out to California, my parents went to a career day at church and signed my brothers, sisters, and I up for pictures. We also started acting classes through which I got myself a manager. My manager signed me up with an agent who started to send my pictures around to casting directors. On my fourth audition, I landed a role on Invasion Earth. It was a blessing and allowed me to save enough money to buy my first video camera. That's when my cousin and I started making movies and a whole new creative side of myself opened up. This led to our creating the movie "Linx."

I have a lot of fine memories of acting. I was flown out first class to Salem, Mass. during the making of Hocus Pocus. I also enjoyed working with an old high school buddy on an episode of Married with Children. I did NOT enjoy having to eat all that steak and shrimp during a Sizzler commercial.

Diana Bahtishi was raised in N.C. where she learned invaluable lessons such as how to walk barefoot across a briar patch. She is the mother of three highly intelligent children and one she's not quite sure about. She currently lives with her husband of 14 years, in Northern Utah. Diana is a humorist novelist and freelance writer. She writes a weekly column called "Reality Check" in the Standard Examiner in Ogden, Utah.

Ira Baker graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Film. Ira honed his skills in writing, editing and directing at BYU, winning several of the program's distinguished awards.

Professionally, Ira has had extensive experience in film and video production. Ira has edited projects for many of the world's finest corporations, including, Rockwell International, SBC, Coca-Cola, Lucent Technologies, Honeywell and many more.

Ira has gained a strong reputation for his work in animation and motion graphics. In addition, Ira is also skilled in DVD design and authoring. Mr. Baker has developed a keen sense for story and a natural instinct for how a film should flow.

Elwon, being a native to Montana and an eight-year Washington tourist, is fairly new to the Utah region. Elwon has been performing for well over eight years in all aspects of the performing arts -- stage, film, voice, etc. Recently Elwon has been seen in performances at the Hale Center Theatre as the bitter Scot in The Hasty Heart, and the bewildered Englishman, Norman, in Cash on Delivery, as well as in Deathtrap for the Provo Theater Company. He can also be seen in the DVD, "The Basket."

JASON BALL is an original member of the Garrens Comedy Troupe. He attended Washington University in St. Louis and Brigham Young University where he majored in theater education. He is a graduate of the Second City Training Center Conservatory program and was part of the Improvising New Voices workshop and the writing progam. Chicago credits include the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Fox Valley Shakesperare Festival, Comedy Sportz and traffic reporting for Metro Networks. Utah credits include Sundance, the Pioneer Theater Company, radio work, stand-up comedy and appearances on Touched By an Angel. He is SAG, AFTRA, EMC, SAFD & LDS.

Michael Ballam has received critical acclaim with the major opera companies of the USA and a recital career in the most important Concert Halls of four continents. His operatic repertoire includes more than 600 performances of over 70 major roles sharing the stage with the world's greatest singers. At the age of 24, Dr. Ballam became the youngest recipient of the degree of Doctor of Music with Distinction in the history of Indiana University. An accomplished pianist and oboist, he is the Founder and General Director of the Utah Festival Opera Company, which is fast becoming one of the nation's major Opera Festivals. He is the author of over 30 publications and recordings in international distribution and serves on the Board of Directors of four professional Arts organizations.

Robin Ballard, who plans Lana in the film, has worked in film under the direction of Danny Glover, Mark Dippe, and Sanford Bookstaver, and in theatre under the direction of Neil LaBute and Academy Award winner Tad Z. Danielewski. Robin studied improv at the Groundlings Theater in L.A. and Shakespeare with Chris Hayes. Robin grew up a good Mormon girl and lived in California, Hawaii, and the Bahamas. She attended boarding school in Switzerland (where her parents thought she would be safe from the evils of the opposite sex) and then went on to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She currently lives in Salt Lake City and is not a polygamist.

Alessia is a multi-talented, ambitious young actress with accomplishments in many performance and artistic areas. She has a wide range of experience in front of an audience, including performing with a local dance company, where she excels in ballet and modern dance; with skilled horsemanship; and with her involvement in school plays. She also paints, produces amateur videos, and enjoys hiking and snow skiing. These abilities, combined with her athleticism and statuesque physical presence, create an eclectic and versatile performer adaptable to a variety of character roles.

Michael Bast, began his career in film and video production with an ambitious low budget student film called "FUNK DOWN", in which he wrote and directed. Soon following he embarked on a course into American History, particularly "THE OLD WEST", to conceptualize and direct the documentary series, "FORGOTTEN GUNFIGHTERS."

He has also worked on corporate videos of many clients under the direction of producer GIL HOWE. These include the following:
- D.O.T.S
- THE UTAH LUNG FOUNDATION
- LIVE TUTOR.COM
- BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
- THE VIRTUAL BUSINESS CENTER (VBCnet.com)
- MINDPIX MEDIA PUBLISHING
- ONLINE PRODUCTIONS

Michael Bast in his Directing debut calls on stories from his father's knee for inspiration and guidance. "Ever since I was six years old I can remember my father telling me of the constant gunfights and murders that took place on the actual doorstep of my ancestors in Northeastern Arizona in the late 1800's. But, I never knew the magnitude of the bloodshed until I began researching the Pleasant Valley War". A family feud between friends and business partners that resulted in the death of over 40 people. One of the participating families lost four brothers and a father in a two month span. "The amount of hatred and vengeance is horrific to imagine, the deeds done by both factions display man's worst hour".

The Pleasant Valley War has long since been left in the shadow of other happenings in the Old West like "The Shootout at the OK Corral" or the famous Hatfield and Mccoy feud. One historian compared the Hatfield and Mccoy feud to a school yard fight in comparison to the Pleasant Valley War. The Pleasant Valley War delayed Arizona Statehood for 20 years says historian.

Michael Bast was born and raised in Arizona. While traveling overseas to Spain he met Carlos Luaces, they became friends; this eventual evolved in Carlos being executive producer of the project.

J Bateman produces music for his production company, Artist Point Productions. He has produced several international bset-selling fitnes albums. His original compositions can be heard in video games, radio advertisements, film and TV. He has composed and produced music for ESPN, NASCAR, HealthRider, NordicTrack, and Billy Blanks' TaeBo. J has also produced the chart-topping debut album of the popular Brazilian band, 'Herois Do Dia.' He has been on several major international tours as both a sound engineer and a guitar player. J holds a music degree in Sound Recording Technology from Brigham Young University where he was a Dean's Scholar. He was also the top graduate of his class at The Recording Workshop in Ohio. J recently teamed with MJ Productions to produce the acclaimed regional touring production of Evita.

Born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and traveled throughout the U.S. and Morocco as a youth. His father was an Air Force Sergeant so he was constantly moving. He is part Italian and part German. He attended Choctawhatchee High School in Florida. He made his debut as a professional actor in a P.B.S movie called Passionate Pilgrim where he played Ben Jonson. He made his first breakthrough in a small role in Species. He has now worked in Film, TV, voice-over and stage. He is also a freelance professional theater director. Has been an educator for 25 years. Was born with paralysis of right arm but still became professional actor and tennis instructor.

Batzel began his acting career at Okaloosa-Walton Community College in several musicals and other productions. He then went on to Brigham Young University, where he was a graduate assistant and had leading roles in many productions. He also appeared in summer stock shows, where he portrayed Capt. Von Trapp in "Sound of Music" and Jigger in "Carousel."

Local theater goers will probably remember him best as Tevye in Stage Crafters production of "Fiddler on the Roof," which he also co-directed. He performed in and directed other Stage Crafters productions. Last year, he played the role of Samuel the Prophet in the PBS presentation of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Christmas. He also has appeared in motion pictures.

Currently, he is teaching drama at Box Elder High School in Utah, and he spends his summers at various teaching assignments in theater all over the U.S. Batzel and his wife, the former Alice Smith, have two children. His parents, Phyllis and Jack Batzel, still live in the local area.

Joseph A. Batzel was born in Pittsburgh, PA and eventually made his home in Fort Walton Beach, FL. He attended Brigham Young University on a theater scholarship where he studied Theatre and Cinema and in 1976 received a Master's degree in Theater and Cinematic Arts. Mr. Batzel has been an educator in stage, film, and television for 26 years. He has worked as a professional actor, director, and casting director on over 250 major projects including features, television, industrials, stage, and voice over. Mr. Batzel travels extensively throughout the United States presenting workshops at various conferences and is presently working for Utah State University as an adjunct professor where he teaches Film, Creative Arts, and Public Speaking. His credits include Species, Dumb Luck (WB), Lamb of God, Passionate Pilgrim (PBS) and the newly released Sacred Stone produced by Lee Groberg.

(Actor) is excited to make her Plan-B debut. Recent credits include the 7th Annual Egyptian Shorts and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Egyptian Theatre Company), King Lear (Pioneer Theatre Company) and Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) and Blood Brothers (Old Lyric Repertory Company). Colleen holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Utah State University and an MA in Theatre for Young Audiences from Brigham Young University. Member of Actors' Equity Association.

Michael F. Bavota / Chef Bavota is a freelance writer living in Tampa, Florida. He began his writing career in 1979 with various children's stories, newspaper feature articles and publications in trade magazines. In 1983 he won honorable mention in the Writer's Digest Annual Fiction Contest, placing 23rd out of more 6,500 entries.

Michael's knowledge of seafood and experiences with the United States Department of Commerce-National Marine Fisheries Services has lead him to be published by national business trade magazines, including Seafood Business, Supermarket Business, The American Seafood Institute Report and The Shelby Report.

His first book, Seafood Lover's Bible, a 200-recipe seafood cookbook, was published in April 1999 by Clear Light Publishers and is a publisher's best seller. Michael has recently completed his first fiction novel entitled, Spirit of the Everglades, a story about the Florida panthers. This book was released August 2004.

Michael F. Bavota is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature, Writer's Digest School, The Advanced Writer's Workshop, and The Elements of Effective Writing. He attended Morgan State University and currently has more than 200 columns and articles in print. Michael was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

Chef Bavota is an entertainment / educational chef and has performed at numerous supermarket grand openings. He was the featured show on Cruise West's Alaskan Cruise in 2002 and 2003. His new show, The Chef Bavota International Cooking Show, being produced by EscapeTV is currently in post-production. http://www.escapetv.tv/CurrentPro/current_prod2.htm

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