Robert Gibby Brand

Robert Gibby Brand, actor, singer, and confirmed Luddite, made his exit from this sphere on April 17th, 2026. He was 69. A longtime resident of Kansas City, MO, he passed away at the St. Luke’s Hospice House with beloved family and friends at hand. As was observed over the past 18 months, he had cancer, but cancer never had him.

Bob Brand was born on March 9th, 1957, to Dr. Robert Willard Brand and Natalie (Gibby) Brand of Clifton Springs, NY. He grew up in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, and spent idyllic summers with his family at the Pocono Lake Preserve in Pennsylvania. At an early age he fell in love with classical music and plays, especially Shakespeare. He studied voice and piano with Cathrine Kamm, wife of his minister, Al Kamm. He graduated from Midlakes High School in 1975 before attending Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in English and Philosophy. At graduation he was astonished to learn he’d been made a member of Phi Beta Kappa. (Evidently his verbal skills made up for his grades in math.)

Soon after graduation he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he was a member of the acting company in the International Theatre. There he met the inspiring actress, Janis Stevens, who suggested he study with Peter Sander, who was to lead the MFA Acting program at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Bob returned to the US in 1984 and did just that. At UMKC he met his future wife, Linda, who was studying directing. They married in 1987 on his birthday, which was also the Monday of spring break in their last year of grad school - a day no one could call them to rehearsal. In 1995 their daughter Julia was born. She grew up among all the theatre and music community and is an artist; she holds a BFA in Animation from SCAD Savannah.

Bob was a long time Equity member a phenomenal actor and true gentlemen who changed lives on and off stage.

— Sam Cordes

Barbara Colton

Barbara was an incredible woman, artist, activist and friend. I met her when she directed me in my first NYC show. A few months later, she invited me to join her as a member of a delegation of young actors that she took to the Soviet Union in 1984. It was a trip that changed my life and opened my eyes, not only to artistry, but to the world itself. She was a mentor to me in my early career and a lifelong friend. I will miss her passion for the arts, for politics and for the people in her life. I am blessed to have had Barbara in my life for over 40 years.

— David Weincek

Barbara Colton, actor, activist, educator and Equity longtime councilor, officer and life member died on April 4, 2026, at the age of 87.

Colton was born on July 10, 1938. She began her acting training in junior high and then attended New York City's High School of Performing Arts, studying drama and earning honors in stage management. She went on to earn a BFA in Theatre from Boston University in 1960. During her undergraduate experience, she spent most of her free time volunteering to create theatre for children, particularly in hospitals – a lifechanging experience.

Once when Colton was doing non-union summer theatre between years of college, the producer disappeared before paying the company for three weeks of work, leaving them stranded in Northern New Jersey.

"I decided then," Colton later reflected, "I would not pursue a career as an actor unless I could qualify for membership in Actors' Equity and so earn the dignity and protections of a union contract. When I was offered my first Equity contract a year & a half later, I had the advantage of knowing exactly why I was joining the union and what I expected to get from the union."

Colton joined Equity in 1961 and began joining committees almost immediately. She ran for council for the first time in 1963 – she lost to Robert Preston, but the following year was elected to the seat Theodore Bikel vacated to become first vice president, a one-year term. Over the decades, she served on literally dozens of committees and in bargaining rooms. She became the union's recording secretary in 1973, and then first vice president in 1978, ultimately serving four terms in that position, until 1988. She often served as acting president and chaired council meetings, and she created a Robert's Rules of Order summary to give out to those unfamiliar with the procedure.

As an actor, Colton performed on stages all across the country, including with Katherine Hepburn, Chita Rivera, Zero Mostel and Equity President Theodore Bikel (the latter two were both productions of Fiddler on the Roof; she was proud to be cast in that musical at least six times). She also worked as a stage manager and director.

As a union leader, one of Colton's major contributions was her role in creating what is now the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) Agreement. Colton loved performing for young audiences, and early on in her membership, she was shocked to find that the union did not represent artists in theatre for children. Past attempts to organize it had failed, and some in the union considered it not legitimate or substantial enough to be worth it. Over the course of several years, she and other members rallied to reform the Children's Theatre Committee (she chaired), and they eventually achieved a first contract in 1969. Colton formally and informally remained active in organizing children's theatre, considered an expert, eventually serving on a National Endowment for the Arts panel about the field. She believed the TYA Agreement to be her finest achievement in her decades of union service.

Another one of Colton's early impacts on the union was as the first chair of the Showcase Code Committee, creating a pathway for members to create unpaid work to show to industry employers, despite the controversy of the code.

As chair of the Member Ed Committee, Colton revamped the onboarding for Equity membership, creating a new member orientation series and introducing new actors and stage managers to the Equity's history, mission and structure.

Through her service to Equity, Colton got involved with the civil rights movement, seeing the injustices of Jim Crow firsthand while performing in the South. She helped Equity organize a contingent to the 1963 March on Washington, and she later marched with Equity in Memphis in the aftermath of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination. For the rest of her life, she continued to attend protests for social justice issues that mattered to her, from the Vietnam War to apartheid to the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies.

Protesting social injustice went hand-in-hand with protesting unfair labor practices, and for many years Colton chaired Equity's Picket Committee, which included managing strike headquarters during the brief 1964 Broadway strike and organizing actions during the monthlong 1970 Off-Broadway Strike. She also organized Equity's presence at larger labor actions, including a historic rally in Washington, D.C. in 1975.

Colton's leadership at Equity also served as an entryway to activism in the broader labor movement. She served as a vice president of NY State AFL-CIO's executive council, the first woman in that role in a decade, and often only woman on the team during her tenure. Women's rights were important to Colton, and she rallied Equity's support of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Once in 1977, Colton attended a bill-signing ceremony with New York Governor Hugh Carey for legislation that increased unemployment insurance and workers compensation and creating disability pregnancy comp. She happened to be on unemployment at the time, and hours later went on and had a ceremony of her own, formally receiving her UI.

Colton was also an educator, a lecturer, teacher and administrator. She taught theatre throughout the country, with a special focus on speech, and she earned her masters in applied linguistics from Columbia Teachers College in 1996. Her educational roles included teaching at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and teaching a course at Cornell University. She also held jobs ranging from tour guide to Congressman Jerry Nadler's director of cultural affairs.

Colton connected her union and political values to her Jewish heritage, and she was deeply committed to Jewish identity and continuing education, including taking courses at the Jewish Theological Seminary in her seventies.

Colton had a big personality, funny, with a lot of energy and unafraid to ruffle feathers. She left extensive records of her lifetime, all these stories and much more, viewable online.

"The union is the membership, and the membership is the union," Colton once said in a 1977 speech to council, "So if you're dissatisfied with the way this union is run, get involved! If you're happy with the union, stay involved!"

— Equity News Staff

Jennifer Harmon

On a sunny, unseasonably warm day in May, my dear friend and colleague, the brilliantly talented Jennifer Harmon departed this world. An avid gardener, it was the perfect day for Jennifer to marvel at the beauty of flora as she marveled at all of life.

Jennifer appeared on Broadway and television soap operas. She was the lead actress in the NBC soap opera, How to Survive a Marriage (1974-75) and later played villainous Cathy Craig in the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live (1976-78). For this performance, she received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nomination in 1978.

Jennifer made her Broadway debut in 1965, appearing in You Can't Take It With You. Her other Broadway credits including The School for Scandal, Right You Are If You Think You Are, We, Comrades Three, The Wild Duck, The Cherry Orchard, The Show-Off, Blithe Spirit, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Little Foxes, The Deep Blue Sea, Amy's View, The Dinner Party, The Glass Menagerie, Seascape, Barefoot in the Park, Dividing the Estate and Other Desert Cities. Off-Broadway she appeared in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. She returned to One Life to Live in 1991 playing Victoria Lord's attorney for multiple episodes and the same year played Jean Weatherill on Guiding Light. In 1995, she played Lucretia Jones on the ABC soap opera, Loving and also guest-starred on Madigan, Barnaby Jones, Dallas, St. Elsewhere, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Cosby Mysteries, Law & Order, Oz, and The Good Wife. She starred in 21 episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, which ran from January of 1974 to December of 1982. I directed Jennifer in Blithe Spirit and The Gin Game at Cape May Stage and directed her on Guiding Light where I was a producer and sometime director. Blessed with a wicked sense of humor and her New Orleans charm, Jennifer was a brilliant actress, a wonderful friend and my daughter's beloved honorary aunt. She will live in our hearts forever.

— Roy B. Steinberg

Janie Sell

It is with sadness in my heart to let you know that my dear long time friend Janie Sell (Trese) has transitioned. She passed away peacefully on June 9, 2026 at the Englewood Hospital, surrounded by loving family members.

Janie was celebrated for her remarkable talent, warmth, and lasting contributions to the theater community. Her performances brought joy to audiences and earned her the highest honors on Broadway, including a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her memorable performance as Mitzi in Over Here!.

She appeared in numerous Broadway productions, including George M!, Irene, Over Here!, Pal Joey, I Love My Wife, Happy End, and playing the role of Ethel as well as standing by for Carol Burnett in Moon Over Buffalo.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Patrick Trese, whose love and partnership were central to her life. Janie will be remembered not only for her artistry, but also for her kindness, generosity, the deep affection she shared with family & friends and for sharing her experience, strength and hope by being of service helping others.

Her family takes comfort in knowing she passed peacefully in their presence, and are grateful for the many memories and love she leaves behind.

I'll miss the laughter & fun times that we've shared since being on stage together in George M! In 1968. She'll always be in my heart.

My heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy to her family and friends.

— James Dybas