Editing Julian Beck (section)

== Early life ==
Beck was born on May 31, 1925, in the [[Washington Heights, Manhattan]], to Mabel Lucille (née Blum), a teacher, and Irving Beck, a businessman. He was named after Julia Beck (née Blum), his mother's sister and his father's first wife, who had died in the [[influenza pandemic of 1918]].<ref>[[John Tytell]], ''The Living Theatre: Art, Exile, and Outrage'', [[Grove Press]], New York, 1995, {{ISBN|0-8021-1558-6}}, p. 11</ref>

He briefly attended Yale University, but withdrew to pursue writing and art. He was an [[Abstract expressionism|abstract expressionist]] painter in the 1940s, but his career turned upon meeting his future wife. In 1943, he met [[Judith Malina]] and quickly came to share her passion for theatre; they founded [[The Living Theatre]] in 1947.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gussow |first1=Mel |title=The Living Theater Returns to Its Birthplace |url=https://nyti.ms/3A6lrVP |work=[[The New York Times]] |volume=133|issue=45924 |date=January 15, 1984 |page=H6}}</ref>