THE ULTIMATE BOHEMIAN

The Many Roles Of Marlene Rasnick: 1944-2000

Marlene Rasnick -- actor, singer, teacher, gardener, activist and "ultimate
bohemian" -- was a born-and-bred Los Angeles institution. All her roles
were animated by a commitment to social justice and an ebullient
personality, and seasoned with a rapid-fire laugh. "She was able to focus
on each individual talent and bring the best out of them. Her students were
devoted and would follow her for decades," remembers longtime friend and
improv partner Dale (Morse) Eunson.

Co-founding the Public Works Improvisational Theater Company in the early
'70s, Marlene co-created and performed in guerrilla-theater/commedia
dell'arte works. She met her soon-to-be husband, Lee Boek, in 1977 in a
workshop in which she asked him to roll across the floor with her,
ostensibly as an improvisational exercise. "There turned out to be more to
it than that," notes Boek. The two remained artistic -- as well as life --
partners until her death last month.

"Medical marijuana made it possible for me to sit in my garden and enjoy my
friends. To enjoy music. To be able to sing again. To stretch my body. To
be able to embrace life and to be able to say, 'Life's not over.' So if
this government wants to tell seriously ill people that life is over for
them, we don't want to accept it. And we'll do all we can to say, 'Life's
not over.'"

So said a gaunt yet defiant Rasnick at a packed press conference at the
West Hollywood City Hall on October 26, one day after 30 DEA agents raided
the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center. Twenty-five days later, on
November 18, at her Silver Lake home with her husband by her side, Marlene
lost her five-year battle against ovarian cancer. "I pray the federal
officials responsible for this raid never personally endure the suffering
they've caused for Marlene and the other members," says LACRC director
Scott Imler.

Marlene and Lee became a hub of socializing and social activism, surrounded
by actors, folk singers, radicals, union activists and sushi chefs. They
mentored neighborhood kids -- many of whom spoke little or no English -- in
theater games. They did the same for the elderly, particularly the aging
rads of Sunset Hall. When that unique retirement home was threatened with
extinction in 1990, the two were part of the successful fight to save it.
And when Jackie Goldberg ran for City Council in 1993, Marlene and Lee sang
at campaign events and at her inauguration.

Marlene was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and became an active member and
co-chairperson of the board of directors of the LACRC. Though in and out of
hospitals for the remainder of her life, she was always available for a
speech, meeting or interview to advance the cause of medical marijuana. She
gave a rousing pep talk at a vigil in front of the center on November 6 --
her last public performance.