Hi Bairdo. I've been thinking about you a lot lately. After 18 years off the stage I find myself treading the boards again and pursuing theatre with more vigor than I have in any of the long years since you were my mentor. I’ve been in three productions since this February and I still don’t know how to manage my time. This weekend I'm performing an original play about a theatre company in chaos and it felt appropriate to have my character carry around your infamous moo-cow coffee mug that Sue so lovingly gifted me at your St. Mark’s memorial. I can’t picture you without it in hand and somehow it looks really nice under the stage lights. 

When I was ready to graduate St. Mark's in 2006 we had many long conversations about my future- what would I pursue? Would I focus on stage acting? Would I expand my interest in international travel and social justice? We exhaustively weighed the pros and cons of different schools and majors; theatre conservatories versus liberal arts programs. You were patient and supportive and I cared deeply about your opinion. Finally, I decided that I would take a gap year to travel and volunteer abroad so that I could eventually pivot to a career in film, because I felt I could reach a greater audience in that medium and I “really, really wanted to change the world". O, little ingénue. You raised an eyebrow, and said "Ok, so do it, kid". It's a moment I find myself reminiscing about often. All that back and forth and that was it? Why didn’t you challenge me? I don’t know what I’m doing, Les! But. I suppose everything does eventually fall into place. 18 years later, I'm back on stage and I'm an educator, like you. I love being a safe space for the kids and showing them all the magic there is in our world. I hope I'm good at it like you were. I hope I'm changing the world in my own small way, through inspiring creativity and pursuing justice and equity in my own backyard, just like you did. Thank you for teaching me to trust myself. And thank you always, for the laughs.

…I’ve always found written tributes challenging because there are so many wonderful moments to share and without an audience I could probably go on forever… Plus, there's no one to send in the clowns. So that’ll be it for now. I’ll see you this weekend, I hope you enjoy the show.

The "professor" and I will again play our annual tennis game in that court in your honor today. You always liked playing when it's hot (and it IS). Thanks for sending the video, the grasshoppers, the number 11, and the practical jokes that I can't blame on "Gene." You surround me. I miss having you to bop around with. Love matters most.

O' sweet Les! Like Jim, I can't believe it's been 3 years.  I miss you still, and think of you so often when I see a good play, go to Wrigley (nobody came or will come close to the pleasure I got from going to a ballgame with you!) or just enjoying our fleeting, beautiful summer days in Chicago.  Hope you are schooling the Heavenly Hosts in what true goodness and love is. 

Every time I catch up with an alum or read a -play review.... Les
comes to mind and continues to educate us all!  XOXOXOXO

Can't believe you have been gone three years. I "see" you on streets or in stores with great frequency...thanks for checking in on me. Miss you so.

Happy birthday sweet Les!  I know you are "out there" smiling, laughing at/with us and generally spreading goodness in the cosmos.  

Beautiful message Jim.

I miss you, dear birthday-twin friend! 

Happy birthday, Les. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could talk about the world, or even better, talk about nothing and make each other laugh. I miss that devil smile in your eyes. That said, don't think I'm not still pissed at you for dying first. That was not the arrangement. As you said to me on stage as Rosencrantz to my Guildenstern, "I'm only good in support!" Well, you left me on my own, and it isn't as much fun.....but so glad for all the fun in all its guises that we did have for forty-eight years. See you sometime. Keep showing up in my dreams. I miss you.

Beautiful man, beautiful friend & colleague & mentor,
never to be forgotten. Thanks for all things...large and
small.. you did for the St. Mark's community!

Sending random acts of love and joy through our connected web of Bairdisms.

Les I get your messages, humor and love every day. Wishing for your human presence. I miss you so. Like I used to say every time you drove away, “Have fun out there!”

Dear joyous Les...I think of you so often and miss you. As our beloved Cubs descend into yet another season of mediocrity, I know you'd have just the right quip to skewer them and instill a spark of hope that all is not lost.  I can only envy your old and new friends you are charming in your new state of being. Love you Les!

with you all...as we carry on the joy and spirit of Les in our everyday lives. 
United Les we are.

Missing you so much today, birthday twin! Thank you for always celebrating everything.

Today I heard of acclaim for Broadway production of "Kimberley Akimbo" and am recalling discussion of the play with Les, and think
it was produced at SM... my feeble grey cells fail me now... but Les
and his reflections are often with me in retirement. XO to the Troupes/
Troops.

From Don Stikeleather at our ritual today:
We are here together on this earth walking together with those who walk nearby. They watch and dance with us in our sleep and smile quietly as we live on in our bodies, missing them, treasuring our connections. Today we remember Les who sleeps on the office couch still while those who love him gesture into the space that is left behind. A warmth in the heart and memories locked in the blood. May those of us still dancing on the earth maintain this connection to duet partners just across the stage. May our play of the highest order include all that we have loved, learned and lost.

I’m traveling with you, love. It’s great to feel you close.

Miss you every day, dear friend.
Keep discovering memories that connect our lives on so many levels.
No one can take your place in that regard.

For years… Les and I were parallel playing…. in the lower level of the Taft art building. Joy, playful instigation and encouraging innovation …exuded from the space Les Baird inhabited. In overt and subtle ways, I always felt welcome, accepted and inspired to stretch out of my comfort zone with Les. In a “regular day-to-day” sort of way, I cherish the ‘overall scene’ of small things that are hard to capture in words but I know them in my fabric. (As well as the eclectic collage of playful things he had everywhere.) This is what I carry forward in honor of Les. His love, honesty, and sincerity in reaching across invisible lines to connect and improve existence. The domino of his spirit tumble onward with all our love.

https://events.locallive.tv/events/79468
Is the live stream site to see the memorial. 
https://vimeo.com/710467681/0270c039b7
Is the edited view without the photos/music/dancing at the beginning.
Thanks to all who came and shared memories and energy about Les. My remarks are in the "Stories" section of this web site.

I'm posting here what I said today at Mr. Baird's celebration at St. Mark's School. It was so wonderful to see and hear similar sentiments from fellow St. Markers and other friends and family of Les. Thank you Sue.

*****

Mr. Baird was one of the most important people in my journey as a youth trying to become an adult. He was an incredible teacher and mentor that made me feel seen every day. After my years at St. Mark’s, when asked to describe Les, I would say “well, I went to a boarding school, so he was kind of like my dad away from my dad”. He inspired me. He encouraged my curiosity. He praised my successes and held me accountable when I tried to take shortcuts. But Les was also the kooky older uncle who didn’t have a self-conscious bone in his body and would give you a forever nickname within a day of knowing you.


I always appreciated the connection that Les maintained with the “real world” while the rest of us seemed to be in the St. Mark’s bubble. Though he was an important figure here for 17 years, St. Mark’s never really seemed to “contain” Les. And while the rest of us were in that bubble, Les brought the real world back for us and put it on stage and that made all the difference. He brought us The Laramie Project to show us what happens when no one speaks up in the face of prejudice. He gave us his own rewrite of Trojan Women because we weren’t talking enough about the war in Iraq. He brought us Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind to remind us that we are all flawed but can always laugh at ourselves. And my sixth form year he brought us Our Town, I think because having a bunch of students from all over the country, attempt a true New Hampshire accent, is possibly the most amusing thing a theater director can do. Thanks for that, Les.


Mr. Baird’s role here as faculty advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance was essential at a school that, at the time, had leadership that struggled to create space for their LGBTQIA+ students. In fact, his classroom was a safe haven for ANY students who needed a space to express themselves without judgment. Les was an advocate for ALL. At institutions like this one, we have a responsibility to look back and reflect on how we could have done better. Les, on the other hand, always seemed to have his finger on that pulse. He knew what work needed to be done then and there, and he was doing it every day. 


I will always be thankful for the time that Les took away from his days just to check in with me. The hours we spent talking about life during my independent study project. The art he shared with me that completely shifted my world view, time and time again. I can still see him sitting in his basement classroom that no longer exists, pacing around excitedly among the shelves upon shelves of plays, VHS tapes, and pictures of him and Sue from all around the world. 


I’m going to paraphrase from the play Love Letters, which Les produced at St. Mark’s in 2006. “Most of the things I did in life I did with [him] partly in mind. And if I said or did an inauthentic thing, I could almost hear [him] groaning over my shoulder. But now [he’s] gone I really don’t know how I’ll get along without [him]”. 


So with Les over our shoulders, let’s live authentically, let’s question everything, and let’s laugh often on this gypsy ride.

Mr. Baird had a way of recognizing when people were in need. He was the first person to really “see me” at St. Marks, which is what I needed desperately at the time. Perhaps this is too much information, but it’s a way to contextualize how much Mr. Baird changed my life trajectory.

In 2007 I was sent to boarding school to protect me from my parents’ acrimonious divorce. Home wasn’t a safe place to be. At the time, however, all I felt was rejection. I was sad, angry, and desperately alone when first meeting Mr. Baird in drama class. My depression and sense of loss was so deep that I began failing most of my classes.

Mr. Baird saw my pain and offered love. He encouraged me to audition for the winter play, which whet my appetite for theater and gave me purpose, focus, and confidence. Theater became my “thing” and that sense of belonging paved the way for academic success.

Would I have graduated St. Marks without him? No. Would I have gone on to college and gotten my masters in education had Mr. Baird not been part of my life? No. Even though I didn’t go into acting as a career, I still use those theater skills everyday as a Head Teacher in Early Childhood Education.

Thank you for everything, Mr. Baird! My life would be entirely different had you not rescued me. I love you so so so much.

Les and I were neighbors at St. Mark’s. He lived in the lower unit, and I was in the upper of a shared house. Here are some of my memories. First, when “Sweetie Sue” would visit (and he always loved to refer to her as “Sweetie Sue”), they’d have me over for cappuccino and guacamole. This might seem like an unusual culinary combination for some people, but for Les, it was just great. I also had a somewhat raucous party that went late one night, and when I apologized for making a lot of noise, he said, “Not a problem. I just figured that I wasn’t going to sleep so I took out the paper and read in bed.” Also, I after I hit his car in our shared parking lot and made a significant dent, he said, “Well, mistakes happen.” When I went to see him because the furnace (which was in his unit) went out on a zero degree day, he answered the door wearing a wool hat and a jacket, and said, “Oh, the heat isn’t working? I just thought it was cold.” He was one of a kind. I am honored to be counted as one of his many friends. We miss you vecino!

The world is a lonelier place without Mr. Baird. Mr. Baird was a dorm parent, drama teacher, and director to me- and his impact and influence on my life has only increased as time has gone on. No one had more energy, passion, and sincerity than Mr. Baird. He was a fearless advocate for the causes he held dear- and showed the courage to be as vocal about what was right no matter how popular or unpopular it was at the time. I still find myself referencing his lessons from the stage- particularly one of his favorite lines "The opposite of Love isn't Hate... it's Indifference". I never expected the man who taught a class I only took to fill a diploma requirement I'd originally lamented having to take to end up having one of the most powerful impacts in my entire education. I feel so lucky to have known Mr. Baird- and look forward to celebrating his life and legacy with his family and the St. Mark's community.

Thank you for everything Mr. Baird.

Thank you, Mr. Baird, for being such a patient and passionate teacher, for cultivating such a sense of community and welcome, and for your artistic rigor and vision. I'll always be so grateful to you.

Grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the impact Mr. Baird had on me 17/18 years ago now at St. Mark's - he took a chance on a shy kid working on the stage crew and gave me the courage to go out for the winter play, one acts, improv, etc. I wasn't great, but it didn't matter. I use the skills he taught, and the courage/confidence he nurtured, every single day in my life and career with public speaking, presentation, and communication. My story is one of many, and I hope he knew the impact he had on all of us.

Mr. Baird, You were an absolutely inspirational teacher. Your classroom was an incredibly joyful and unique space, I learned so much from you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. As many have said, it was an honor to be your student.

Always a joy to spend time with, and a generous host, Les was a wonderful person and model human. May we all learn from Les and be a little more like him, especially his off-the-wall sense of humor.

I know for certain that Mr. Baird was my faculty dorm monitor in Thieriot my junior year (2013), but upon reflection, I think we might've overlapped in 4 separate dorms for all 4 years. I fondly remember him roaming the hallways throughout study hall and asking what we were working on that evening, what the next day had in store for us, etc. "Brush your fangs!" he would sing up and down the hallway over a rotating melody each night at 10PM.

We talked at length about Russian arts, which led to years of conversations about Eurasia, travel, life overseas, etc. He even solicited my tour guide services to help craft the itinerary for his sabbatical trip to Moscow and subsequent journey on the trans-siberian in 2011(?). Although I only ever spent time in one of his classrooms (film critique), I considered him a close friend and confidant after bonding during many-a-late night patrolling the dorms. You were a light for us at St. Mark's, Mr. Baird, and you will be missed sorely by all. Rest easy

Mr. Baird was an amazing teacher and person, and I am so lucky that I got to know him while I was a student at St. Mark's. I will always remember his open and supportive nature, his great sense of humor, and how much he deeply cared for all the people around him. Mr. Baird was always a kindred spirit to the weirdos of St. Mark's and helped us feel like we belonged. He was the faculty mentor to the GSA when I was a student first figuring out my sexuality, and I will always be thankful for his support, friendship, and fun-loving nature. Sending lots of love!! <3

My heart is filled and aches at the same time as I read and learn so much about this fun and vibrant soul, whom I only knew through my time at Emma Willard on faculty with Sue. What a light that who is missed in this world! May we all live more clear, playful, loving lives in remembering Les. Much love to Sue and all whose lives he touched, H Dwyer

We had a wonderful birthday party for Les. Here is a video of the scene, the songs and the stories:  https://youtu.be/wPN2IMjM4Ns

Missing you so much today, birthday twin! Thank you for always celebrating everything.

I met Les and Sue while we were all WWOOFing in France in 2011. Their sense of adventure and love of life was inspiring and brings back fond memories for me. I remember thinking, I hope I am like them when I am their age! I can tell from the posts on this website that many others likely feel the same way. Even after we parted ways, Les continued to check in on me occasionally, an extraordinarily thoughtful person. I am so grateful that I had a chance to meet him and am saddened by his passing. Thinking of him and all of his loved ones.

Les could do anything. He could even teach stage combat IN HIS SLEEP!  https://youtu.be/8Z1-EWXx_yk 

Les,
You are so loved. You and the world you created were some of the best of SM for me, and made the worst of SM more bearable. Thank you for caring so deeply. There is no one from school years who influenced me as you did, or who has stayed with me like you have. With so much love, I say see you on the other side my friend.
Alma (Sarah)

Les was the consummate inspirational, creative, cheerful colleague at St. Mark's School over many years, and personally supported me and my advisees through diverse stressful as well as triumphant events, lifting us up but holding us accountable when needed. We discovered early on that we both had taught at Elgin Academy in Illinois many years ago, but not at the same time. Thank-you, sir!

Mr. Baird was one of the most influential mentors I have ever known. He was a passionate and informed man who managed to create both wildly exciting and profoundly educational experiences at St. Mark's. He was my advisor, my teacher, and my friend. Beyond his extraordinary commitment to the arts, he was also deeply devoted to LGBTQ advocacy and worked hard to create a safe space for young people from all walks of life at St. Mark's. He was a man who saw the bigger picture and pushed us to fight for a more inclusive world. Had I not met Mr. Baird in these formative years, I likely would not have made storytelling and theater my life's work. My heart goes out to everyone grieving for this wonderful man. Rest in peace Les, you've done the best a man can do with his years.

I just don't believe Les is gone from this world because he is not. His warmth and energy are in so many people. I will always think of Les and celebrate him on our shared birthday and remember how he pointed out our birthday twindom. I've missed you since you left SM, but your vibrancy still echoes here.

It is nearly impossible to write about Les Baird because it will be impossible to stop, but here goes. From 1978-81 Les Baird was "Mr. Baird", my teacher in drama, stagecraft, public speaking etc. and my mentor as the leader of a weird little high school clique known as The Drama Dept. Considering the average age of most of his students then and throughout Mr. Baird's career, combined with his uniquely enthusiastic care for his friends...er, pupils, it can be said without hyperbole that he saved lives, possibly mine. Those three years involved more than a book's worth of "work" and fun which I will share to a small extent in the 'stories' section, along with more recent episodes. I wound up being a performer in mostly instrumental music but the "Les-sons" of Mr. Baird have lasted my whole life, both offstage and onstage. As for the latter, Les attended the two most recent 'clutch cargo' shows I led and responded with his characteristic positively-affirming enthusiasm.

Les is responsible for most of the things I've ended up doing with my life. My family moved to Colorado Springs from Los Angeles and I was so unhappy about leaving my friends that I planned to take extra classes to graduate early and go back to California. But then I found the drama department at Cheyenne, and Les. I stayed. Because of his teaching and passion for theater, and the file cabinet stuffed full of new plays he kept in the green room, I changed my plan from studying music in college to studying theater. Because of him, I knew to make sure I took a seminar with David Mamet, his favorite playwright, when I got to NYU, which eventually led to becoming part of the Atlantic Theater Company, still going 35+ years later. I teach through Atlantic and on my own, and am currently living in Mississippi to finish a documentary on Tennessee Williams. All of this stems from the intense respect for theater and playwrights instilled by Baird. I have no idea what I would be doing right now had I not met him. Thank you, thank you. I also will always remember the privilege of being in his advanced acting class, which along with the great classes meant trips to see Germinal Stage Denver, complete with giant deli sandwiches and Haagen Dazs ice cream.

Les was an inspiration to me at Colorado College. He was our #1 comedic actor. #2 was his classmate David Sullivan, and when they needed a 3rd one, I came off the bench. It was such an honor to be in any theatrical presentation with him, to observe and learn from the quality of his craft. We finally reconnected after about a 50 year hiatus, and I was still in awe of him.

It was a time when Gene came to rule the universe from the green room at Cheyenne Mountain High School and the Bionic Child roamed the auditorium during rehearsals. There was a magical man there who bestowed gifts on insecure, clueless, hormonal, self-centered, sometimes adrift, adolescents. He gave us gifts of Belief, Confidence, Trust, and Responsibility. Some of these attributes became part of us as we lived on, but they indeed began as gifts from Les Baird. 
We learned from Les to find our feelings, perhaps tell ourselves the truth about them, and attempt to communicate these feelings to others; he called it acting. I believe it was therapy. We heard similar fears and feelings from fellow students and discovering these commonalities was revelation.
Being part of a play directed by Les provided a connection and community that forced growth and risks, as well as tolerance and collaboration. Yes, everyone had to perform; Les was not interested in directing robots to perform a soulless, ego driven, mise en scene.  Thank Gene we did not have to work constrained by the politically correct police, that said Les created an inclusive environment before anyone knew what that even meant. Society would be much improved if we all possessed Baird’s ability to include and gather people.
Les would laugh, cry, tease, pun, curse, and challenge—in the span of a minute or two. Hooray for Captain Spaulding. Hey keep up here. Come up with a spontaneous pun, ace your scene, really connect with the audience, recover from a blunder, get a laugh, make props out of something you found in a dumpster, “find” materials, build scenery and you were a star. As a community we learned a common language--Benches were measured by the number people they would hold and the unit of measurement was the number of buns. Place the six bun bench down left……We learned to move “gaboons of gradu” and understand the occasional cautionary remark “sois sage mon enfant” (be wise my child).
His infectious enthusiasm for almost everything attracted people; He welcomed us completely into his life and home. When talking with Les you had his complete interest and felt important; after reading his opening night note you went on to perform knowing you were significant. What a gift.  
I very much regret losing contact with Les and would like to tell him that I am eternally grateful for our magical time together and for his influence in my life.  For all of us who love Les, my condolences. Gene juice for all in his memory.
Et lux perpetua luceat ei

I did not like high school very much overall, but Mr. Baird always made my day. He took an interest in me and my success as well as happiness and I appreciated that so much. I took acting 1 and 2 with him and I still think about those classes sometimes, after nearly 10 years. He taught me a lot about how it feels to walk in another person's shoes and how to appreciate seemingly odd art forms like Einstein on the Beach (which really seems just random and weird). He was not afraid to push people out of their comfort zones. He was such a caring man. I still think about the quote he had on his board "Generality is the enemy of all art." He taught me how to make a fool of myself. When he retired from SM, he gave me, along with a few other students, a replicate moo mug (which he always had on his desk). Mr. Baird will live on with all of us in the silliness and fun he taught us to implement into every day life.

Les, I have never met anyone so kind, so enthused with life and theatre and life AS theatre. We read a play together and traded life tales; you quoted masked, clown-nosed Shakespeare for my birthday and we performed another masked commedia tribute together in another driveway, laughing at our shared absurdity. And I had dreams..... dreams of many more stories, dinners, wines, perhaps a play together, perhaps a tennis ball or two. I looked so forward to more time together, but your full commitment to a life lived joyfully will always shine on in my heart.

Les was part of the wonderful theater group I belonged to at Colorado College. I have never forgotten his gentle and fun ways, and I find it hard to believe that he is gone. May he rest in peace.

Les will always hold a special place in my heart. He and sue made me feel welcome here in CO when I first moved here…into their upstairs apartment. I never thought that I’d make lifelong friends with the sweetest most caring couple that lived downstairs. Forever remembered.

Mr. Baird was my drama teacher at Elgin Academy many years ago. He was an incredible teacher who cared for his students beyond the classroom. He helped me build my confidence and find my voice during the hard teenage years. He cast me in Midsummer Night’s Dream, an epic production he had been working on for years, and it was a highlight of high school for me. Rest In Peace Mr. Baird.

There’s so much I could say about Les. He and Sue totally changed my life. Les always reminded me to take big risk and live life to the fullest!