Help Tim Blevins
Donation protected
This is Timothy Robert Blevins, an accomplished baritone opera singer and musical theater actor from Los Angeles, California. Tim's prodigious musical talent and beautiful voice were obvious from his early childhood, and he became a dedicated student of the arts in the pursuit of his goal to become an opera singer. His dedication eventually resulted in his obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University in LA, and later receiving a Masters of Music degree in Voice from the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City in 1992.
After graduating from Juilliard, Tim went on to have an extremely successful career on the operatic and musical theater stage, performing on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and with various opera companies throughout the United States. He has performed all over the world in numerous productions in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, Poland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Martinique. Tim's many leading roles include John in "Miss Saigon," Crown in "Porgy and Bess," Joe in "Show Boat, " Figaro in "Le Nozze di Figaro," Escamillo in "Carmen," Husky Miller in "Carmen Jones," and Dr. Bartolo in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia," among many others. He has also appeared on television on "As The World Turns," and his voice can be heard on the soundtracks of films such as Disney's "Enchanted" and "Home On The Range," and the Spike Lee-directed "Malcolm X."
Everywhere he went, Tim Blevins was known as a large man with a larger-than-life personality. He was always the life of any party, with an easy smile, an infectious laugh, and an engaging wit. At his peak, Tim was a supremely talented and confident performer who gave his all to every role he was given, and he expected the same dedication from everyone he worked with. Because of both his prodigious talent and his drive to excel, Tim built for himself a highly successful career in the theater world that would be the envy of any aspiring performer.
Today, Tim Blevins is homeless and lives on the streets of San Francisco.
A few years ago, as a result of his relentless physical dedication to his stage roles, Tim developed a degenerative hip condition that made performing more and more difficult. The condition progressed to the point where he was eventually no longer able to physically do the job he was born to do. Like many actors, he did not have health insurance, and relied solely off of the pay that he received from his performances. As performing became more and more painful for him, he was prescribed medications to manage the pain of his injured hip, which he eventually became addicted to. A growing dependence on his medication, which was expensive, combined with his inability to work, soon led to him being evicted from his home, and with no other options for shelter, he was forced into the streets.
This gentle giant of a man once strode some of the greatest stages in the theatrical world, shaking the rafters with his powerful, imposing figure and his rich, vibrant baritone voice. Today, he sings beautiful operettas in the bustle of the BART stations in San Francisco's Mission and SoMa districts, his voice miraculously unchanged from his glorious past, making what little he can from the charity of generous passersby before returning to a homemade shelter beneath the Eisenhower and Highway 101 overpasses.
Tim is currently in very poor physical condition due to poor nutrition and the stress of living on the streets. He is in constant pain from his bad hip, and he now requires the use of a walker to get around in a city that is notoriously challenging for even the most able-bodied of pedestrians. He will need expensive hip replacement surgery if he has any hope of resuming something close to his previous level of physical activity. Tim is fighting for his life every day to defeat the horrors of addiction and poverty that have befallen him. But incredibly, despite all that he has suffered in these last few years, he remains cheerful, upbeat, and outgoing, still flashing that luminous, charming smile, still performing as best he can for anyone who will listen, and he still maintains a firm, positive belief that his life will eventually get better.
Despite all of this, he is still Timothy Robert Blevins, accomplished opera singer and musical theater actor. The stage is waiting for his return. And we want to help make that happen in any way that we can.
This campaign was launched by a group of former muscial theater performers from the German cast of Miss Saigon, of which Tim was also a member. Many of us had lost contact with Tim over the years, and we were all shocked and saddened when the following mini-documentary by San Francisco Chronicle video journalists Tim Hussin and Erin Brethauer was released on the Chronicle's website on October 2, 2016. In the days following, we formed a Facebook page (Help Tim Blevins) to rally Tim's friends and family to the common goal of getting Tim off the streets and getting him the help he needs to return to a normal life. In less than 48 hours, over 160 people had joined, including members of his family, former cast members of Miss Saigon from Germany and Broadway, former cast members of Show Boat, and many friends from his days at Juilliard, and the numbers are increasing with every hour that passes.
Please watch Tim Hussin and Erin Brethauer's excellent piece on our dear friend Timothy Robert Blevins, and if you can find it in your hearts to help this man return to his calling in life, what he was put on this Earth to do, bringing joy to so many people through the gift of his incredible musical talent, we urge you to please give what you can. Tim has a long way to go in his recovery, and he has many needs, including permanent shelter, hip replacement surgery and the long recovery that will follow, and ongoing support as he battles to free himself from addiction, maintain his sobriety, and return to a normal life.
Please help us. Please help Tim.
Thank you.
The cast of Miss Saigon, Stuttgart production
After graduating from Juilliard, Tim went on to have an extremely successful career on the operatic and musical theater stage, performing on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and with various opera companies throughout the United States. He has performed all over the world in numerous productions in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Scotland, Poland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Martinique. Tim's many leading roles include John in "Miss Saigon," Crown in "Porgy and Bess," Joe in "Show Boat, " Figaro in "Le Nozze di Figaro," Escamillo in "Carmen," Husky Miller in "Carmen Jones," and Dr. Bartolo in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia," among many others. He has also appeared on television on "As The World Turns," and his voice can be heard on the soundtracks of films such as Disney's "Enchanted" and "Home On The Range," and the Spike Lee-directed "Malcolm X."
Everywhere he went, Tim Blevins was known as a large man with a larger-than-life personality. He was always the life of any party, with an easy smile, an infectious laugh, and an engaging wit. At his peak, Tim was a supremely talented and confident performer who gave his all to every role he was given, and he expected the same dedication from everyone he worked with. Because of both his prodigious talent and his drive to excel, Tim built for himself a highly successful career in the theater world that would be the envy of any aspiring performer.
Today, Tim Blevins is homeless and lives on the streets of San Francisco.
A few years ago, as a result of his relentless physical dedication to his stage roles, Tim developed a degenerative hip condition that made performing more and more difficult. The condition progressed to the point where he was eventually no longer able to physically do the job he was born to do. Like many actors, he did not have health insurance, and relied solely off of the pay that he received from his performances. As performing became more and more painful for him, he was prescribed medications to manage the pain of his injured hip, which he eventually became addicted to. A growing dependence on his medication, which was expensive, combined with his inability to work, soon led to him being evicted from his home, and with no other options for shelter, he was forced into the streets.
This gentle giant of a man once strode some of the greatest stages in the theatrical world, shaking the rafters with his powerful, imposing figure and his rich, vibrant baritone voice. Today, he sings beautiful operettas in the bustle of the BART stations in San Francisco's Mission and SoMa districts, his voice miraculously unchanged from his glorious past, making what little he can from the charity of generous passersby before returning to a homemade shelter beneath the Eisenhower and Highway 101 overpasses.
Tim is currently in very poor physical condition due to poor nutrition and the stress of living on the streets. He is in constant pain from his bad hip, and he now requires the use of a walker to get around in a city that is notoriously challenging for even the most able-bodied of pedestrians. He will need expensive hip replacement surgery if he has any hope of resuming something close to his previous level of physical activity. Tim is fighting for his life every day to defeat the horrors of addiction and poverty that have befallen him. But incredibly, despite all that he has suffered in these last few years, he remains cheerful, upbeat, and outgoing, still flashing that luminous, charming smile, still performing as best he can for anyone who will listen, and he still maintains a firm, positive belief that his life will eventually get better.
Despite all of this, he is still Timothy Robert Blevins, accomplished opera singer and musical theater actor. The stage is waiting for his return. And we want to help make that happen in any way that we can.
This campaign was launched by a group of former muscial theater performers from the German cast of Miss Saigon, of which Tim was also a member. Many of us had lost contact with Tim over the years, and we were all shocked and saddened when the following mini-documentary by San Francisco Chronicle video journalists Tim Hussin and Erin Brethauer was released on the Chronicle's website on October 2, 2016. In the days following, we formed a Facebook page (Help Tim Blevins) to rally Tim's friends and family to the common goal of getting Tim off the streets and getting him the help he needs to return to a normal life. In less than 48 hours, over 160 people had joined, including members of his family, former cast members of Miss Saigon from Germany and Broadway, former cast members of Show Boat, and many friends from his days at Juilliard, and the numbers are increasing with every hour that passes.
Please watch Tim Hussin and Erin Brethauer's excellent piece on our dear friend Timothy Robert Blevins, and if you can find it in your hearts to help this man return to his calling in life, what he was put on this Earth to do, bringing joy to so many people through the gift of his incredible musical talent, we urge you to please give what you can. Tim has a long way to go in his recovery, and he has many needs, including permanent shelter, hip replacement surgery and the long recovery that will follow, and ongoing support as he battles to free himself from addiction, maintain his sobriety, and return to a normal life.
Please help us. Please help Tim.
Thank you.
The cast of Miss Saigon, Stuttgart production
Organizer and beneficiary
Friends of Tim Blevins
Organizer
San Francisco, CA
Marcus Chait
Beneficiary
