Dr. Roger Danchik PhD

Roger Danchik had one of those lives that is much more interesting to talk about than to actually have lived. He was born in Washington, DC to Bernie and Lili Danchik and grew up with his brother Howard. After his father's death, his mother married Admiral Gene LaRocque and with that, Roger gained three more siblings: John, James, and Annette.

For undergrad, Roger went to Illinois Wesleyan where he studied theater and spent much of his time moving heavy sets around and ignoring his classes. He wrote a children's play called The Princess and the Ogre. His play has been performed all over the U.S., always by word of mouth or by somebody who saw it or was in it and almost nobody ever sent him royalties. In some strange way, he considered that a success.

Since he had no idea what to do next, he went to Brandeis as a playwriting masters student, though he didn't manage to write a play while he was there. Since he wasn't going to class anyway, he started touring with rock 'n' roll bands.

Roger was David Bowie's followspot man for two tours and got to watch a genius perform and play a lot of ping pong. He toured with Chicago, The Rolling Stones (for a few shows with an elephant), Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Queen, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, Diana Ross, and others.

After about ten years, the rock 'n' roll industry started to change and became more professional and the new roadies were less fun. There weren't as many problems to solve and everybody knew how to do everything. That was too boring, so Roger got out of rock 'n' roll just at the time that if he stayed he would have started making real money. Instead, he tried to earn a living working in theater.

During his time as the technical director of the Strand Theater, he got into a disagreement with a stage manager about a line from Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado. This disagreement turned into a dinner invitation which turned into a marriage proposal. Roger and Martina were married in August 1984. They were an inseparable team who collaborated on a life of adventure and love.

Somewhere along the line, Roger got his PhD from NYU and found himself working in the movies. Though there weren't a lot of movies around Boston when he first started, he earned enough-with unemployment of course-to only have to take out one home equity loan to survive.

Roger wrote, and sometimes completed, a few plays, including It's Hard To Be Creative When You're Dead, a musical based on The Scarecrow, and The dirtiest play ever written by Aristotle. In 2022, he published his first novel, Villa and the Doomsday Affair. The object was always to make people laugh, have a good time, and just maybe give them something to think about.

With a career like this, Roger racked up memberships in many unions including IATSE 193, 22, 921, 481, 52, United Scenic Artists 829, and Equity. Eventually, Roger retired from the business due to a CIDP diagnosis which, in characteristic fashion, he refused to pay any attention to. Roger valiantly fought against this debilitating disease for 10 years, maintaining an active lifestyle against the odds.

Roger is survived by his beloved wife, friends and enemies, and many affinity kids, including Ciarán, The Sullivan clan, Katrina, and Richelle.

A funeral service is scheduled for Thursday, June 26th at 12pm at the Mount Auburn Cemetery Chapel. A celebration of life is planned for July.

For donations and guest book please visit www.obrienfunerals.com