Roy Gaintner

Roy Gaintner, 1916-2008, was a long-time actor on a number of local theater levels, as well as performing in movies and commercials. Born in Lancaster, PA in 1916, he was involved in little theater work there until the late 1930s. After moving to the Washington, D.C. area, he became active with the Crossroads Theater Group in Arlington, VA, where he met his wife of over 50 years, Esther, a professional violinist. Moving to Phoenix, AZ in 1951, Roy was a steady performer and director of numerous plays for Phoenix Little Theater and Scottsdale's Stagebrush Theater, as well as performing at Cudia City, a long-standing western theater set used in many westerns of the 1940s and 50s. In his 50s and 60s, Roy was a SAG performer, with roles in a number of movies filmed in the Arizona area. In 1976, he toured for a year as the second lead opposite Bob Cummings in the dinner theater circuit play, "Take Her, She's Mine."