John H. Beug (P 05) Fund
Established by Lauren P. Mayer-Beug 05 FAV and Lindsey E. Mayer-Beug 05 FAV in memory of their father. The John Beug (P 05) Fund will be used to provide financial support for students in RISD's Film/ Animation/ Video department including course materials, internships and global experiences.
To celebrate the life of John Beug, his family has requested that in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to Rhode Island School of Design in support of the John H. Beug (P 05) Fund. The family will be notified of gifts made in his memory.
Obituary
John Beug, longtime head of creative services at Warner Bros. Records, a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning film and television producer, died October 15, 2022 in Northern California after a short illness. He was 75.
Mr. Beug was a trailblazer in marrying music and image. An early proponent of music videos, he produced A-ha’s groundbreaking “Take on Me” video, which led to then-Warner Records chairman Mo Ostin hiring Beug. He went on to oversee such iconic videos as Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care” and Neil Young’s “This Note’s for You.”
Mr. Beug won an Emmy for his work producing the Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival for Rhino and won a Grammy for When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors, directed by Tom DiCillo, which he co-produced with Dick Wolf. He also produced the all-star tribute to George Harrison, Concert For George, as well as Tom Petty's Runnin’ Down A Dream, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.
He also was a leader in long-form videos and documentaries, producing such pivotal DVDs as Nothing But the Blues, directed by Martin Scorsese, Fleetwood Mac’s The Dance and Eagles: Hell Freezes Over.
The Chicago-born Beug became a talent booker while attending Northwestern University and then began booking Chicago area venues, hiring talent as diverse as Joni Mitchell and Cheech & Chong. He moved to Los Angeles to work for producer Lou Adler’s Ode Records where he worked with Adler on the opening of the Sunset Strip’s The Roxy nightclub as well as the production of Cheech & Chong’s Up In Smoke and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
In addition to Harrison, Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks, Eagles’ Don Henley and Tom Petty, while at Warner Bros. Records, Mr. Beug worked closely with such artists as Steely Dan, Mitchell, Clapton, Van Halen, Seal and R.E.M. He continued working with many of them on film and television projects after he retired from Warner Music Group in 2014.
Most recently, Mr. Beug co-produced Creedence Clearwater Revival at the Royal Albert Hall, the documentary film that captured the group’s April 1970 appearance at the venerable London concert venue, which streamed on Netflix beginning September 2022.
He took pride in serving for over sixteen years on the Board of Trustees at Rhode Island School of Design, an institution dear to him throughout his life. He found joy in mentoring and uplifting young talent across multiple disciplines, fine art, culinary arts, F1 racing and collecting cars.
Mr. Beug, who lost his first wife Carolyn Mayer in the 9/11 attacks, is survived by his second wife, Cidney Vinall; his children Nicholas, Lauren and Lindsey, as well as several other relatives.