Bonnie Beecher, who was born on April 25, 1941, establishes an interesting connection between Bob Dylan and two classic TV shows, The Twilight Zone and Star Trek.
First, her connection to Dylan. Beecher was friends with and dated Dylan when they both went to the University of Minnesota. One theory is that “Girl from the North Country” may be at least partially about Beecher.
Perhaps most significantly for music history, there is no doubt that some of Dylan’s earliest recordings were made at Beecher’s home in 1961. Below are some of those recordings, including “Omie Wise,” “Wade in the Water,” and the not-to-be-missed “I Was Young When I Left Home.”
After her relationship with Bob Dylan, Beecher had a short successful acting career. Not long after her relationship with Dylan in the 1960s, Beecher pursued an acting career in television. Her biggest role was probably on the episode of The Twilight Zone entitled, “Come Wander With Me” (1964). In the episode, which was the final one of the series filmed, Beecher played a muse haunting a young singer seeking a new song.
Beecher, who beat out Liza Minelli for the role, also sings in the episode. She sings the title folk song that foretells the doom of the young man. Beecher, whose voice appears with Dylan on some of the Minneapolis tapes, had a wonderful singing voice herself.
The song “Come Wander With Me” was written by Jeff Alexander and Anthony Wilson. Most recently, Beecher’s recording of the song was used in the Netflix series Baby Reindeer (2024).
Beecher, however, did not continue with her acting and singing career past the 1960s. Her career ended around 1968, not long after appearing in a Star Trek episode, “Spectre of the Gun.” In that show, she appeared as Pavel Chekov’s love interest (where his love for her character saved his life).
In addition to Bob Dylan (and Chekov), Beecher’s love for another famous man would fill much of her life. Since 1967, she has been married to 1960s icon (and Woodstock MC) Wavy Gravy. She runs charitable organizations and Camp Winnarainbow with him. After her marriage to Gravy with whom she has a son, she adopted the name Jahanara Romney.
Finally, below, Beecher tells a funny story about Dylan traveling to Oklahoma.
Happy birthday Ms. Beecher/Romney! Leave your two cents in the comments.
