MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – “He was an advocate, educator, artist, actor, passionate, incredible human being,” state Stacy Howell, alumni of the Merrystreet Players.
“Visionary, iconic, loving, kind,” said Chad Vance, alumni of the Merrystreet Players.
These are the words used to describe Elliott Street. A man who dedicated his life teaching, the arts, helping others, and preserving the history of downtown Meridian.
“Elliott was a really dedicated artist. He was from Meridian and very passionate and he loves theater. But all-in-all he was really a broad artist,” said Roger Smith, manager of the Temple Theater.
Smith has known Elliott Street for 15 years. He said Elliott was one of the first people to welcome him to town.
“He was always a fighter. He was not a weak person, and he was always for the average Joe,” said Smith. “His Number one passion was teaching, I believe, because he always had people come back in his life that he had taught.”
Some of those former students are Chad Vance and Stacy Howell. Both former members of the Merrystreet Players, a teen acting troupe that visited schools and churches introducing new generations to the arts— all under the direction of Elliott Street.
“He taught us about how to get along with one another. He also instilled in us a work ethic that I never have experienced otherwise,” said Howell. “But, he also instilled in us a love of renovations, and activism, and standing up for what you think is right, and for accepting people for who and what they are.”
That passion for renovations and activism, bled over into some of Meridian’s most iconic landmarks.
“Elliot was very instrumental in saving the Threefoot building and attracting investors to it. They had the Threefoot preservation society where they had a group of volunteers where they did cleanup. They did a lot of cleanup on the roof. Just helping to take care of the building because it was pretty much in disrepair,” said Vance.
Elliott’s career spans all the way from Meridian to Hollywood and back again. He never forgot where he came from, and he always had a special place in his heart for his students.
“We just did a Merrystreet reunion here at the Temple back in April. We all knew he was sick, but he was in a period of remission for his cancer and he appeared to be doing better, you know, we thought we had a lot more time with him,” said Vance.
Elliott Street leaves big shoes to fill, there’s no doubt about that. His alumni say, there’s only one way to honor his legacy.
“He would want us to take up the torch,” said Howell. “He has laid such an incredible foundation for all of us. We now need to be the activists in our communities. We need to stand up for what is right. We need to be educators. We need to spread the love of passion and theater with the new generation.”
“He would want us to carry on. Continue his legacy. We’re looking forward to gathering everybody together and trying to get the Merrystreet Players reestablished. The city needs a teen acting troupe. They need the same opportunities that we had,” stated Vance.
Elliott Street’s obituary can be found here.
