About Chris

A native New Yorker, Chris has been a teacher/actor for over 50 years. After graduating from Dickinson College (PA) with a double major in theater and French, he earned his M.A. in 18th century French literature at Colgate University (NY).

Chris’s double career as both a teacher of French and an actor/director has taken him, like the character he plays, to both Philadelphia and France. Chris taught and acted in Philadelphia for six years. And in France, he taught in Brittany, the region where Franklin, himself, first touched French soil in December 1776.

For 28 years, Chris taught both French and drama at the Fountain Valley School (CO). During those years he divided his leisure time among trips to France, directing plays, and acting in over 25 major productions. Then, for six years, he taught theater at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. Now retired from university teaching, Chris uses his energy and enthusiasm to bring the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Ben Franklin to audiences across the country.

Like Benjamin Franklin, Chris has lived many years in Pennsylvania, loves Paris, and has a particular fondness for Bordeaux wines. Unlike Ben, Chris is decidedly NOT handy with tools and has had a rather spectacular failure rate at flying kites.