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GREENSBORO - When Hall Parrish stepped onto The Broach Theatre stage, he made his audience roar with laughter. Or shed a tear. Or think. Or all of the above.

Family, friends and fans say that's how they will remember Parrish, 59, who died at home Wednesday night after an eight-month battle with cancer, which began in his appendix.

"He was a consummate professional actor, and he taught me more than anybody I ever worked with," said Stephen Gee, his partner of 28 years.

In 1987, Parrish, Gee, David Bell and others started The Broach Theatre at 520 S. Elm St. It remains downtown's longest-running professional theater.

Other local actors and directors stepped in to keep the Broach running while Parrish battled illness and Gee cared for him.

Although Parrish worked in computer services for Guilford County by day, his after-hours work at the Broach caught the public eye.

At 6 feet 3 inches tall, he became known for such comic characters as the beehived matron Bertha Bumiller in "A Tuna Christmas," in which Parrish and Gee played more than 20 characters from the town of Tuna, Texas.

"He had impeccable comic timing," Gee said.

They first performed the comedy in the 1990s and last performed it in December. It became the Broach's most popular show and the last in which Parrish acted before he became ill.

But just as Parrish made audiences scream with laughter, he also could break their hearts, Gee said. He did that when he played the father of a gay son in "The Sum of Us."

Friends also praised Parrish's kindness and generosity, particularly to up-and-coming actors and to others in theater.

When friend Deborah Kintzing ran acting workshops, "Hall would take such care in how he critiqued the new performers," Kintzing recalled.

To honor Parrish's 50th birthday in 1999, friends Allen Broach and Bob Weston created a scholarship fund in his name.

Knowing the struggles of young actors, Parrish wanted local college theater students who received the $1,000 scholarships to use them as they chose to help their careers.

Parrish died as the Broach's latest show, the comedy "Moon Over Buffalo," opened for a two-week run.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete Thursday.

But "Moon Over Buffalo" will go on as scheduled, Gee said.

So will the Broach.

"The future success of the Broach is his legacy," Gee said.

Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 373-5204 or dawn.kane@news-record.com