Born Louise Payton Heims in Osceola, Pennsylvania, she graduated in 1911 from the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University) with a degree in Library Science.[1][3] While a student at Drexel she worked as an assistant librarian.[1] In 1911 she became the first librarian at Wake Forest College; a post she held for four years.[3] In 1915 she relocated to New York City and assumed a position as a librarian with the New York Public Library.[3] She left that post after successfully auditioning as a singer for Marcus Loew; who booked her for three performances a day in his vaudeville circuit.[3]
Her uncle was Morris Meyerfeld Jr., a theatre entrepreneur who was the financial backer of the famous Orpheum Circuit.[4] He employed impresario Martin Beck to hire the talent for his theaters.[4] In 1920 she married Beck after meeting him while touring in vaudeville.[2] They had two daughters together.[5] Prior to their marriage, her husband had founded Broadway's Palace Theatre in Times Square in 1912.[3] In 1924 he established a second theatre, the Martin Beck Theatre. Heims Beck became a close partner to her husband in his theatrical endeavors, advising him on productions and reviewing potential scripts for use in his theatres.[2] After his death in 1940, she continued to manage the Martin Beck Theatre with Louis A. Lotito.[3]
In 1940 Heims Beck co-founded the American Theatre Wing (ATW) with Antoinette Perry, the organization responsible for the Tony Awards.[3][2] Initially the organization was established to raise funds and supplies, such as clothing and medical items, to aid American and British military personnel in need during World War II (WWII).[6] She was one of the ATW's directors from 1940 until 1946 when Perry died; serving as the organization's first Vice President.[3][7] She played an integral role in the establishment of both the Stage Door Canteen during WWII and the Tony Awards in 1947.[3] She was responsible for overseeing the organization of the 1st Tony Awards.[2] In her role as chairman of the ATW in 1950–1951, she served as one of the main presenters at the 4th and 5th Tony Awards.[8][9]
In addition to her work with the ATW, Heims Beck was dedicated to the Actors Fund of America; serving first as a trustee of the organization and then chairman of its governing executive committee from 1960 until her death eighteen years later.[2] She concurrently served as the director of the Percy G. Williams Home; a retirement home for impoverished elderly actors.[2] In 1958 she was the recipient of a Special Tony Award for her service to the theatre community.[2] She was also the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Drexel University in 1977.[2] In 1977 she was given the Actors Fund Medal of Honor on the occasion of her 88th birthday.[2]
Louise Heims Beck died at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan on March 16, 1978, at the age of 89.[2]