THE BIGGEST SHORT GUY

Walter Beran helped shape the soul of Los Angeles from the 1970s-1990s. To accomplish this as a city official, philanthropist or entertainer would not be surprising. But to accomplish this as the 5-foot-5 accountant Beran was unfathomable.

BY CALIFORNIA BUSINESS JOURNAL

What defines greatness for you? Who in your mind was the greatest person?

Having grown up in Beverly Hills and after graduating UCLA, Jim Beran worked in politics for the Reagan and Bush administrations. He had the good fortune to meet top political and business leaders, sports stars and celebrities.

As he grew older and had the chance to reflect on what really defined greatness, it was clear to him who the greatest man he ever met was — and that man just happened to be his father, Walter.

Jim realized that his father had “redefined greatness for him in a holistic sense.”

For years, Jim tried to get his father to write a book about his extraordinary life and career, but Walter simply wanted to lay low and not boast to the world about who he was, what he stood for and what he accomplished.

But near the end time took his father’s mind and eventually took his life. “So I had no choice,” Jim says. “I had to write the book myself. As my father would have said ‘it was a story worth looking over and not overlooking.’”

The book, The Biggest Short Guy, is already an Amazon best seller in seven categories and five countries. It chronicles Walter Beran’s life from a dirt poor childhood in Texas to surviving World War II and the sinking of the US Leopoldville in the English Channel on Christmas Eve 1944 to his emergence as one of Los Angeles’ most impressive civic leaders as well as a close friend and advisor to President Ronald Reagan, and most importantly for Walter the love of his life, his wife Speedy.

"The original inspiration for the book was the thousands of letters he wrote my mother,” Jim says. “Every night he was away, and he was away a lot, he would write my mother a letter. He did this for 22 years. He had the letters compiled each year and put them into a book that he would give to my mother on her birthday. The letters are simply amazing, not just ‘I miss you’ letters but reflections on life, his relationship with God and his fellow man and what was happening in the world around him.

“He wasn’t just my hero,” Jim says. “I wish every boy’s father could be their hero. My father was the greatest person I ever knew.”

He too was a hero to many people, especially in Los Angeles, where the 5-foot-5 dynamo and CPA for Ernst & Young took on leadership roles for more than 50 local organizations and foundations over the course of 20 years to help bring the city closer together and bridge racial and religious differences.

“To accomplish this as a city official, philanthropist or entertainer would be surprising, but to accomplish this as an accountant is more than unbelievable,” Jim says.

This is what others had to say about Walter Beran:

“Walter Beran gave that which is most precious in life — his time,” says Peter Ueberroth, the former Commissioner of Baseball and head of the United States Olympic Committee. “No challenge was too great, no task to small. He did not seek recognition or financial gain. His commitments and contributions to Los Angeles are still felt today.”

Buddy Owens of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forrest, California, says, “Walter Beran was a giant among men. His stature was not measured in feet and inches, but rather in the greatness of his heart, the depth of his wisdom, and the kindness of his character. Integrity, humility, and generosity were the hallmarks of his life. We would all do well to model ourselves after him.”

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