Diana Disney, actress, director and Mrs. Will Disney: "It’s so hard for me to separate the two. Little Lake was Will, and Will was Little Lake, 24 hours a day. And once we entered Little Lake, we all became part of it, no matter what capacity we were working in. Sunny (Will’s daughter) once said it was better than summer camp."

Lee Wilson, Little Lake’s box office manager, an occasional actress and Will’s assistant for many years: "Will was generous to a fault, which, at times, was not healthy for business. Anyone who ever acted or volunteered at the Lake became part of the family, and family never paid for admission, even after years of absence. Will treated regular patrons as friends also, always remembering their names and seating preferences. He treated them as them as though they were important, as indeed they were, and he developed a loyal following.

“He was ‘The Man’ at Little Lake, but he still emptied wastebaskets, swept the floors and cleaned the restrooms.  He answered the telephone, ushered, and directed cars where to park.  There was no job too small or dirty or unimportant.”

Scott Small, actor:  “Will was passionate about theater.  All theater, but mostly his theater.  He was there to guide it every step of the way, albeit at times with a sharp tongue and wry wit.  But that made (working there) an experience to remember.”

Mike Slaven 

An Actor’s Life:

Will on Stage 

Lee Wilson:  “Will had a remarkable capacity for learning lines and a natural style of acting.  He was perhaps the greatest actor I ever knew, able to work in the box office until just before curtain, walk out on stage to give his pre-show speech and warm up the audience, change his jacket backstage and re-enter in character to begin the play.  His characters were real and believable.  He scoffed at method acting and never required long preparation to get into a part. 

“He paraphrased from James Cagney, ‘You just find your mark, look the other guy in the eye and tell the truth.’  Will also quoted from Laurence Olivier regarding making gestures on stage.  He told me not to worry about my hands.  If they did not move naturally, just let them hang there, relaxed.  That is more effective than too much movement.” 

Winkie Miller O’Brien, actress and former apprentice:  “It was with great trepidation that I went to an audition at Little Lake, where Will was casting a show that had a small part for a girl who spoke French.  I said I could speak French, but I really couldn’t, and after getting the part, I had to plead with a dear friend who did speak French to write my dialogue phonetically in order for me to memorize my lines.  Will was also looking for apprentices, and I became one that summer.  What an education being an apprentice was, not to mention hard work.

“Well, as so often happens in show business lore, I was the prop mistress for an original show Will was premiering.  After the play had begun on opening night, a key member of the cast got word that her father had just died, and she left the theater immediately.  There was simply no one else to go on (in her place) but me, terrified.  Will was also in the cast, as was Thom Thomas.  They were both on stage (when the other actress had to leave the play suddenly), and when I made my entrance and Thom said the line, ‘Charlotte, why it’s Charlotte,’ both their eyes widened in surprise and fear, wondering what on earth I was doing there.  In retrospect, however, never was the line delivered so expertly as it was at that moment.”

William Cameron, director, actor, and chair of Theater and Communications at Washington & Jefferson College:  “His Oscar Madison (in ‘The Odd Couple’) still stands as one of the greatest performances I have ever seen on any stage.  (It’s) right up there with Christopher Plummer in ‘Othello,’ Henry Fonda in ‘Darrow,’ and Art De Conciliis and Mark Yochum in ‘A Tuna Christmas.’ ”

Sunny Disney Fitchett, Will’s daughter and Little Lake’s artistic director:  “My father was, indeed, one of the most naturally gifted actors ever.  From the experience of having been there with him (in numerous plays, including ‘On Golden Pond’), I can tell you that it was so easy to be onstage with him.  You never felt vulnerable because he was so sharp and so clever.  You knew if you were in trouble, he’d help you through it and never take credit for having done so.”      

 To Sir, With Love:

Will as Teacher and Friend 

Sarah Rush, actress:   “I called Will Disney when I was 15 years old.  I had decided that I wanted to be an actress, and I was longing to work in a theater.  He was so dear to me on the phone, and I was just a kid from Waynesburg who didn’t know anything.  He asked me how old I was, and when I told him, he said, ‘Call back when you’re 16.’  So on my 16^th birthday, I called him at home.  He said I could start that summer.  Of course, he wanted me to be 16 because I lived so far away, and I needed to drive to get there.

“Anyway, Will was always so nurturing toward me as an actress, and I am grateful for the training ground he provided for me.  My years at Little Lake were marvelous.  Will also gave me the most wonderful gift of my best friend, his daughter Sunny.  When I did ‘The Belle of Amherst’ two seasons ago (and Sunny directed), I’ll never forget the evening Will attended.  He sat in the front row and had the most serene expression on his face—so attentive, so supportive and loving.  Will was an amazingly facile, talented, funny, complex, passionate and crazy guy, and I adored him.”

Art DeConciliis, actor and director:  “The man was for me … a theatrical father.  He was a mentor.  I learned from him.  I felt incredibly close to him.  I remember when my mother passed away, and I went back (to Little Lake) to do (the play) ‘The Beauty Part’ shortly after that.  Will took me aside in the dressing room and shared with me his feelings and his experiences and a lot of stories about his mother.  That moment meant a lot to me.  He became a great friend of my family, and he allowed me to be part of his extended family.”

Karen Slaven, actress:  “Something I’ll always remember about Will is that when I started working at Little Lake, people would tell me what an honor it was when Will Disney asked you to be in a play.  And that’s how I truly felt the first time he asked me to do a role with him (in ‘Present Laughter’)—very honored.” 

Scott Small:  “(Will’s famous advice to actors) ‘Try not to stink’ you’ve already heard.  One of my favorites was when he would tell me to ‘try and play it better looking.’  That’s about as close as Will got to telling me or anybody how to act.  It used to frustrate me in the beginning.  As a young actor, I wasn’t always sure I was making the right choices, and I wanted him to tell me what to do.  He was teaching me one of many lessons—trust yourself as an actor, that acting is doing.” 

Thom Thomas, screenwriter and playwright:  “Will was my theater guru.  He never taught me about acting or directing.  He didn’t need to.  I only had to observe him in rehearsal—the easy, almost effortless way he stepped into character or staged a play.  Most of all, I remember Will as a gentleman and a wonderful friend.  I was fortunate to spend some time with him before he became very ill.  I kept thinking as we talked, ‘I better keep on my toes here.  He’s topping all my stories!’” 

Gene Kail, actor:  “Will taught me several lessons.  First of all, he taught me that verbal abuse can be both graceful and caring.  He taught me that family means more than blood ties.  And, in the end, he taught me that the show’s the thing.”  

 William Cameron:  “Will Disney came into my life at exactly the right time.  I was 19 years old.  I was studying drama.  I wanted to be an actor more than anything, and by some miracle, I suddenly found myself playing opposite … one of the finest actors who ever walked the earth.  It was in ‘Parlor Story’ that I had what is still one of the most memorable moments I’ve ever had on stage, where I was asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage. 

“And (the scene) becomes a conversation between the young man and the older man, whom (the young man) looks up to as a mentor, as someone who will help guide him through life.  And that (scene), when I was 19 years old, meant a great deal to me.  And it was, of course, very prophetic because I stayed in theater, and I think I stayed in theater … largely because of what Will Disney gave to me and what Will Disney helped me to understand about the theater and what the theater was.  And for that I will be eternally grateful.” 

The Family Way:

Will as a Parent 

Dave Disney, Will’s son, as well as Little Lake’s one-time house manager and business manager:  “I don’t think either one of us was very demonstrative, but we always cared about each other, and we were there for each other.  In his will, Dad mentioned that many of the things I did for him I did for a purpose—because I knew he wouldn’t do them.  In the winter, for example, I used to go over to his house and shovel snow, mainly to help him, but I’d never tell him that.  I would tell him that shoveling snow gave me something to do. 

“We had a good family relationship.  I grew up at Little Lake, starting out as a pain-in-the-a-- kid and eventually moving on to various capacities, including business manager.  Working with my father was a privilege.”

Sunny Disney Fitchett:  “My father has given me a gift that has come to light in a true and lovely way these last couple of weeks.  He has given me my extended Little Lake family.  There were so many people who adored him, who loved him unconditionally. 

“I knew he, as my daddy, loved me like crazy.  He would do anything for me, or else he would negotiate with unfathomable stamina to talk me into his way of thinking.  Sometimes it worked, and when it didn’t (after all, I am my father’s daughter), he would look at me with a twinkle in his eye and quote William Shakespeare, ‘Sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.’

 “This past summer I had an experience with my own son, Ben, that made me think of my dad.  When I was a little girl, my father told me that he was terrified of heights.  When you’re six years old, who understands what ‘terror’ means when you’re standing in front of the Ferris wheel at White Swan Park, and your daddy is the only one there to ride with you?  Last August, I got onto the Ferris wheel with Ben at Idlewild Park.  As an adult, I am also terrified of heights, but in some moment of sheer fantasy, I decided that riding the Ferris wheel with my son would be great fun.

“Well, before making the first loop, we were stopped at the top so that passengers way, way, waaaaay down below could board.  I closed my eyes, and for that moment, I had to time-travel to another planet to ward off the panic invaders who were, with lightning-quick precision, beginning to invade my body.  I told my son, ‘I’m sorry, Ben, but Mama’s got to get off the Ferris wheel RIGHT AWAY.’  He must have noticed his own white knuckles from the way I was clutching his hand, and he said, ‘That’s okay, Mom.’  The nice amusement park man way, way, waaaaay down below kindly allowed my husband to change places with me before the next loop.  I bailed.  I went to the closest bench and started to sob uncontrollably; I had been that terrified.

“Then I remembered hearing my father tell me that he was terrified of heights.  It’s something I always knew about him but certainly never understood.  But here’s the thing—every time my dad took me to White Swan Park, we always rode the Ferris wheel.” 

Rob Fitchett, Will’s son-in-law and Little Lake’s managing director:  “My introduction to Will was in 1979.  I had met his daughter the year before in San Francisco, and now it was time for me to meet my girlfriend’s father.  He picked Sunny and me up at the airport in the early morning—and I came to find out later that, to Will, eight in the morning was the middle of the night.  Will was wearing a bright red and orange polyester shirt and slacks with Nittany lions all over them.  We got into a bright yellow Fiat, and in 1979, who else in Pittsburgh drove a Fiat?  I could tell this man was an original.  It was the beginning of a long, close relationship.

“Although I never had the opportunity to act with Will and was a long-haired, scruffy, ambitious jazz drummer, I always felt loved and accepted by him.  I feel very lucky not only to have known Will, but also so honored that he was willing to share with me two of the major loves in his life—his daughter and his theater.”

 One More Thing …  

Therese Courtney, actress:  “He could be abrasive and cantankerous and frequently egocentric, and yet everyone forgave him all his faults and loved him anyway, because he could also be empathetic and sympathetic and was very bright, witty, charming and talented.  He really was the most wonderful storyteller as well, with tales of all the people he interviewed on his radio show (and) actors he had known at Little Lake and at other theaters, (plus) stories that happened during plays.

“And, of course, he always insulted the people he liked best and loved getting his own back.  I visited him (near the end of his life) when he was bedridden, and he thanked me for coming.  I said, ‘Well, I care about you.  A lot of people care about you.’  Then, to his great delight, I added, ‘Of course, you don’t deserve it, but they do anyhow!’  And (that comment) left him laughing aloud.”

Diana Disney:  “I was talking to Will a month ago about the hereafter … and he said to me—he sort of looked at me askance—and he said, ‘Death is like a long sleep, and you know how much I like to sleep.’ ” 

Jackie Nicoll:  “During one of our last visits to Will, as we were about to leave, (my husband) Don asked if there was anything we could bring him the next time we came to visit.  A book, a magazine or some candy?   And Will said there was nothing.  Then he said, ‘You know what I would like more than anything?’  (And I answered) ‘What, Will, what would you like?’  And he said (referring to Little Lake’s backstage area), ‘I’d just like to sit in the green room with the actors and the people out there.’ ”

 

Little Lake Royalty...(from L): Don Sommer, Dori MacQuown, Will Disney, Addie Sommer, Herman McLain, Ed Kostelac.