“Kuzava!” /shakefist!
“Schutz!” /shakefist!
Without fail that was the greeting that Will and I would share when we inevitably ran into each other at an audition/1st reading/gathering. It was like our “secret club handshake” that we had developed over our years together working on shows. We would bicker back and forth over who was chicago’s greatest character actor. Who got to wear the hat? Will or myself? We played off each other so well it was really just second nature to both of us.
I will miss that about him most of all.
Will passed away after a short struggle with Pancreatic cancer on a Monday, May 25th just days before his birthday.
Chicago lost one of it’s true stars that day. Not only was he the most solid and reliable actor you could ever hope to work with, he was beyond a shadow of a doubt, the kindest person I have ever had the honor to know. Never a complaint and always a kind word to those around him.
He taught me so much in the few short years we knew each other. That being a character actor was just as glamorous and fufilling as playing a lead. That your love for the theater and what you do will shine through every moment you are on stage and every moment of your life.
Will will be missed and our craft and community is diminished now with his passing.
Wherever he might be now, that hat belongs to him and him alone, as there will never be another like him.
Goodbye old friend.
