Walter Willison (born June 24, 1947) is an American stage actor.

Career

He starred on Broadway in '' Norman, Is That You?'', ''Two By Two'', ''

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...

''(as Pippin), ''

Wild and Wonderful ''Wild and Wonderful'' is a 1964 comedy film directed by Michael Anderson and starring Tony Curtis and Christine Kaufmann. The screenplay concerns a clever French poodle named Monsieur Cognac, and the dog's effect on the newly married couple ...

'', ''

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

'', '' A Christmas Carol'' at Madison Square Garden, and as The Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's ''

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

'' at

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. Willison has starred in regional productions of '' Carousel'' '' Carnival!'', '' Two By Two'', ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'', '' South Pacific'', '' Fiddler on the Roof'', ''

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on ''Berkeley Square'', written in 1926 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been re ...

'', ''

Your Own Thing ''Your Own Thing'' is a rock-styled musical comedy loosely based on ''Twelfth Night'' by William Shakespeare. It premiered off-Broadway in early 1968. The music and lyrics are by Hal Hester and Danny Apolinar Lambert, Bruc"Hal Hester, 63; Helped t ...

'', and as El Gallo in the First International Tour of ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'' in Japan. Willison has also performed on television, on the NBC soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'' and he starred in the 1976 NBC Saturday morning family sitcom, ''

McDuff, the Talking Dog McDuff, The Talking Dog was a Saturday morning live action television program that aired on NBC in 1976. The show centered on the ghost of a 100-year-old sheepdog who used to live in the home now owned by a veterinarian, Dr. Calvin Campbell (play ...

''. His films include '' Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women'', ''

Harry and Walter Go To New York ''Harry and Walter Go to New York'' is a 1976 American historical drama, period comedy film written by John Byrum and Robert Kaufman, directed by Mark Rydell, and starring James Caan, Elliott Gould, Michael Caine, Diane Keaton, Charles Durning an ...

'', ''

Fantasies Fantasy is a genre of fiction. Fantasy, Fantasie, or Fantasies may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Fantasia (music), a free-form musical composition * ''Fantasie'' (Widmann), a 1993 composition for solo clarinet by Jörg Widmann * ...

'', and with an All Star cast of theatrical legends in Rick McKay's (film) " Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age" (2020). He starred in The Rattlestick Theater's streaming musical Gen Speak: Love Songs, and he is a guest star on the streaming TV series ''

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

'' starring

Cindy Williams Cynthia Jane Williams (born August 22, 1947) is an American actress and producer, known for her role as Shirley Feeney on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1975–1979), and ''Laverne & Shirley'' (1976–1982). Early life Williams was bo ...

on Amazon Prime. Willison has directed productions around the United States, from San Diego's Old Globe Theater to Off-Broadway, and in cabarets and nightclubs. He conceived and directed '' Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert'' starring

Liliane Montevecchi Liliane Montevecchi (October 13, 1932 – June 29, 2018) was a French-Italian actress, dancer, and singer. Career Montevecchi took her first dance classes at 8 with Pierre Duprez, primo ballerino of the Opera in Paris, France. She entered the Co ...

and members of the original Broadwat cast, at

54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

in 2015, conceived, wrote and directed Martin Charnin's '' The 1977 Annie Christmas TV Special: Live in Concert'' costarring with Shelly Burch and members of the original Broadway and TV cast at

The Cutting Room The Cutting Room is a music venue in New York City that was open at 19 West 24th Street from late 1999 through January 2009 for music of all varieties and reopened at the beginning of 2013 in a new location at 44 East 32nd Street. It was co-owned ...

, and '' Grand Hotel: The 30th Anniversary Celebration in Concert'', benefitting The Actors Fund, directing and costarring with Broadway cast members John Schneider and

Karen Akers Karen Akers (born October 13, 1945) is an American actress and singer, who has appeared on Broadway, and in cabaret and film. Early life Akers was born Karen Orth-Pallavicini in New York City on October 13, 1945. Her immigrant father, Heinnick C ...

, and

Sachi Parker Stephanie Sachiko Parker (born September 1, 1956) is an American actress who has film and television credits. Early life Parker was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of actress Shirley MacLaine and businessman Steve Parker (1922– ...

in 2019. He came full circle when he conceived, directed and starred as Noah opposite

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winner

Karen Ziemba Karen Ziemba (born November 12, 1957) is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre. In 2000, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Contact''. Biography Ziem ...

in " Two By Two: The 50th Anniversary Virtual Concert" benefitting The Actors Fund, a streaming production of the musical which premiered on New Year's Day of 2021.

Awards

He received a

nomination and

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for his

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical debut in Richard Rodgers' and

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New York ...

's Biblical musical '' Two by Two''.IMDb Resume for Walter Willison (I)
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Notes

External links

* * * American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors Living people 1947 births {{US-theat-actor-stub