Walter ONeil:
CLASS OF 1980
Owosso High SchoolClass of 1980
Owosso, MI
Walter's Story
Well, Ive had many adventures since my days at OHS. Here are some highlights.
I left in 1980 to go to the University of Michigan Flint on a full ride acting scholarship and stayed there for four years while performing theater around the country during the summers. I then won a full ride in acting again to Brandeis University and received my MFA in '86. I still did theater during the summers. I loved Boston.
'86-'89 are the lost years on the road hitchhiking from one theater to another across the U.S.A., doing loads of shows, sharpening my skills, and finding my true sense of freedom.
In '89 I moved to NYC and immediately landed a European tour called "The Golden Musicals Of Broadway". What a life changer that was. I was in Berlin, at the wall, the night it came down! It was quite the party.(I was born the year the wall went up, I was there the day it came down, and my name is WALter, freaky deaky huh?)
Jennifer Lopez was a backup dancer with us on her very first gig. I rode with her on a bus for a year, never picturing the birth of JLO. WHO KNEW? She was a firecracker though. Oh the stories I could tell....
I came back to NYC in '90 and then booked the European tour of "Hair" and went back for two more years. Dan Finnerty of "The Dan Band" was my understudy. Old School! The Hangover! He was one funny dude. Dan Cooney, producer of the ENCORE THEATER in Dexter, MI(where I am playing Sweeney this Oct) was Berger to my Woof. Go figure. I came back in '92 for a national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar(1 of 11 companies I have performed of that show). After that I came back to NYC again and worked for Madison Square Garden for a year,.... the last "Grateful Dead" Tour was there as well as the Rangers winning the cup after 40 years. Talk about timing! I was fired from that job in '94(alas, one of many I was fired from!)
I then landed Yoko Ono's first and only NYC musical called "New York Rock". Long story short, I snapped my achilles tendon during final dress and was kept in the show in a different capacity, and moved in with Yoko and Sean at the Dakota so she could take care of me. What a trip!! I recorded my first album with her and my first single. My recording career had started and I was hooked.(myspacedotcom/woneil)
Meanwhile my pop died so I moved to LA to be closer to my mom in '95. I was a booking kin...Expand for more
g for my LA years including the original cast of "Mad T.V.", several movies and t.v. shows, over 20 commercials, and about 20 more stage shows,... including the original cast of "Wicked". I had worked for Stephen Schwartz in Dreamworks' first film, "The Prince Of Egypt" and he loved me and brought me into "Wicked" during it's development for Broadway.
Meanwhile my mom passed,(the hardest time of my life) so I was free to move back to NYC and fulfill my lifelong dream of performing on Broadway. It only took me over 20 years to get there! The rest is history. As you may or may not know, it's the biggest hit of all-time! Well worth the wait.
I unfortunately blew out my knee on stage in '06 and once again had surgery to put me back together(my 5th).Bummer.
I rehabbed and landed another Broadway show, "A Tale Of 2 Cities" in '08 but it was right before the financial crash that closed us last November. Crime...it was a great show. Look for it on PBS in 2010.
Now here I am in NYC teaching voice and acting, writing music, and preparing for my return to Michigan to play Sweeney.
During these past 30 years there was a lot of sex, drugs and rock n' roll, a whole lotta love, and a fair share of heartache. I broke on through to the other side, so to speak, and I am clean(ok...mostly) and clear about who I am and I know my purpose with whatever time I have left on this world. I am an artist and a creator sending my ripple effects of love, fearlessness and vision to everyone I meet, and beyond the horizon of my vision. I have no wife, no kids, ...but a sense of family with my friends and strangers that goes beyond blood. Blood may be thicker than water, but water sustains life. So when I look back at my life and what could be perceived as loss, all I see is what I gained. I am me and I wouldn't have it any other way.
There are so many gaps that were chock filled with my adventures all over the world in this story, but this is my first attempt to record my life in any way...so we can call this the condensed version. It has inspired me to track back over the years though, and perhaps put a more detailed story on paper.....whatever serves. That is the most important thing I have learned in this life... EVERYTHING SERVES! Peace and blessings to all who read this~
~Walter Winston ONeil (OHS class of '80)
6/12/09
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