Bill Millerd, CM, OBC, BA’65, LLD’09. Photo courtesy of the Arts Club Theatre Company.
Who was your childhood hero?
Lester Pearson.
What was your nickname at school?
Billy.
Describe the place you most like to spend time.
Denman Island, BC.
What was the last thing you read?
First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami.
What or who makes you laugh out loud?
Actress Nicola Cavendish (BA’77).
What is the most important lesson you ever learned?
Be on time.
What is your most prized possession?
My signet ring with the family motto engraved on it.
If you ruled the world, what’s the first thing you’d change?
I'd get rid of dictators.
Apart from the essentials for life, what can’t you do without?
My bike.
If a genie granted you one wish, what would it be?
To advance green technology.
What is your idea of the perfect day?
Walking on Denman Island.
What item have you owned for the longest time?
My grandfather’s writing desk.
Whom do you most admire (living or dead) and why?
My partner Marsha Sibthorpe, who keeps me focused.
If you could invent something, what would it be?
The secret to world peace.
In which era would you most like to have lived, and why?
The next one after this one.
What are you afraid of?
Losing my eyesight.
What is your latest purchase?
A laptop computer.
What would be the title of your autobiography?
On the Job.
Name the skill or talent you would most like to have.
To play like a concert pianist.
If you could only ever listen to three pieces of music, what would they be?
J.S. Bach’s Two-Part Inventions, as interpreted by Glenn Gould; the opera Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten, with Jon Vickers in the title role; the musical Pacific Overtures by Stephen Sondheim.
Which famous person (living or dead) do you think (or have you been told) you most resemble?
As a young man, before I grew a beard, I was told I looked like actor Jean-Paul Belmondo.
What is your pet peeve?
Those who hesitate to attend live theatre.
What would you like your epitaph to say?
He did his best.
What is the secret to a good life?
Being open to new challenges.
Do you have a personal motto?
Be brave.
What’s the strangest fan encounter you’ve ever had?
A woman came up to me on the BC ferry to Departure Bay and praised my time at the Arts Club Theatre Company.
What is the most important thing left on your bucket list?
Visiting Glyndebourne Opera House in East Sussex, UK.
What stands out from your time at UBC?
A talk by James Baldwin in 1963; the campus shutting down due to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, also in 1963; and a theatre directing course in 1964 from Dr. John Brockington that led me to my career.
