The Richard McMillan Fund

Richard McMillan made a name for himself in the 1980s as a keystone member of the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival. During his time on the stage, Rick’s outstanding performances drew the attention of the Pittsburgh theatre community. For some time now, Rick has been fighting serious cancer of the thyroid, and we have established a brand new scholarship fund to honor Rick's legacy.

Richard McMillan created some of the most memorable characterizations seen on Pittsburgh stages, including Richard III, Hamlet, Cassius, Enobarbus and Jacques. At a time when the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival was reaching its full aesthetic maturity, Richard set new standards of excellence in acting that endeared him to playgoers and drew the attention of other Pittsburgh producers. Throughout the 1990s Rick was seen at the Playhouse Repertory, the City Theatre, and the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, making Pittsburgh his second artistic home.

While here, he met and ultimately married Anne Louise Bannon, one of the finest students to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh’s MFA program. They and their daughter Maggie live in Toronto, the base from which Rick and Anne Louise have continued their careers.

The annual income that is distributed by this new fund will be matched by an identical amount from The Dietrich Foundation Endowment Fund for William S. Dietrich II Undergraduate Scholarships. This is an opportunity to contribute to many worthy causes: supporting outstanding theatre students at the University; celebrating the talents of two wonderful actors; and commemorating an institution, the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival, that brought such lively pleasure to our city.