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Will MacMillan, Soap Opera Actor And Star Of George A. Romero’s ‘The Crazies’, Dies At 71

By Joanna Jaguar
Published on: 08:39 PST, Dec 13, 2015

Soap Opera actor Will MacMillan, best known for his role as Boris Roskov in General Hospital and as David in George A. Romero’s 1973 cult classic The Crazies, has died. He was 71-years-old.

Though he is best known amongst Soap Opera fans as Boris from the early days of General Hospital and among horror fans as David from The Crazies, Will MacMillan’s career as a big and small screen actor spanned four decades and also included many stage appearances in famed works such as Brigadoon, 1776, and Pippin. MacMillan toured the country performing in theatrical works throughout his career.

According to Vulture, William George MacMillan — who also went by the nickname WG MacMillan — was born in 1944 in Steubenville, Ohio, to parents William Claude and Nellie MacMillan, where he grew up a huge sports fan. MacMillan played football for his high school team — both on the offensive and defensive sides — for the majority of his high school career, and in 1960 was a part of the team that won the State Championship. After finishing high school, MacMillan went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania and later his Master of Fine Arts from Boston University.

In the 1970s, Will moved to California to pursue a career in acting, and it was there that he met his future wife Laura Bahrs of Santa Cruz. The two married in 1981 and together raised four children.

Aside from his role on the Soap Opera General Hospital, Will MacMillan has spent a lot of time on the small screen, including parts on popular shows like Three’s Company, Charlie’s Angels, Little House on the Prairie, Knight Rider, The A-Team, Matlock, Beverly Hills, 90210, NYPD Blue, and rival Soap Opera The Young and the Restless, among others. MacMillan’s movie career includes films like The Crazies, The Enforcer starring Clint Eastwood — the third installment of the Dirty Harry series — Oliver Stone’s Salvador, and Robert Zemeckis’ Used Cars.

In 1976, Will MacMillan became the artistic director for Psychic Repertory Theatre until he retired from the post in 1990. The theatre toured the country, putting on theatrical shows for children with special needs.

In 2011, MacMillan was awarded with the Silver Sierra Award at the Yosemite Film Festival for a short film he wrote, directed, and produced, called The Gift. In 2013, Will co-starred in the world premiere four-character play Shades, which explored the stories of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

Will MacMillan’s most recent project prior to his death was an indie film called Destiny Trail, which MacMillan directed and executive produced himself, and was written and produced by his daughter Nathalie, who also co-starred in the film. According to HNGN, MacMillan’s son Jonathan was also an executive producer on the film, while his wife Laura also helped to produce it. The family are asking for donations, in lieu of flowers, to support the submission of MacMillan’s final filmDestiny Trail— which was completed and screened in Los Angeles, California, in October 2015.

Soap Opera and horror actor Will MacMillan died on December 2, in Burbank, California. The cause of death is not known at this time. MacMillan is survived by his wife Laura and his four children, daughters Nathalie, Brittany, and Grace, and son Jonathan, as well as his sister, Deborah McMillan Fisher, and her family, of Cochranton, Pennsylvania.

A memorial service for Will MacMillan will be held on December 19 at Kirk O’the Valley Presbyterian Church in Reseda, California.

[Image via WG MacMillan/Facebook]

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