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WEST VALLEY CITY — Richard Wilkins, a retired law professor at Brigham Young University, has died at age 60.
Wilkins collapsed at his home on Thanksgiving and has been on life support until he died Monday..
Wilkins was a professor, but he was even better known as an actor, as for 27 years, he performed the role of Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" at Hale Centre Theatre.
A retired BYU law professor, he traveled every year from Qatar where he directed an institute on family development. This play's universal appeal brought him back.
"I love that story, and this comes from Hindus, Muslims, and Christians that we know, over in the Middle East," Wilkins once said. "The message of love and connection, how we're all interdependent."
Cast and crew who worked with Wilkins for years are mourning; he was like family to they, they said. Audience members are also feeling the loss.
"We are so grateful to Richard, who has become like a brother over the years and his family has become like ours for giving us and literally hundreds of thousands of people the great joy in seeing "A Christmas Carol" in its pure form," said Sally Dietlein, co-founder of the Hale Center Theatre.
The show will go on with the messages of forgiveness and hope Richard Wilkins loved so much.
