WINONA, Minn. – Vivian Rosemary Fusillo, the grand dame of Winona theater, died peacefully at age 97. She is survived by her partner of 55 years, Winona aviator George Bolon. She joined the Winona State faculty in 1968. She directed more than 100 plays of every genre. Her children’s shows played to 5,000 school children annually. She pushed the boundaries of performance with her experimental Theatre of the Mind program that put students and townspeople into immersive experiences. She inspired generations of students. One student, Mark Steven Johnson, whose screenplay for the1993 movie “Grumpy Old Men,” was inspired by Fusillo for the character played by Ann-Margret and also the 1995 sequel. When s=Fusillo retired at Winona State in 1998, the university christened the Performing Arts Center main stage in her name. She documented her life in a memoir in 2022: “Stories Along the Yellow Brick Road.”
1927-2024
Her early years
Vivian Fusillo was born tiny Bogue, Kansas, and grew up during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Her father was the town barber. She played accordion and sang for city events. Her mother, who was musically inclined, encouraged her daughter to look beyond their rural life. At Marymount College she was the first student in the theater program and was the lead in most productions. Later she helped create costumes at the Shakespeare company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Among those who wore her work: Richard Burton, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Her love of fashion informed her signature clothes that she would design throughout her life. She always was flashy and bejeweled and in a hurry: “I cannot control how I am perceived; I can only control how I am presented.” She was remarkable for her beauty and endearing personality. She caught the eye of celebrity photographer Richard Avedon, who photographed her in New York City. From Elizabeth Taylor she received a necklace that still sits on a stuffed teddy bear in her bedroom.
Details: Fawcett-Junker Funeral Home