Theodore William Wold

Theodore William Wold died peacefully in his sleep July 2, 2022, following a six-month illness. His sister, Barbara Wold Vogel, was by his side, holding his hand. He was 62 years old. Mr. Wold was born June 1, 1960, in Minneapolis, Minn., to Theodore R. Wold and Betty Fowler Wold. While growing up, he and his family relocated to Pennsylvania and California. After his parents divorced, he and his mother moved to Dallas, where they had family members. Nomatter where he lived, Mr. Wold embraced his Norwegian and Minnesota roots and loved the Minnesota Twins, the Vikings and krumkake, (Norwegian cookies). As a child, Mr. Wold loved being the center of attention, and as a toddler learned to roll his eyes for laughs. He was an excellent student and was moved ahead a grade in Wernersville, Penn. But, it was Mr. Wold’s freshman year at Palos Verdes High School in California when he found his people -- the theater kids. His move to Dallas meant finishing high school at Richardson High School, where he took drama and played several roles in the school’s 1976 UIL production of Comedy of Errors, which won state in the Texas 4-A One-Act category. Another of Mr. Wold’s first roles was playing a dental patient having a tooth pulled in Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor. Needless to say, Mr. Wold brought down the house, and a star was born. After graduation, Mr. Wold attended the University of Texas in Austin, where he graduated in 1981 majoring in American history from 1960, because as he would tell people, “Nothing interesting happened before I was born.” He went on to the Duke University School of Law in Durham, N.C., where he graduated with a law degree in 1984. and went on to work as an attorney at Baker Botts in Houston. Mr. Wold fell asleep in court one day and woke up to the realization that maybe practicing law wasn’t really for him. He quickly transitioned to executive search work specializing in law. As an independent consultant, he moved back to Dallas and had the flexibility to return to his first love – theater. He played multiple roles in Dallas-area theaters and was named 2002 Best Actor by the Dallas/Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum for his heart-breaking performance as Brother Boy in Sordid Lives. He also received a Dallas Theater League Leon Rabin Award in 2003 as Best Actor for The Last Night of Ballyhoo followed by another Rabin in 2006 as Best Supporting Actor for his baseball-loving accountant in Take Me Out. During this time, Mr. Wold also began studying the Meisner technique of acting and eventually taught workshops at WaterTower Theatre. As an actor, Mr. Wold could be hilariously funny as well as break audiences’ hearts with the honesty and sincerity he brought to his more serious roles. In 2014, Mr. Wold moved to Point Pleasant, N.J. and joined the New York City artistic community by taking classes at Matthew Corzine Studio, where he starred in and directed many studio productions. He also started his first class, Repetition With Ted. Mr. Wold discovered a second love – he was born to coach. He created a supportive community of students and classes and opened the Ted Wold Studio in midtown Manhattan and became an in-demand teacher and acting coach. He loved his work and his students and championed every single one of them. In 2020, Mr. Wold made his Off-Broadway directing debut with a production called Abnormal. As an actor, his most recent role was Mr. Harding in the NYC workshop production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He also had a lead role in the feature film, Retreat!, written by, produced and starring his students and currently in post-production. Mr. Wold will be remembered for his kindness, his sense of humor, his enthusiasm for truth and authenticity, his love for dogs, and his obsession with The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise. He leaves behind an impressive body of work as an artist and a legacy in his students as they continue the work he inspired in them. He also leaves eternal gratitude for his many Friends of Bill. Mr. Wold’s ashes will be interred in the Holy Trinity Memorial Garden in Manasquan, N.J., along with his mother and his brother-in-law who preceded him in death. He is also preceded in death by his beloved dogs, Duncan and Buddy. Mr. Wold is survived by his sister, Barbara Wold Vogel of Point Pleasant, N.J.; niece, Leigh DeMarco; nephew, Chris Vogel; great niece and nephews, Lacy, Nels, Evan and Max; aunts and many cousins as well as the Dallas/Fort Worth and New York City theater communities and many, many friends. Mr. Wold’s friends and family have created a scholarship in his memory for an aspiring theater arts student at his alma mater, Richardson High School in Dallas. Memorials can be made at rhscollective.org/tedwold.