The Wittliff Collections<\/a> at Texas State University in 1986 to create a special collections research archive, library, and exhibition gallery focused entirely on the creative spirit of Texas and the Southwest. Because of their continued support, today The Wittliff includes more than five hundred special collections in literature, photography, music, and film, and attracts visitors, researchers, and lifelong learners from around the globe. It stands as a tribute to Bill\u2019s legacy.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Bill was a gifted writer, filmmaker, photographer, artist, and visionary. He was an inspiration to all who knew him, but particularly to our students. During special programs at The Wittliff attended by hundreds of people of all ages, Bill could usually be found in the corner of the room surrounded by students as he patiently answered questions about the creative process.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Because of Bill and Sally\u2019s generosity and vision, people from across the U.S. and around the world have come to know Texas State through the remarkable collections of The Wittliff.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Wittliff was born in Taft in 1940. He attended Blanco High School and graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in journalism. Right out of UT, Wittliff worked as a business and production manager for Southern Methodist University Press in Dallas. In the meantime, he and his wife founded Encino Press, which they moved to Austin. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Wittliff\u2019s film credits include screenplays for the films Raggedy Man<\/em> (1981, starring Sissy Spacek), Barbarosa<\/em> (1982, starring Willie Nelson), Legends of the Fall<\/em> (1994, starring Anthony Quinn, Aidan Quinn, and Brad Pitt), as well as the 2000 blockbuster The Perfect Storm<\/em>, starring George Clooney. He also wrote and directed the 1986 film Red Headed Stranger<\/em>, which starred Nelson and Morgan Fairchild. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Last year Wittliff completed his \u201cPopa Tales\u201d trilogy about a boy\u2019s adventures in the Texas Hill Country. Critics have compared these dialect novels, published by the University of Texas Press, to those of Mark Twain, Larry McMurtry, and J. Frank Dobie. Wittliff was also an accomplished photographer, having published a coffee table book, VAQUERO: Genesis of the Texas Cowboy<\/em>, about Mexican cowboys.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Remembrances have poured in. \u201cI\u2019m still in shock,\u201d screenwriter Bill Broyles Jr. told the Austin American-Statesman<\/em>. \u201cBill was my mentor and friend and inspiration for almost fifty years. The Wittliff Collections truly embrace and define Texas culture. He was the hub. We are all the spokes.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s impossible to overstate the influence Bill had on writers, photographers and filmmakers, all throughout Austin, Texas, and United States,\u201d said his friend, author and journalist Stephen Harrigan, also to the Statesman<\/em>. \u201cHe made it possible for people with raging ambition to plant a flag in Austin and Texas and make this their hometown. He defied the dictum that you had to move to Hollywood to be successful. He is completely irreplaceable.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\u201cBill was an artist, a mystic, a tale-spinner, and a mentor to the Austin arts community,\u201d said author, playwright, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright. \u201cI also think of Bill as the great appreciator. He bought J. Frank Dobie\u2019s estate so our greatest folklorist\u2019s legacy could be preserved. And then, to house it, he built the Wittliff Collections at Texas State. Some years ago, Bill came to me in a dream. If you knew Bill, you\u2019d know that was normal behavior. In the dream, he told me, \u2018Austin is Florence.\u2019 If there\u2019s any truth in that prophecy, it\u2019s in part because of Bill\u2019s work and his joyful spirit.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The Wittliffs have two children, Reed Wittliff and Allison Andrews, along with four grandchildren. Sally Wittliff said a memorial will be timed to the return of his son to this country. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A rememberance of Bill Wittliff, celebrated Texas writer, filmmaker, and photographer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[813,1000,830,812],"class_list":["post-1645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lone-star-literary-life","tag-lonestarremembers","tag-lonestarliterarycom","tag-texas-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1645\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lonestar.a1professionals.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}