Born September 21, 1929, William “Bill” Moodie died on December 29, 2023, at the age of 94. Moodie, while known for his loud shirts, was a great salesman who built longtime relationships with his clients and customers. He loved to share his knowledge and mentor the next generations of lighting professionals through his work with USITT and Educational Theater Association. There will be a Celebration of Life for Bill Moodie that will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 3:00pm at Ancillary Studios @ South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Hawaiian, kilts, or Scottish attire is encouraged! Here is a bio and remembrance from his family.
Bill Moodie spent his 50+ year career doing what he loved. A salesman in the lighting industry, Bill not only grew into a talented and well respected professional, but he was also a well-loved friend to many.
Bill was born and raised in Tonawanda, NY. He went on to join the U.S. Army, serving in Guam, then moved to California because, “You don’t have to shovel sunshine!” The middle child of 10 children, Bill traveled to Hollywood with his sister to become an actor. He jumped right into living the stereotypical life of a “starving artist,” literally! While living in Hollywood at the famous Magic Castle, he once jumped out of the window because he did not have enough money to pay the rent!
Bill studied drama at Santa Ana College but was soon encouraged to use his G.I. Bill to transfer to the University of Arizona, where he pursued a degree in Theater. While at U of A, he fell in love with a fellow drama student and his future wife, Patricia (Pat).
One day, during school, Century Lighting came to demonstrate a new system, and that is what did it for Bill. He immediately became enamored with lighting. After meeting the owner, Edward Kook, along with industry icons Henry Klopot and Louis Erhardt, Bill was convinced that Los Angeles was his destiny. Once he and Pat got back to California in 1956, Bill turned down a chance to start in the mail room at Paramount to land his first lighting sales job with Century Lighting for a whopping $65 per week!
Being hired as a salesperson with no experience, Bill was motivated to learn as much as he could. Henry Klopot would show Bill the ropes and teach him using some out of the box techniques. As such, he would have Bill try and sell spotlights at various stores in Beverly Hills. Although a bit dazed and confused, Bill would march into those stores with his spotlights. He did it and actually learned a lot to his surprise.
Louis Erhardt became Bill’s mentor and inspiration. An expert in the industry, Erhardt earned a lot of respect from Bill and was always more than happy to teach Bill the business and guide his career. Throwing Bill into the fire was Erhardt’s style. He would have Bill design a lighting fixture on his own. He also had him visit jobsites, where frustrated builders would yell at him. In Bill’s eyes, all of these “assignments” educated him and drove his success.
On August 31, 1957, Bill and Pat were married in Los Angeles and settled in Inglewood, where Pat took a position as the Drama Teacher for Inglewood High School.
Bill’s early days as a salesman were difficult. He would reminisce about the cold calls and “mean secretaries.” He learned early on that doing layouts for electrical engineers was a great way to develop relationships. And developing relationships through hard work and honesty was what would help him grow.
The Danish lighting pioneer Otto Olesen, a competitor of Bill’s, was someone he greatly admired because Olesen, an 84-year-old man, would come into the office every day in a suit and tie and nurture his client relationships through honesty and trust. This resonated with Bill. “It’s how you treat people that matters.”
In 1959 Bill and Pat purchased a home in the San Fernando Valley, where they settled down and completed their family with two daughters – Wendy (born in 1963) and Jennifer (born in 1971).
During Bill’s career, he designed hundreds of stage lighting systems for schools, churches and theaters. As a huge supporter of theater education programs, he was on the board of the Educational Theater Association and USITT.
Bill was always captivated by his father’s family’s Scottish heritage and, in 1979, he decided that he wanted to learn to play the bagpipes. Bill became a piper of the 78’th Frasier Highland Regiment, an actual Canadian Military Regiment garrisoned in Quebec, where he played the pipes at festivals and ceremonies.
In 1987 Bill’s time with Century (turned Strand) Lighting was coming to an end. Things were changing and beginning to shut down. Enter Tom Pincu… Tom approached Bill with an offer to partner, and Bill thought, why not? “There was no place to go but up!” From there, Bill and Tom started Moodie/Pincu Associates, entered a partnership as the Rep for ETC. and the rest is history! MPA today is the leading theatrical lighting and control design firm in Southern California.
After Patricia Moodie’s passing in 1994, Bill’s sister-in-law, Rose Moodie, arranged for him to meet a woman she worked with at the antique store St Ives. They had their first date on the Queen Mary – a date that would change the course of Bill’s life. In 1999 Bill married the love of his life, Shirley.
Bill “retired” in 2006 yet still continued to work. Why? Because he loved what he did. He loved people, and he loved impacting lives. And those people couldn’t let Bill go. They would tell him he couldn’t quit because he had too much in his head. He knew too much about the business. His peers would say don’t quit, we need you, so he couldn’t quit. He had become a legend in the industry.
In his so-called retirement, Bill also became a docent at the OC Performing Arts Center, where he would give tours of the theater and the concert hall. It was the best thing he had ever done. He loved interacting with the guests and the children. During the tours he would point out equipment that he actually sold to the venue. He would also throw in lighting and tech lessons. Everyone loved it! The staff would tell everyone, “Mr. Moodie’s our lighting expert!”
Some parting words of wisdom from Bill…
Bill always referred to himself as a “one-man dog.” His biggest advice to those in the sales industry was not to be like him. Don’t strive to be a one-man dog. Always have your options open. Always be looking for new opportunities to grow. OR just go into politics. “Secure your future – go into politics and do theater on the side!”
But seriously, per Bill, “Always treat people like you are going to be selling to them 20 years from now. If you let them down, they won’t forget it.” In other words, don’t be a one hit wonder. Your clients are your friends, and you must continuously nurture those friendships by supporting them and always having their back.
For Bill, the best part of his career was the relationships. He prided himself on his ability to develop and nourish long term business relationships that turned into genuine friendships. Unlike others in the industry, his success was never driven by getting the most money from people he could. He took a page from his competitor Olesen and built his business through honesty and trust. People would say, “That’s the trouble with Moodie, he doesn’t go for the jugular.” But to Bill, that was the biggest compliment.
Bill loved every minute of his long and successful career. He thoroughly appreciated the lighting business. He loved the product and the people. He had no regrets – he enjoyed the entire ride!
