Thank you, Mike, for sharing this news, tragic though it is. Bruce was one of the shining lights of the 1978 class. As I remember it, that was the last class that got to vote on who would play whom in the plays we were performing, and Bruce impressed us all so much in our first days at Winedale that we entrusted him with the roles of both Nick Bottom and Mercutio. And he ran with those parts, investing them with so much energy and brio and wit that, like the characters in the plays, you wanted to follow him everywhere. Like David said about Benedick and Bruce, I can't hear the Queen Mab speech or Pyramus' rage over Thisbe's death without hearing Bruce's voice. It did indeed do any man's heart good to hear him roar.
Robert On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 9:06 AM Michael Godwin via Winedale-l < [email protected]> wrote: > Here's the bio entry on Bruce at the American Academy of Diplomacy. > > https://www.academyofdiplomacy.org/members-1/wharton/david-bruce > > Mike > > > > On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 8:15 AM Michael Godwin <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Here's a link directly to the report from Nehanda Radio. >> >> >> https://nehandaradio.com/2026/04/16/former-us-ambassador-to-zimbabwe-bruce-wharton-dies-after-decades-of-diplomatic-service/ >> >> Mike >> >> >> On Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 8:03 AM Maria Black <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> No! He was among the very best of men! >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Apr 17, 2026, at 7:08 AM, 'TERRY GALLOWAY' via Shakespeare at >>> Winedale Email List <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> He was a lovely, kind sweetheart of a man. And David, thank you for >>> that photo you took of Bruce and me rehearsing the play shall not be named. >>> I always loved the way he was handsome. >>> Terry >>> Sent from my iPad >>> >>> On Apr 17, 2026, at 2:37 AM, David Sharpe <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> >>> I'll never be able to think of the role of Benedick in 'Much Ado About >>> Nothing' without thinking of Bruce Wharton and hearing his voice. He did an >>> exemplary and sterling job of embodying the role. >>> >>> David Sharpe. >>> >>> On Thu, Apr 16, 2026 at 11:02 PM Michael Godwin <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> >>>> According to reports I'm getting from Zimbabwean friends, former U.S. >>>> Ambassador David Bruce Wharton has died. I don't have much more news than >>>> that. I expect there will be obituaries in the national press tomorrow. >>>> >>>> For those who may not know him, Bruce Wharton (we knew him as >>>> Zimbabweans knew him, as "Bruce") attended Shakespeare-at-Winedale in 1978 >>>> and 1979. >>>> >>>> Even those of us who do know him may not know that he was beloved by >>>> Zimbabweans. >>>> >>> >
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