1985 Minnesotan of the Year

Don Stolz

Arts and Theater Director

Don Stolz brought summer stock theater to the shores of Lake Minnetonka at the "Old Log Theater."   The theater was founded in 1940, and Stolz arrived the following year as an actor and director.  In 1960, Stolz was the driving force behind construction of a new facility that includes a dining room for pre-performance meals as well as the 655-seat theater.    The Old Log Theater is the oldest professional theater in the upper-Midwest and the longest continuously running stock theater in the entire country. The theater continues to bring a schedule of quality comedic plays and productions to the Twin Cities each year. 

Mr. Stolz began his career in radio broadcasting  He is probably well-known to Twin Cities baby boomers - he was the unseen (except for his paw) dog Towser in the locally produced 1950's kids' show "Axel and His Dog."  He also brought Tallulah the Cat to life on the show.

In 2006, Don was inducted into the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting's Hall of Fame.

Old Log Theater on MySpace.com