William Scott Craig

6/24/1934 - 4/18/2024

After a brief illness, longtime Leland resident and celebrated documentary filmmaker, Scott Craig passed away peacefully, with his beloved wife and daughters by his side. Scott was born in Bexley, OH and grew up in Wooster, OH, where his father was a professor of theater and speech at the College of Wooster.

During his youth, Scott excelled at sports, but his passion was scouting, where he rose through the ranks to Eagle Scout. He spent many weekends camping with friends and his younger brother, Rob at Pee Wee Hollow, a camp in the woods, where he learned to love and respect nature. To earn extra money in high school, he started performing a pantomime act, lip-syncing to popular records. After graduating, he drove crosscountry to fight forest fires in Alaska, where his act became part of the floorshow at Fairbanks nightclubs.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Scott attended The College of Wooster, majoring in theater. There, he met his first wife Susann, and together they moved to Champaign-Urbana where he earned his Masters and PhD in theater at the University of Illinois.

Scott began his broadcast career in 1957 as a radio disc jockey before becoming the host of a children’s television show and the local weatherman at Champaign’s CBS TV affiliate. In 1963, Scott moved to Chicago and began producing and directing documentary films for NBC and CBS-owned television stations, forming his own production company in 1975. Scott Craig Productions created programs for PBS, Turner and HGTV. Throughout his illustrious career, Scott made hundreds of documentaries for local and national broadcasts. His work earned him more than 100 awards, including the Peabody Award, a National Emmy and thirty-two regional Emmys, more than anyone in the history of Chicago television. His programs were honored by the Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Atlanta Film Festivals, as well as the Film Festival of Italy. Tackling hard-hitting topics like world population growth, ecology, education, politics and social justice, Scott was not just a gifted storyteller, but his groundbreaking films were the catalyst for change and had lasting impact. His exposé on hospitals in “Let’s Hear It for the Patients” established the concept of patients’ rights before anyone was talking about it. He even turned the lens on his own profession. With “Watching the Watchdog” a scathing indictment of reckless investigative journalism, the phrase “ambush interview” was born.

About the time his television career was taking off, Scott and Susann discovered Leland, Michigan. Soon they were spending summers and holidays there with their daughters, Jennifer and Amy. Following their divorce, Scott bought “Roundtop,” a historic and beautiful home atop a hill overlooking Lake Michigan. His Scottish heritage and family history were sources of great pride, and Scott loved creating new traditions for his daughters. From annual ski trips to Snowmass to Manitou Island camping trips, Scott made lasting memories for his girls. But Sundays were especially sacred, starting with “The Sunday Morning Picnics” on his Gill’s Pier beach property, where family and friends would gather each week in the summer for a mouth-watering and sandy breakfast cooked over an open fire. In Chicago, he hosted his famous “Sunday Night Dinners,” welcoming his children and their friends with open arms and honing his skills as a gourmet chef.

While working on a television program for HGTV in 1999 Scott met the love of his life, Carol Bawden in her Suttons Bay art gallery, The Painted Bird. They married in 2002, and built a beautiful life together in Leland, traveling, playing countless rounds of golf at the Leland Country Club, and holding court up on his majestic hill where he regaled guests with wonderful stories and occasionally inappropriate jokes, no one laughing harder than he. Like the beautiful meals he prepared, Scott’s tales were often perfectly seasoned with a little extra magic - what many affectionately called “The Craig Factor.”

In his retirement years Scott returned to the air waves, hosting a local show on Interlochen Public radio called “The Story Next Door.” He compiled those vignettes about Northern Michigan folks into his first published book, and eventually wrote and directed and performed in a theatrical adaptation at The Old Art Building in Leland. His next book “Laughing in Leelanau,” a collection of some of the county’s funniest local lore, was illustrated by his grandson Henry Coleman. It also became a delightful stage show that Scott performed in, reviving a bit from his pantomime days with his wife. Scott’s humor was contagious, and he was a mischievous prankster. Just weeks before his passing, Scott was playing April Fool’s Day jokes on his grandchildren.

Scott was a role model to many. From the young guests he offered his advice at Sunday dinners, to the young cinematographers he guided while working on “On the Waterways” to the students he mentored and supported at Leland Public Schools, and the young actors he directed in Leelanau theater productions, he gave gentle guidance and love.

He fully embraced his community when he settled in Leelanau County. He was an active Rotarian, creating the Owen Bahle Award for Public Service honoring outstanding local heroes. He wrote the script and emceed the fund-raising event every year. At his church he was a beloved liturgist, and a captivating narrator in the annual Christmas pageant. For many years Scott shared his stories at Leland’s Summinar Series, delving into his archive of powerful works. He met weekly with close friends for coffee at Trish’s, and participated in a men’s discussion group that took on serious issues and topics with a thoughtful and engaging group of wise old men that he loved.

In his final year, he started writing his third book. He made his seasonal strawberry jam with his grandchildren, hosted lots of dinner parties with Carol, hit the links as the designated putter in Leland golf tournaments, and he watched sunrises and sunsets from his perch on the hill.

He was preceded in death by his parents Bill and Evelyn Craig, his brother Rob Craig and his son-in-law, John Knight. He is survived by his wife Carol Bawden, daughters Jennifer (John) Knight, and Amy (Neil) Coleman, grandchildren, Sam and Alden Knight, and Henry and Sadie Coleman.

There will be a celebration of Scott’s life on his 90th birthday, Monday June 24th at 4:00 at The Old Art Building in Leland, a place where he “helped create a lot of theater magic”.

Donations can be made in Scott’s memory to The Old Art Building, oldartbuilding. com and The Lake Leelanau Lake Association, lakeleelanau.org.