![\"WylieAitken\"](\"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/WylieAitken-222x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIn September Wylie was interviewed by OC Register Magazine about his passion for the Arts. This article covers Wylie’s love and faith for the Arts and even his favorite restaurants.<\/p>\n
Wylie Aitken<\/strong><\/p>\n By Steve Bramucci<\/p>\n Wylie Aitken\u2019s infectious personality and love for the arts precedes him. He currently serves as the chair of the California Arts Council and exhibits a true passion for the cause. Entering his term with California ranked lowest in arts funding among all 50 states, the celebrated lawyer and philanthropist has made it his mission to press lawmakers for a bigger piece of the pie, with the governor adding $5 million in funding to the California Arts Council in June.<\/p>\n Balancing work and service to the arts (he and his wife Bette generously support and serve on boards and as trustees for many of OC\u2019s top cultural and educational institutions), Aitken still found time to speak with us this month about his favorite restaurants, his love for theater, and the day he\u2019ll know it\u2019s time to retire.<\/p>\n My Orange County Connections<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> Began in high school. A young Midwest kid with Tom Sawyer\/Huck Finn years in Kansas, I still marvel at the beauty of the OC and its land of opportunity.<\/p>\n My favorite local restaurant<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> any restaurant which matches good food with a friendly, homey atmosphere. Bluewater Grill, Antonello\u2019s and Zov\u2019s come to mind.<\/p>\n Over the course of my career, one thing I\u2019ve learned is<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> Remember where you came from, your humble roots and don\u2019t buy into your own publicity even when it\u2019s in OCR Magazine<\/p>\n My perfect lazy Sunday<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> what\u2019s lazy? But when it happens it\u2019s my wife Bette and I with no agenda, such as the time we decided to see a movie and came out of the theatre three movies later.<\/p>\n If I had an extra hour in the day, I\u2019d spend it<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> in our quiet room with soft music and an interesting book. Even an uninteresting book isn\u2019t bad.<\/p>\n Nothing makes me laugh as hard as<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> our grandchildren. \u201cKids say the darndest things\u201d \u2013 does anyone remember Art Linkletter?<\/p>\n My proudest moment<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> Was when Bette and I celebrated our 50th<\/sup> anniversary and we were surrounded by our three great children, their spouses and eleven grandkids.<\/p>\n My goals as the chair of the California Arts Council<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> To begin to correct the worst public policy decision made in my lifetime: taking Art out of the California schools, and gain funds for the Arts, an easy thing to do when you start out in last place among the 50 states.<\/p>\n I believe in art because<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> It\u2019s transformational \u2013 whether it is fine art or the performing arts. It\u2019s an enriching shared experience. It opens the eyes of the young and reminds the mature of their \u201chumanness\u201d.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always wanted to<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> Be an actor. I love doing plays, when public schools did plays, although it\u2019s a tough way to feed a family. But being the first in my family to go to college, I chose law. My friends think as a trail lawyer I am<\/em> an actor playing to small audiences of twelve.<\/p>\n I admire<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> Those who devote themselves to public service, those willing to take risks to help others. Those who have forgotten the word \u201cI\u201d.<\/p>\n My favorite Orange County secret<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> The Chance Theater in Anaheim. A proud band of actors and directors who, on a shoestring budget, have brought a spark to the OC, in the great tradition and history of South Coast Repertory.<\/p>\n The key to my success is<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> Being myself and willingness to take chances, to not be afraid to fail and hopefully to have made a difference.<\/p>\n My next big project dream<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> To write the next great American novel and when it\u2019s chosen to be a major motion picture to insist I get a good character role.<\/p>\n One question I wish you\u2019d asked<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> When do you plan to retire or slow down?<\/p>\n When do you plan to retire or slow down?<\/strong><\/span>\/\/\/<\/span> On the day that I get up in the morning, walk to my car, and feel badly about going to work. I\u2019ve never worked \u2013 I just go to the office to have a great time. I love my profession and when the love fades so will I.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In September Wylie was interviewed by OC Register Magazine about his passion for the Arts. This article covers Wylie’s love and faith for the Arts and even his favorite restaurants. Wylie Aitken By Steve Bramucci Wylie Aitken\u2019s infectious personality and love for the arts precedes him. He currently serves as the chair of the California… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,12,15,24],"tags":[69,95,96,298,474,555,846],"class_list":["post-3896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-blog","category-community","category-news","tag-aitken","tag-article","tag-arts","tag-culture","tag-magazine","tag-oc-register","tag-wylie"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aitkenlaw.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}