New York — At the Monte Cristo Award gala at Gotham Hall on Monday, actor Michael Douglas recalled riding up to the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford on his motorcycle in 1966.

Douglas, a self-described hippie at the time, was enjoying student life at the University of California at Santa Barbara but needed a summer job. He broached the subject with his stepfather, Bill Darrid, who was one of the first board members at the O’Neill. Darrid told Douglas how this guy, George C. White, was starting a playwrights’ conference in his hometown of Waterford.

White, Douglas recalled, “was looking for a couple of extra hands, and as this aspiring theater major, I said, ‘Sure, these jazz hands are ready.’”

“So that summer, I pulled up on my motorcycle to this rundown but picturesque seaside farm, and there’s George, looking every inch the Yalie," Douglas said. "I mean, he’s got the khaki pants, he’s got the moccasins, he’s got the blue blazer.”

But it quickly became apparent to Douglas that there was much more to White than that New England veneer.

“He was warm. He was quick with a joke, especially bad ones. And he was enthusiastic. He was enthusiastic about everything. I mean, EVERYTHING — art, theater, what he had for breakfast that day. Most of all, he was enthusiastic about taking this jumble of old buildings and turning them into something very special,” Douglas said.

Douglas spent three summers at the O’Neill and has been on the O’Neill’s board of trustees for four decades (“though I haven’t always been what we call an active board member,” he said).

He was scheduled to present the O’Neill’s Monte Cristo Award to White at Monday’s event, but White, 86, wasn’t able to attend. He was hospitalized, recovering from an illness.

In honor of George and wife Betsy White, Douglas announced at the gala that he was donating $1 million to the O’Neill.

“I think it’s vitally important, having seen it now for these many decades, that the vision George laid out for me when I first arrived on my motorcycle in 1966 lasts far into the future,” he said.

Douglas also said that he hopes his gesture will inspire others to make their own matching gifts.

He noted that, with the O'Neill, White created a safe environment for artists to play, take risks, grow, push the boundaries of acceptability, and challenge the world around them. The O’Neill has become renowned for its development of new work and has inspired similar programs all over.

A voice message from White was played, and the evening’s festivities were recorded for him to watch. He spoke about being so proud of Douglas, noting the future superstar did a bit of acting with the O’Neill during his three summers there. White thanked everyone who attended the event and said, “I could not be more bummed out to be here in the hospital. Who would have thought?”

The O’Neill bestows its Monte Cristo Award each year on someone whose career exemplifies playwright Eugene O’Neill’s “pioneering spirit, unceasing artistic commitment, and excellence,” and furthers the American theater. Previous winners include Meryl Streep, Lin-Manuel Miranda and James Earl Jones.

White spent 37 years as president of the O’Neill and chairman of its board of trustees, and has done much beyond that, including spearheading theater-based cultural exchange efforts in countries including Russia, Australia and the People’s Republic of China.

Monday’s gala featured speeches by present and former leaders of various elements of the O’Neill, with performances representing everything from the National Playwrights Conference (a reading of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson”) to the National Music Theater Conference (a song from “Superhero,” performed by Tom Kitt, who wrote the musical with John Logan).

Two of White's children, Juliette and Boomie, spoke as well, while their sibling Caleb was with their parents in Connecticut.

‘Endless debt of gratitude’

Tiffani Gavin, who is the O’Neill’s current executive director, said of White in an interview on the red carpet before the gala, “Every time I have asked him a question, he has said, ‘Yes.” Every idea I’ve had, he says, ‘Yes, try it.’ He comes to me with ideas, and I think, ‘This is a man who built a legacy from almost 60 years ago and still is constantly coming up with great ideas.’”

She has sat in his study, where they’ve chatted about the O’Neill’s history, White’s history, and where the theater goes next.

“I can’t tell you how honored I am to be able to share this award and honor George at this Monte Cristo Award (ceremony),” she said.

Preston Whiteway, Gavin’s predecessor who was with the O’Neill for 16 years, said, “George is like a surrogate father to me and so many in the American theater. In fact, he’s a surrogate father to the American theater itself, the way he has created the O’Neill that has birthed so many new artists and works. We all have an endless debt of gratitude to him.”

‘A special time’ for Douglas

Douglas recalled how, when he first came to the O'Neill, the Whites opened their home to him and welcomed him into their family.

At a time when the O’Neill Theater Center was just getting off the ground, Douglas worked in construction, helping to build the amphitheater, and doing whatever odd jobs were needed.

It was a rush to get everything done in time for the first show.

“I remember as we were putting finishing touches on the amphitheater. We were terrified that the asphalt we just laid wouldn’t cool in time and that the chairs would sink into the ground,” Douglas said.

When White, who is a sailor, put a 40-foot schooner pole up as a stand for a follow spotlight, Douglas volunteered to climb up and operate that spot.

“Some of my best memories are sitting up there at night during the shows, looking out across the Sound, hearing the faint music of the amusement park in the distance — sometimes not so faint. The fog would come rolling in. And it was a special time,” Douglas said.

He said that, during his time at the O’Neill, he began to develop an understanding of the critical importance of playwrights, their process, story structure, and the collaborative effort needed to “make the magic of theater happen. These are things I’ve carried with me for my entire career.”

He noted that White kept going and expanding the O’Neill to other areas of the theater world beyond plays. Douglas quipped that, when White wanted to start a critics’ conference, “Everybody said, ‘No way, you can’t teach the critics anything.’” And, yes, the O’Neill did develop a still-existing critics conference.

Douglas said he is so grateful for how much he learned, the joy he experienced and the interactions he had with so many individuals at the O’Neill. There was a wonderful feeling of coming together, he said.

“It pleases me to no end to hear how this experience is still replicated every day for so many others,” he said. He loves that young artists can “experience the magic of this place like I did.”

k.dorsey@theday.com