Donor Described as ‘Lover of the Arts’ : Profile: Associates say William J. Gillespie has a sincere interest in O.C.’s cultural development.

While his spokesman was in Costa Mesa announcing a record-breaking $6.6-million pledge to Orange County arts organizations, William J. Gillespie was in a car headed for the desert, far from the Orange County limelight.

It’s the way he wanted it, and those who know him said they weren’t surprised. Gillespie is not exactly shy, said a friend, Laguna Beach travel agent Ron Gray, “just very, very private.”

Considering his wealth, he lives modestly in Laguna Beach--”very much so,” said his business manager, Richard A. Gadbois III.

“Bill drives a Ford Explorer. People who only see him around, people who know him only casually, will be shocked he has this kind of money. Bill’s a regular guy,” Gadbois said.

“His mother, her parents--it’s ingrained in their family: modesty and being low-key. They’re from humble beginnings, and Bill has never, ever forgotten that.”

The wealth began on an Irvine Ranch bean farm, where Gillespie’s grandfather, William Cheney, took some of his profits and invested them in an insurance company that a friend was forming.

The company became Farmers Insurance Group, and Cheney’s investment made him and his heirs among the huge company’s largest passive investors. Gillespie, an only child, now 52 and never married, manages the family fortune, as well as his own foundation and his personal fortune from real estate investments, Gadbois said.

He has his passions, Gadbois said: “There are very few places where he hasn’t traveled; I think that’s probably his main hobby.”

But only because his love of the performing arts transcends the hobby category. Virtually his only ventures into the public arena have been his long string of gifts to Orange County arts organizations, Gadbois said.

“You’re talking about a very private person who doesn’t like crowds, doesn’t like to be known as a big mover and shaker,” said Jay St. Clair, board chairman of the Pacific Chorale, the Irvine-based group that stands to receive $1 million of Gillespie’s most recent pledge.

“He’s not doing it for his own glory. He cares about Orange County and the arts, loves to watch good productions and wants to make sure they happen. He’s been aware of the critical [decline] of giving in Orange County for some years.”

“He is truly a lover of the arts, not just someone who is giving money because he has it to give,” said John Alexander, artistic director of the Pacific Chorale.

“My impression of him is he’s a sincere lover of the arts. He has definite likes and dislikes. He loves French music, Maurice Durufle. He loves “Carmina Burana” [an oratorio by Carl Orff recently performed by the Pacific Chorale]. He is a great fan of Brahms. He’s basically a romanticist.”

Dean Corey, executive director of the Orange County Philharmonic Society, said that Gillespie “attends lots of programs, and he’s very enthusiastic. He’s fun to talk to after a concert. If the performance is good, he really gets excited about it.”

“Someone who is like that, a very quiet person who does something about things, that’s what’s important,” said Gillespie’s friend Gray, who also sings with the Pacific Chorale. “He could be throwing money down a rat hole, doing crazy things, but he does these constructive things, and it’s wonderful.”

“There’s not a lot of mystery to this,” Gadbois said. “Occasionally in life you run into angels who sort of are there when you need them, and Bill’s one of those.”

Times staff writer Zan Dubin contributed to this story.