“It was a hard decision, but we knew it was the right thing to do,” said Juan-Carlos “Carly” Asse, Wall’s eldest son. “She was just the most important person in my life growing up. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without her, and I’m really going to miss her.”

His mother is remembered by her friends, relatives and peers as an outgoing, selfless and hilarious creative genius.

Miguel Asse, Wall’s third and youngest son, said he cherishes the laughter that filled his household growing up. Every night, the family of four would share dinner, no matter how busy work and school became. And every night, they had a hoot, trading stories or pranks.

“It was never a dull moment,” he said. “My mom still was, even to the end, an extremely funny person.”

Lauren “Warhol” Caldwell, an adjunct theater professor at the University of Florida and former coworker at the Hippodrome, said she is heartbroken by the loss but happy her dear friend is no longer in pain.

The day Wall died, Caldwell said she coincidentally installed a projector in her home displaying a pattern of blue clouds and stars on the ceiling. After receiving the news, she spent the night staring up at the swirling pattern, enjoying its representation of her friend’s life and movement to the heavens. She even saw Wall’s image reflected.

“There was sort of a magnet inside of Marilyn that drew people toward her,” Caldwell said. “Our relationship started out as director to costume designer, but it evolved into probably one of the richest friendships I’ve ever had in my life.”

Marcos Asse, Wall’s second son, is an associate head tennis coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He said his mom was the biggest trumpeter pushing him to do what he enjoyed, tennis, because she had followed her muse with theater.

“My mom was just a crazy hippie that needed an outlet for her creativity,” he said. “She was amazing … she just gave everything of herself, and I think that’s so rare.”

Gregory von Hausch, a co-founder of the Hippodrome, first met Wall when they were both theater majors at UF in the ’70s. She was his first friend at the university and very glamorous, he said, with teased hair and a penchant for guerilla performances that opposed the Vietnam War.

When they graduated and started the Hippodrome, he said, Wall helped make seats out of discarded wood and lights out of coffee cans, dumpster diving when needed. She devoted her life and talent to it, designing the early shows’ posters, driving children to and from lessons and acting in many comedic and dramatic roles.

Eventually, she switched to costuming, where she was truly outstanding, von Hausch said. Wall designed many things over the years from dresses to space panda suits to a wearable horse head.

“She could do anything. You could give her a piece of trash, and she’d make treasure out of it,” he said.
Carlos Asse, Wall’s ex husband, loved her for that persistent creativity. If she wanted a fabric but couldn’t find it, she’d make it herself, he said. And she always had a million projects going on between the theater and films and helping out the community.

One of their most successful endeavors was an educational show called “Salsa: Spanish for Children,” with Georgia Public Broadcasting. Wall designed puppets for the various characters over three years, winning two Emmy Awards for her work.

“She was amazing. Everybody loved her,” he said.

One of Wall’s last creations hangs in the apartment of Michelle Reeves, her caretaker and devoted friend since 2017.

The two women became as close as family almost immediately thanks to Wall’s wicked sense of humor and creative passion. Sometimes, she wouldn’t care if her earrings matched, laughing with Reeves that they were only 99 cents anyway, not real diamonds. Other times, they would drink chardonnay and reminisce about all the famous actors she met.

On Christmas 2019, Wall made an art project with blue paint, old wood and a dinner napkin. Reeves loved it so much after it dried, she asked to take it home.

“I cherish this piece of art work. It might not mean much to everybody, but it means a lot. It’s one of her last pieces,” the 43-year-old said. “She was my sunshine.”

Wall is survived by her sister, Marian Wall; her brother, Dave Wall; her 77-year-old ex husband, Carlos Asse; her 31-year-old son, Miguel Asse; her 44-year-old son, Carly Asse; her 42-year-old son, Marcos Asse; his wife, Nikki Asse and their two daughters — Wall’s granddaughters — Stella and Ana Asse.