Copyright © 1998-2023 Dawn E. Monroe. All rights
reserved
|
ISBN: 0-9736246-0-4 |
Jean Adair |
Born
Violet McNaughton June 13, 1873, Hamilton, Ontario.
Died May 11, 1953, New York, New York, U.S.A. Jean studied
acting in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Most of her life she was
a stage actor traveling with local stock companies and also
appearing on the vaudeville in one-act plays. In 1922
she had a starring role in the comedy hit, It's a Boy.
She was seldom out of work after this performance. Later in
life she appeared in numerous films in the 1940’s
working with such greats as Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor.
Perhaps she is best remembered as one of the sweet, but
murderous, aunts in
the film
Arsenic and Old Lace
in 1944.
It was a role that she had originated on Broadway. In the
early 1950's she would appear in some minor television
roles.
(2018) |
Marguerite
Martha Allan |
Born 1895 Montreal,
Quebec. Died March 31, 1942, Victoria, British Columbia. She organized the Montreal
amateur dramatic group which would come to be known as the
Montreal Repertory Theatre and would become one of the most
successful amateur dramatic groups in Canada. In 1935 she
received the Canadian Drama Award for outstanding service in
the development of the Canadian theatre. At the annual
Dominion Drama Festival the Martha Allan Trophy is awarded
in her memory for the best visual performance. She also
wrote three plays: What fools we mortals be; All of a
summer's day; and Summer solstice.
(2021) |
Ricca Allen
4041 |
Born June 9, 1863, Victoria, British
Columbia. Died September 13, 1949, Los Angeles, California,
U.S.A. For almost a decade Ricca performed as a dancer in
the Nance O'Neil company which performed in the 1880's and
1890's throughout the U.S.A. She moved on to perform on
Broadway in the early 1900's and her last Broadway show was
called Blind Alleys in 1924. It was in the 1920's that she
headed up her own company of performers. Between 1913 and
1941 she appeared in more than 50 movies. |
Mae Ames |
Born February 1920, Manchester, England. Died May 13, 2012,
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Mae was a shy child but
family soon coaxed her to sing and dance and she even began
to appear in local productions. A student in fashion design
at the beginning of World War ll she worked in an aircraft
factory and then became a Red Cross Nurse eventually meeting
and marring a young Canadian forces man, Frank Ames (died
1979). In 1946
she and her infant daughter were aboard the Queen Mary on
their way to Canada with other war brides and 750 babies!!!
The family moved to Prince Edward Island in 1961 and Mae
became involved actively in the Charlottetown Little
Theatre. When Frank was next posted to Halifax Mae retained
her interest in Theatre in Halifax and also taught at the
Ladies College. In 1979 with the death of her husband, Mae
moved back to PEI to be close to her daughter and reunited
with the Theatre. She eventually active with a seniors
theatric group, The Venerables, touring group traveling
across Canada to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, farther
west to Victoria and even to New York City. She also
appeared on the TV Series: Emilie of New Moon.
She was well known not only as an actress but as a story
teller and drama teacher. On Remembrance Day she recounted
stories of England during the Blitz. Having served as a
military nurse, she saw first hand the heavy too plaid by
those who served in the cause of freedom.
Source: Making History: a Celebration of Prince Edward
Island Women of the 20th Century. Compiled by the Zonta Club
of Charlottetown, 2000.; Obituary (accessed 2021)
|
Mary Margaret Anglin |
Born April 3, 1876, Ottawa, Ontario. Died January 7, 1958,
Toronto, Ontario. Margaret was actually born in the Houses
of Parliament Speaker’s Chambers. Her father Timothy
Warren Anglin (1822-1986) was, at that time, Speaker of the
Canadian House of Commons. A strong willed individual she
headed for a career in acting in New York City in the 1890’s
much against the wishes of her family. In 1894 she graduated
from the Empire School of Dramatic Acting. By 1896 she was
touring on stage in the U.S.A. and Canada. By 1905 she had
earned wide recognition for her dramatic skills and was
invited to work with the renowned Sarah Bernhardt. In 1911
she married a colleague Howard Hill who had little reputable
acting talent. By 1913 she was appearing in Shakespearian
performances of her own acting group. When her husband did
not receive roles she was absent from the stage for many
years. She did return to the stage however with her last
Broadway appearance was in 1936. The Encyclopedia Britannica
called her one of the most brilliant actresses of her era.
Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia Online Accessed 2000. :
Encyclopedia Britannica online. (accessed 2000). Suggested
reading Margaret Anglin: A stage life by John Levay 1989.
(2021) |
Julia Arthur |
née
Ida Lewis. Born May 3,1869, Hamilton, Ontario. Died March
28,1950, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Julia chose her
stage name for her acting career from her mother's family
name. As a youth of 11 she played in some amateur
theatricals in her home. She had her stage debut at the age
of 14 in the United States performing in Shakespearian plays
with the Bandmann traveling theatre. After three seasons she
was off to Berlin to study the violin but soon changed to
voice and theatre. In 1895 she went to act in London,
England. having secured an engagement at the Lyceum Theatre.
Back in North America after her European tour she accepted a
position with a company in California, U.S.A. and
eventually headed to New York City, U.S.A. and toured the
eastern coast. In 1889 and 1890 she was back to stages in
Canada. After more time in the United States she was back
with success appearances in London England and while
with the Lyceum Company she earned an international status.
In the summer of 1897 she returned to the U.S. as the star
of her own company financed by her brother and the wealthy
Bostonian Benjamin Cheney. She married Benjamin
Pearce Cheney on February 23, 1898 and took a few years
reprieve from the stage. In 1914 she returned to the stage
doing a benefit performance at the Boston Theater for the
European Actor's Relief Fund. In 1924 she had a very
successful tour of her beloved Canada. As well as her stage
appearances she was the star of such movies as Napoleon,
The Man of Destiny and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
(2021) |
Margaret Bannerman
4115 |
née
Girard. Born December 15, 1896, Toronto, Ontario. Died June
14, 1976. After primary school in Toronto Margaret attended
Mount Saint Vincent Academy, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She and
her family relocated to England at the out break of World
War l in 1914. She began her stage career in 1915. She went
on to appear in several silent English comedy movies. She
married London producer Anthony Prinsep and then Actor Pat
Somerset. In 1925 a nervous breakdown force her to lay
aside her career. She toured Australia and New Zealand in
1928 prior to returning to theatre in London. She relocated
to the U.S.A. in the 1930's and attempted to break into
American films. She did appear in films until 1947 when she
decided to return to the stage where she worked until
1963.In 1940 she appreard tin Toronto's Royal Alex Theatre
and was in Toronto again for a role in My Fair Lady in
November 1963.
(2022) |
Mabel Barrington |
Died
November 1, 1912. A prominent stage actor who debuted on
stage in 1902 and achieved "star" quality by 1905. She had
great success in 1908 in New York with the BLUE MOUSE. By
1911 she was forced to retire from the stage because of
serious ill health.
(2021) |
Mabel Barrison
Eva Maud Farrance |
Born April 21, 1882, Toronto, Ontario. Died
November 1, 1912, Toronto, Ontario. Born Eva Maud Farrance
she was a singer and stage actress. While still in her teens
she joined a musical stage chorus, She performed in
vaudeville on Broadway with Weber and Fields company. In
1903 she appeared Babes in Toyland. Her life saw her with a
multitude of health problems. (2022) |
Juliette Béiveau
4117 |
Born October 28, 1889, Nicolet, Quebec. Died
August 26, 1975, Montreal, Quebec. At the age of ten
Juliette performed with the acting group Soirées de famille.
Two years later she was performing at the Théâtre national.
She studied at the Acadeemie Marchand but soon returned to
being on state. By 1911 she was working with the group
Conservatoire Lasalle and Nationascope. In 1916 she married
and there was a decline in the number of her performances.
She had a fine voice and in 1920 she was signing with the
Starr Label. During the 1920's she would appear in
some 100 plays with the Théâtre national. In 1935 she
debuted on radio on C K A C. From 1937 though until
1959 she was a cast member of Rue principale and also was a
cast member of Un homme et son péché
on Radio Canada. For three years beginning in 1947 she had
her own radio show, Le Programme Juliette
Béiveau.
In 1949 she made her movie debut in Un homme et son
péché
and in the early 1950 landed numerous movie roles.
Returning to the stage in 1956 and appeared on stage and on
television until her death.
(2022) |
Sonya Biddle
Black Politician &
Actor |
SEE - Politicians |
Nanette Bordeau
Hélène Olivine Veilleux |
Born April 3, 1911, St. Georges, Quebec. Died September 20,
1956, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Her birth name was Hélène
Olivine Veilleux. Nanette moved with her family to New York
City, U.S.A. in the 1930’s and she began to audition for
theater work. In 1938 she did a screen test for Hal Roach
Studios and won out over 50 other actors. She had several
small roles in the 1940’s using the stage name Francine
Bordeaux. In 1949 she was hired by Columbia Pictures
where she began appearing with the famous comedians, the
Three Stooges. Since she had a natural French accent when
was often cast as Fifi in these films. She also learned to
mask her accent to be more American for additional roles.
(2021) |
Ester Evelyn
Sera Owen Bowen
|
Born June 18,
1911, Cardigan, Wales, United Kingdom. Died November 4, 1994,
Wolfville, Nova Scotia. She left her native Wales to go to theatre
in London, England attending the London Academy of Music and
Dramatic Arts and later, while working in a touring theatre,
and the Old Vic Shakespearean Company. In the early 1930 she
married Robert Speaight (1904-1976) but the marriage
dissolved in divorce by the end of the decade. The couple
had one son. Returning to Wales she founded the Welsh
National Theatre Company serving as its director from 1933
through 1936. In 1939 she married Frank O'Connor and Irish
writer (real name Michael O'Donovan) and the couple lived in
Ireland and had three sons prior to their divorce in 1952.She immigrated to
Canada in 1956 and found work in Montreal, Quebec acting and
writing. It would however be Nova Scotia that she chose to
live. In 1967 she was appointed Artistic Advisor for the
Nova Scotia Centennial Celebration and worked as Director of
Drama at . She organized and
directed the first all Negro drama group in Canada. She
wrote plays, directed and taught drama to the youth of her
chosen home province. To learn more about this talented
woman read Great Dames, edited by Elspeth Cameron and
Janice Dickin, [Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1997].
(2021) |
Doris Buckingham |
Born 1910 (?) Died February 1, 1988, Vancouver , British
Columbia. A stage and radio
actress she created Vancouver’s
Theatre Under the Stars. Doris began her stage career by
reading lines with her actor husband Bill Buckingham. Through the 1940’s and 1950’s the
group saw her in more than 50 productions. She also worked
in CBC productions. Along with her husband the pair
were known as Mr. and Mrs. Theatre. They had one son. As
well as theatre in the 1950's she appeared in many early
live C B C television broadcasts. The
couple was honoured in the British Columbia Entertainment
Hall of Fame Starwalk at the Orpheum which honours BC
residents who have made outstanding contributions to
entertainment on the local, national and international
scene.
(2021) |
Kate M. Horn
Buckland |
née
Horn. Born 1826? Ireland. Died September 10. 1896, Montreal,
Quebec. Kate made her stage debut in Charleston South
Carolina, U.S.A.. In 1841 she acting in New York City,
U.S.A. where she had her 1st breakthrough on March 24, 1845
at the Park Theatre. She married John Wellington Buckland (
-1872) a theatre manager in 1862. John accepted a position
as director of the new Royal Theatre in Montreal where he
worked with English language productions. Kate spent time in
productions in Montreal and New York City. After the death
of her husband, Kate assumed control of the management of
the theatre in Montreal and served there until 1879-80. She
continued her interest id theatre life until her death in
Montreal. She was considered a popular and
accomplished actor.
(2021)
|
Peggy Cartwright
4120 |
Born November 14, 1912, Vancouver, British
Columbia. Died June 12, 2001, Victoria, British Columbia.
Peggy was living in California, U.S.A. with her family when
she appeared in several silent films, usually unaccredited,
from 1915 to the 1920's and was one of the child stars of
the early Our Gang films. These films were released
in 1922. The family returned to Canada as their father felt
they would receive a better education. In 1927 she and her
mother travelled to Great Britain where she worked on stage
at the St. Martin's Theatre. n 1931 she was again filming in
movies and in 1932 performed in the British drama Hindle
Wakes, her final movie. She would relocate to New York
City, U.S.A. where she married comedian Phil Baker
(1896-1963) and the couple had nine children. Divorced
in 1941 Peggy married actor William 'Bill' Walker in 1962.
Once her children were grown she took a job as a secretary.
In 200 she made an appearance at the 12th International Sons
of the Desert Convention in 2000.
(2022) |
Shirley Cheechoo
Cree Actor, Director,
Producer & Artist |
Born 1952, Eastman,
Quebec. Shirley would grow up in Northern Ontario spending
time on trap lines with her family. At the age of nine
she was taken away to Shigwauk Residential School (now
Algoma University) where she experienced violence and abuse.
She left school at 15 and suffered with substance abuses
which eventually she overcame. She began to work in theatre
and film exploring themes of healing and post trauma
survival. She attended art classes at the Manitou Arts
Foundation in the summer of 1966. In 1991 her semi
autobiographical play Path With No Moccasins was produced.
She founded a children's theatre De-Ba-jeh-mujig Theatre
where she not only acted but was artistic director,
administrator and playwright. Shirley is the 1st
First Nations
woman to "write,
produce, direct, and act in a feature length film from
Canada. She is the co-owner with Blake Debassige of Kasheese
Studios art Gallery. She is also president of Spoken Song
Film Production Company. She is the founder of Weengushk
Film Institute on Manitoulin Island, Ontario where she
trans, develops and guides independent filmmakers. Shirley
is also a well know artist and her art has been exhibited
around the world. She had produced Christmas Cards for
UNICEF, had commissioned worked completed for Amnesty
International , the Ontario Native Women's Association
and for the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. In
February 2008 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award in
the Arts from the National Aboriginal Achievement
Foundation. In 2012 she received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Award. The TV series Medicine Woman is directed by
Shirley. She was inducted a member of the Order of Canada
November 19, 2018.
(2021) |
Joy Dorothy
Coghill-Thorne |
née Coghill. Born May 13, 1926, Findlater, Saskatchewan. Died
January 20, 2017, Vancouver, British Columbia. Some of her
early education occurred in Scotland and then Kitsilano High
School in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1949 she earned a
bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia and
followed this in 1951 with a Master of Fine Art from the Art
Institute of Chicago, U.S.A. In 1953 she and Myra Benson
founded Canada’s 1st professional touring children’s theater
called Holiday Theatre. She would marry John Thorne, a
producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the
couple had three children. Joy enjoyed writing and her bet
play was the Song of This Place about Emily Carr. Joy acted
on stage and in several Canadian television shows. She
earned four Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for her work
including Outstanding Performance by and actress in a
leading role in 1991. In 1994 she founded the Western Gold
Theatre Company in Vancouver. She earned a Governor
General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic
Achievement, the Gemini Humanitarian Award, the
Dominion
Drama Festival
acting award and a Canadian drama award. On October 25,
1990, she was made a Member of the
Order of
Canada
(2021) |
Dorothy Davies |
Born July 26, 1920, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. Died March
27, 2002, Victoria, British Columbia. As a child she moved
with her family to British Columbia. At the age of 18,
Dorothy received a Licentiateship in Speech Arts and Drama
from Trinity College of Music, London. Ten years later, she
was named a Fellow of that College. Also while in her teens,
she became secretary to Major William Bullock-Webster,
superintendent of schools in British Columbia and an ardent
supporter of school drama. In her position, Dorothy was
instrumental in the foundation of the British Columbia Drama
Association (now Theatre BC). She played “Mary” on “The
Carson Family” CBC radio serial 1947-65 and other radio and
TV roles through 1984. She was an original member, Totem and
Everyman Theatres. She earned an award as Best Director in
the 1955 Dominion Drama Festival. She was the 1st recipient,
Jessie Richardson Award for lifetime achievement. She also
won the Sam Payne Award for developing young talent
and is a charter member of the British Columbia
Entertainment Hall of Fame . In 1988 Dorothy and her husband
moved to Victoria, where she produced a CD of nonsense poems
called "The Other Day ...", performed by herself,
with musical settings by Amanda Lince.
Sources:
Canadian Encyclopedia of Theater online (accessed
January 2013); Vancouver Hall of Fame on line (accessed
December 2012.) |
Katherine 'Katie' Paula
De Mille |
née Lester. Born June 29, 1911,
Vancouver, British Columbia. Died April 27, 1995, Tucson,
Arizona, U.S.A. Katherine's father was killed at the Battle
of Vimy Ridge during World War 1. Her mother died of
tuberculosis when she was just 9 years old. She was adopted
at 11 from an orphanage by famed movie director Cecil De
Mille (1881-1959) and his wife Constance. Attending high
school in Santa Barbara, California she played roles in
school theatre productions and just knew she wanted to be an
actor. Her 1st movie role was in 1930. On October 3, 1937
she married actor Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) and the couple
had five children. Tragedy struck the family when their oldest
son, Christopher drowned in a friends pool at three years of
age. In 1959 she decided to retire from the film industry.
In 1965 she and Quinn divorced.
(2021) |
Hazel Desbarats |
née Rickets. Born September 15, 1936,
London, England. Died December 20, 2015, London, Ontario.
Hazel studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic
Art in London, England and started her career in British
television. In the early 1950’s she immigrated to Canada
with her 1st husband Ray Bidwell and she continued to work
in television and was a reporter for current affairs
programs at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and
Global Television Network. Divorced by 1961 she married
Anthony Snowsill a CBC technician. This marriage dissolved
shortly after the birth of their daughter. In 1968 she
married Peter Reilly and the family settled in Ottawa where
Hazel worked a new anchor at C J O H and another daughter and a
son were born. At home she co-authored a cookbook with
friends. In September 1979 she married for the 4th time to
Peter Hullett Desbarats, Dean of Journalism, University of
Western Ontario and the family relocated to London, Ontario.
It was hear that she would begin her second career as an
actress. A Dora Award winning actress she performed on
stages across the country including the Soulkeeper Theatre
Company, the Canadian Stage in Toronto and the Stratford
Theatre.
Sources: Obituary The Toronto Star
December 22, 2015; Susan Ferrier Mackay, From Newswoman to
celebrated actress. Globe and Mail January 6, 2016.
Suggestion submitted by June Coxon,
Ottawa, Ontario.
(2021) |
Danica D'Hondt |
Born May 29, 1939, London, England. At 9 years of age, in
England, Danica appeared in her 1st movie. While still in
schools she relocated with her family to Montreal, Quebec
where she appeared on television, stage, and was heard on
radio. She attended the University of British Columbia and
returned to England to continue her career on stage,
television and in movies. Back in Toronto she found work at
the CBC television as a games show personality and did
summer stock theatre in the U.S.A. In 1959 she participated
and won the Miss Canada pageant. By 1960 she was in
Hollywood where she appeared in ‘B’ movies and on numerous
television programs until 1990. From 1966 through 1971 she
taught at her own school called The Actor’s Lab. In 1971 she
began directing stage productions and continued directing in
television and movies. She also worked as a television
journalist. She married Nello Olivo (1940- ) and became a real estate
investor and raised her six children. The couple owns a
vineyard and a large banquet facility in California
(2021) |
Fifi D’Orsay
Marie-Rose
Angelina Yvonne Lussier |
Born April 16, 1904, Montreal,
Quebec. Died December 2, 1983, Los Angeles, California,
U.S.A. Could you guess that this is
a stage name? Her real name is Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne
Lussier. After several successful acts in Vaudeville, she
began her Hollywood movie career in 1929. In 1933 she
married Maurice Hill. She was in movies
and television as well as live stage for 40 years and worked
with famous male stars like Will Rogers .She married a
second time to Peter LaRicos in 1947. Billed as a French
bombshell from Paris, she never even traveled outside of
North America. Her life story was featured on the TV show This is
Your Life. Source: Find a Grave Canada.
(2021) |
Shirley Douglas |
Born April 2, 1934 Weyburn,
Saskatchewan. Died April 5, 2020, Toronto, Ontario As a youth she had been involved in church
dram and music activities. At 16 she began to take acting
seriously and attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in
Alberta. She also attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
in London England prior to acting in British stage and
television. Her second marriage to Donald Sutherland took
her and her family of three children, including twins Kiefer
and Rachael to California to live. It was here that she
threw her energies into the American protest movement of the
1960's and 1970's. Returning to Toronto as a single mother
in 1977 she resumed a successful stage, television and movie
career. In 2000 she received a Gemini Award for Best
Featured Actress followed in 2001 with a Diamond Award from
the Variety Club. In October 2003 she was presented the
Order of Canada and in 2004 she received her own star on
Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto along with her son, actor
Kiefer Sutherland who became a star on the Walk in 2005.
(2021) |
Leila Marie Dressler |
née
Koeber. Born November 9, 1869(?) Cobourg,
Ontario. Died July 28, 1934, Santa Barbara, California,
U.S.A. Her father was the Anglican Church organist and at
age five she appeared in a church play in Lindsay, Ontario.
The family relocated to Bay City, Michigan, U.S.A. in the
1889's. Marie left home when she was just 14 lying about her
age, saying she was 18 and changing her name to Dressler she
joined the Nevada Stock Company. Three years later she
joined Robert Grau opera Company and performed throughout
the American Midwest. She worked with various companies
gaining in experience and popularity and finally Marie made
it to Broadway stage in 1892 and became a vaudeville star
comedienne headliner shortly after 1900.She continued to
send money to support her parents throughout her early
career. In 1899 she married George Hoppert/Hoeppert/Hopper
(1862-1929). In 1900 she formed her own theatre troupe but
she was soon forced to declare bankruptcy. In the early
1900's she married James Henry Dalton (1871-1921) and the
couple relocated to London England where Marie was
soon performing on stage. Once again her efforts resulted in
bankruptcy and she was back in the U.S. working on Broadway
and in 1909 she appeared in films.
In 1914 she was in the 1st full-length
silent film comedy. During World War l she
used her popularity to help sell Victory Bonds. in 1922 she
was touring in Europe. Back in the U.S. she made her final
Broadway appearance in 1926. She had easily made the move to
‘talkies’ when many top silent film heroines did not
survive. More homely than beautiful she was also an
over-weight woman. This was an unlikely star material.
However, she was talented and she won the Academy Award for
Best Actress in 1930/31.
In August 1933 she became the 1st
woman to ever appear on the cover of Time magazine.
There is some dispute as to her true birth date with
various sources using 1868, 1869 and her grave using 1871.
Marie's birth home in Cobourg, Ontario is a museum open to
the public.
Each year, the Marie Dressler Foundation
Vintage Film Festival is held, with screenings in Cobourg
and in
Port Hope, Ontario.
In 2008 Canada Post
included Maries in a
Canada In Hollywood postage stamp series.
(2021). |
Maude Eburne - Riggs |
Born November 10, 1875, Bronte-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Died
October 15, 1960, Hollywood, California, U.S.A. Maude embarked
on her acting career after the death of her father in 1901
as he would not have approved of such a profession for his
daughter. She began her acting career on stage in Buffalo,
New York, U.S.A. and by 1914 she had made her Broadway debut
in the play A pair of Sixes. In 1905 she married Eugene
J. Hall and the couple had one daughter. She
switched to a
movie career in 1930 appearing in the move
The
Bat Whispers.
She would, in her career, over the next 21 years
appear in more than 100 movies. She retired from acting in
1951. (2021) |
Lily Evangeline |
Born August 3, 1979, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Since she
was a teenager she has been an active volunteer. She was
‘discovered’ by the Ford Modeling Agency. She decided not to
pursue a career as a model but worked with the Ford agency
to earn funds to attend the University of British Columbia.
In addition to help pay for university she worked as an
extra on film sets. In 2003 she married but the marriage
was ended the following year. In 2004 she stared on the
Television series Lost and was voted one of the
breakout stars by Entertainment Weekly Magazine. In
2005 she was names second on the Hot 100 of the Year.
Returning to modeling she earned a position of Super Model
with L’Oreal starting in 2009. In 2011 she gave birth to a
son with her boyfriend Norman Kali. A second son was
born in 2015.In 2012 she appeared in the movie The Hobbit
learning sword play and archery for her role. Lily has also
appeared in superheroe films such as Wasp and
Ant-man. She is the author of the ongoing children's
series: The Squickerwonkers (2013- ) with
planned two nine-book series. (2021) |
Eva Maud Farrance |
SEE - Mabel Barrison |
Margot Finlay |
Born January 30, 1980. Born in
London she moved to Vancouver in 1989 and studied with the
Vancouver Youth Theatre. She has acted in numerous films
including: Misery Harbor, Opposite Sex, In Cold
Blood, and The Adventures of Yellow Dog. |
Marie Gignac |
Born Quebec City, Quebec. Marie
had it seems always wanted to act even when she was still a
child but put aside her dreams and ambitions to concentrate
on school.
She studied at Laval University.
In her 20s and in university the urge to perform returned,
specifically to work on the stage.
Marie is a two-time
Genie
Award–nominated
actress.
Gignac has been nominated twice in the category of
Best
Supporting Actress
each for
The
Confessional
(Le Confessional) in 1995 and
La Vie
secrète des gens heureux in 2006.
In 2011,
she was made a Member of the
Order of
Canada
"for her contributions to the performing arts as an actress,
director, playwright and artistic director of Québec’s
Carrefour international de théâtre. She has also been
nominated for the Prix de l’institut canadien de Quebec.
Marie has
served as co-artistic director of the Carrefour
International de théâtre de Québec.
(2017) |
Joanna Gleason |
née Halprin. Born June 2, 1950, Winnipeg
Manitoba. As a daughter of TV game show host Monty Hall
(1921-2017)she
was exposed to a TV life. She first received a taste of TV
work as a child in repeat appearances in the TV series
Different Strokes. She took time to study at the University
of Manitoba and then acted on Broadway where she received a
Tony Award as best actress in a musical. Her main exposure
is still TV with numerous appearances on programs such as
Friends and West Wing most recently. Movies are also a form
of work she enjoys. She first married to Paul G. Gleason, an
acting coach, in 1975 and the couple had one son
before becoming divorced in 1982. From 1984 through 1990 she
was married to Michael Bennahum. In 1994 she married
Chris Sarandon. Check out I M D B for a listing of her
movies, television appearances and work in theatre.
(2021) |
Lorna 'Nonnie' Margaret Jean
Griffin
4102 |
Born October 20, 1933, Toronto, Ontario. Died
June 7, 2019, Toronto, Ontario. Nonnie studied at the
Toronto Conservatory of Music and at the Royal Academy of
Dramatic Arts in London, England. In 1956 she played Diana
Barry in the first TV production of Anne of Green Gables.
She became a veteran on stage. At 16 she performed at the
Red Barn Theatre in Jackson's Point, Ontario and at 18 she
was appearing with the Canadian Repertory Theatre in Ottawa.
She was known for her ability with accents and ability to
play deferent ages and styles which allowed her to have an
career on radio and television in the 1950's and 1960's.
She was a welcome guest on many television series including
Kung FU: The Legend Continues, King of Kensington, Robo
Cop: the Series, and Street Legal. She also did
voice work in the 1980's Care Bears Movie ll as
Funshine Bear, in the Raccoons and in 2012 she was heard in
Wild Life, a film nominated for Best Animated Short
at the 2012 Academy Awards. However, it seemed that live
stage was her first love and in 1998 she returned to play at
the Red Barn Theatre once again. She was the author of the
one person play Sister Annunciata's Secret in which
she played six different characters in 2012 at the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival and the Hamilton Fringe Festival in Ontario.
The one woman play Marilyn-After is another one woman
play that sees Marilyn Monroe come back to life fifty years
after her death was part of her career at the SpringWorks
Festival, Stratford, Ontario in 2014 and then toured going
to United Solo Theatre Festival in New York City, U.S.A. in
2015. When she died at 85 she was in rehearsals for a new
solo show about Margaret Mitchell of Gone With the Wind
fame. (2022) |
Linda
Pauline Griffiths
|
Born October 7, 1953, Montreal, Quebec. Died September 21,
2014, Toronto, Ontario. As a youth Linda did puppet shows for her brother and in
High School participated in the Drama Club. She attended
Dawson College in Montreal and was accepted into the
National Theatre School’s acting program. She dropped out
and felt she had failed and obtained a teaching certificate
at McGill University instead of acting. However she decided
to give acting another try. She relocated to Saskatchewan in
1973 and helped to found the 25th Street Theater. It was
here that she began to write and create plays. Back east in
Montreal near the end of the 1970’s she played the
personality of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. In
1980 her play Maggie and Pierre became an instant hit and
eventually she was doing a cross country tour with the play.
She would go on to create additional plays and give
memorable performances on stage.
Source: J. Kelly Nestruck
Leading Lady liked to showcase outsiders,
Globe and Mail October 4, 2014. (2021) |
Tammy Grimes |
Born January 30, 1934, Lynn, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Died
October 30, 2016, Englewood New Jersey, U.S.A. Tammy
graduated from Stephens College in Missouri. She worked for
West Port County Playhouse in Connecticut. In 1955 she saw a
young Canadian actor, Christopher Plumber in a Broadway
comedy and fell in love. They married in 1956. By 1958
she was on stage at the Stratford Theatre, Ontario with her
husband Christopher Plumber. The couple had one daughter,
Amanda who is also an actress. Sadly they were divorced in
1960. In 1964 she stared in High Spirits with the
incomparable Canadian Beatrice Lilly (1894-1989). At 26 she
was the winner of her 1st Tony Award for her role in The
Unsinkable Molly Brown
By 1969 she had a 2nd Tony Award for her role in the Noel
Coward play Private Lives. In 1966 she married
actor Jeremy Slate and was divorced a year later. Her 3rd
marriage was in 1971 to musician and composer Richard Bell (
-2005). Source: Anita Gates, Obituary,
Globe and Mail November 3, 2016.
Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa,
Ontario.
(2021) |
Idris Galcia
Hall |
SEE - Aloha Wanderwell Baker |
Ellen June Evangeline
Havoc |
née Hovick. Born November 8, 1912, (also reported as 1913 and 1916).
Vancouver, British Columbia Died March 28, 2010,
Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A. The family relocated to
Seattle, Washington , U.S.A. when June was an infant. Her
mother wanted stardom for June and her older sister Louise
(who would become known professionally as Gypsy Rose Lee
(1911-1970) ). June was featured on Vaudeville as Baby June
and
her Farmboys and the act continued into the 1920's when her
name 'Dainty June". Her mother forged the girl's birth
certificates to keep them working as young 'children'. June,
who could not speak until she was three, also appeared in
some silent movies. June resented Vaudeville and at 13/16
she married Bobbie Reed, real name Weldon Hyde, in 1928. He
was one of the boys in the chorus line to escape. The couple
had one daughter before the marriage dissolved. June's
mother, Rose Thompson Horvick, simply regrouped her energies
around her older daughter, Louise. Although her marriage did
not last she gathered her talents and enjoyed life. In 1935
she Donald Staley Gibbs and the marriage lasted seven years.
In 1936 she had her 1st acting break on Broadway. In the
1940's she moved to Hollywood, California, U.S.A. In 1948
she married for the last time to an American writer,
producer, and director for TV and radio, William Hannan
Spier (1906-1973), with whom she remained until his death.
June would remain on the edge of the industry. She would
have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. and was
nominated for her work as a director on Broadway in 1964.
June would write two memoirs Early Havoc and More
Havoc. In the 1960's through 1990 she appeared in
numerous roles in various popular TV shows shuch as The
Outer Limits, Murder She Wrote, and General
Hospital. In the 1970's she worked to restored an
abandoned train depot in Wilton, Connecticut. The restored
area still houses artisan ships, galleries, and food outlets
popular with modern tourists. In 2000 she was inducted into
the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 2003 the June Havoc
Theatre in New York City was named in her honour.
(2021) |
Jane Watson Heffelfinger
|
née Sayler. Born Fargo, North Dakota,
U.S.A. Died June 22, 2011, Victoria, British Columbia. Jane
graduated from the University of Minnesota, U.S.A. She would
later enroll in special studies at the University of
Manitoba and the University of Victoria in British Columbia.
She also attended Université Laval, Quebec and studied at
L’Alliance française in Paris, France. In 1951 she moved to
Winnipeg with her husband George. The couple had five children.
She began her career as a puppeteer and producer with the
Winnipeg Children’s Theatre and went on to act on stage at
the Manitoba Theatre Centre and for many ears she was an
actor and broadcaster on the CBC Radio and Television in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1958 she was known for her role in
the Bird in a Gilded Cage a made for TV movie. She
was enthusiastic about her adopted country and ran twice for
political office. She shared her passions for the Pacific
Opera in Victoria and charity work with the Greater Victoria
Hospital foundation. She was a member of the University of
Victoria Foundation Board and was a member of the Television
Association
Board of the Public Broadcasting Station K C T V in Seattle
Washington, U.S.A. In 1992 she received the Confederation
Medal marking the 125th anniversary of Canadian
Confederation. She also received a Certificate of Merit
Award from the McPherson Foundation and was named Arts
leader of the Year in 1989 from C F A X Community
Awards.
(2021)
|
Martha
Kathleen Henry |
née Buhs. Born February 17, 1938, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.
Died October 21, 2021, Stratford, Ontario. Martha adopted the legal surname of her 1st husband Donnelly
Rhodes. She graduated from the National Theatre School,
Montreal, Quebec and as one of Canada’s leading
actresses she has long been associated with the Stratford
Festival in Ontario. From
1962 to 1965 she was married to Donnelly Rhodes Henry
(1937-2018), a fellow actor know as Donnelly Rhodes. In 1968
she married actor Douglas Rain (1928-2018) and the couple
had one daughter.
She worked as artistic director of the Grand Theatre,
London, Ontario from 1988 through 1994. In 1993 she starred
in the film Mustard Bath which was filmed in Guyana, South
America. It was in this film that she earned her 1st Genie
Award as best supporting actress. She went on to win
Genie Awards for her work in films in , 1984, 1994, and
1996. She has also earned Gemini Awards for her work in TV.
She has received the Order of Ontario in 1994 and promoted
to Companion in the Order of Canada 1990. She received the
Governor General's Performing Arts Award for lifetime
contribution to Canadian Theatre in 1996.
In 2007 she was appointed director of Stratford's
Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training.
(2021) |
Victoria Hopper |
Born May 24, 1909, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died January
22, 2007, Romney Marsh, Kent, England. In 1922 Victoria immigrated
to England with her family. In the 1930’s she appeared on
stage and was mentored by actor, director and producer Basil
Dean (1888-1978). She Married Basil Dean in August 1934 and
continued with her successful career. She was a popular
actor on stage and in film. She appeared in a dozen films
between 1933 and 1948. She had the leading role in the film
Lorna Doone in 1934 and again leading role in Laburnum Grove
in 1936. Her career became somewhat stalemated after her
divorce in 1948. She did some made for television movies in
1950’s but was largely ignored as an actress. In 1951 she
married actor Peter Walker (1915-1993). In the last years of
her life she lived as a recluse.
(2021) |
Kate M. Horn |
See - Kate M. Horn Buckland |
Kathleen Howard |
Born July 27, 1884, Clifton Hill, Ontario.
Died April 15, 1956, Hollywood, California, U.S.A. In 1906
she began a caree in opera in Germany. She performed in
Berlin for eitht years and in concerts in Belgium, Holland,
Scandinavia, and England. In 1913 she went to the United
States and by 1916 saw with the Metropolitan Opera of New
York. In 1918 she became fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar
magazine and also served as president of Fashion Group
International. She would resign her position to begin a
career as an actor. In 1934 she debuted in Death Takes a
Holiday. and made two additional movies that same
year. In 1935 she appeared in Man on the Flying Trapeze with
the famous W. C. Fields. By 1951 she had appeared in over 50
movies. Source: Northern Stars online
(accessed 1999) |
Juliette Huot |
Born January 9, 1912, Montreal, Quebec. Died
March 16, 2001, Brossard, Quebec. Juliette began her
career as an actor in the 1930's appearing on stage and in
radio productions. In 1950's came television and she
appeared in the original show The Plouffe Family/La famille
Plouffe and 14,Rue de Galais. She also appeared in French
language films such as Amanita Pestilens and Je suis loin de
toi mignonne (Far from you sweetheart). In the 1960's she
took on the television role of a chef, the first on the
magazine show Le 5 AA 6 and then she was the host of her own
show Les racettes de Juliette. In 1987 she was
awarded the Order National du Québec. (2021) |
Frances Hyland
3993 |
Born April 25, 1927, Shaunavon, Saskatchewan.
Died June 11, 2004, Toronto, Ontario. After her parents
divorced when was still and infant Frances was raised in
Ogema, Saskatchewan. and when she was seven she was in
Regina. In 1948 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from
the University of Saskatchewan. Earning a scholarship she
went on to graduate from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art,
London, England. She made her stage debut in London in 1950.
In 1954 she married fellow actor George McCowan but they
separated a few yeas later. She performed in 1954 at the
famous Stratford Festival in Ontario and returned for ten
seasons of the Festival. She also appeared in eight films
and appeared in over fifty television shows many of which
were recurring roles in such shows as The Albertans
and the series Road to Avonlea. In 1970 she was
inducted as an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1994 she
received the Governor General's Award for the Performing
Arts for her lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre. Her
last television role was in 1996 in the TV film
Moonlight Becomes you.
(2022) |
May Irwin
Georgina May
Campbell |
(Real name
Georgina May Campbell) Born June 27, 1862 Whitby, Ontario.
Died October 22, 1938. As early as 1872 she and her sister
Flora were singing on stage. Once the sister act split up,
May would go on and become a well known Broadway performer.
Her movie career was short but historically significant.
Thomas Edison, the famous inventor, placed May in the
staring role in his pioneering one minute moving picture
called The Kiss. It was the first kiss of the movies!!! It
was considered scandalous by early movie audiences and the
clergy! It is considered to be the first moving picture to
ever be shown in Canada! May would make only one other movie
Mrs. Black is Back before she retired to live with her
husband and two children. She is also credited with having
named the famous Thousand Island Salad Dressing. She and her
family owned a vacation home in the 1000 islands.
(2021) |
Margo Gwendolyn Kane
|
Born August 21, 1951, Edmonton, Alberta. As a child she was
the only First Nations child adopted into a white working
class home which left her having and identity crisis. She
studied acting, voice, and dance at Grant McEwan College,
Edmonton, the Banff Centre, Alberta, and the Square Theatre,
New York City, New York, U.S.A. She is considered the
‘Mother of Canada in a native performance arts’. In 1992 she
founded and served as artistic director of Full Circle:
First Nations Performance in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Her performances blend storytelling, song, dance, poetry and
often the latest hint of technology. She is known for her
one-woman show Moonlodge
which premiered in 1990 and has toured Australia in
1997. In 1991 she received a Canadian Achievement Award from
the National Capital Commission in Ottawa. (2021) |
Ethel Ruby Keeler |
Born August 25, 1909, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Died February
28, 1993,.When Ruby was just three the family relocated to
New York City, U.S.A. As a child at primary school she was
able to take dance lessons one a wee from a visiting dance
instructor. The teacher was so interested that
she
gave Ruby free lessons at her studio. At thirteen she
auditioned for a chorus line by lying about her age. In 1923
she was working on stage for forty-five dollars a week to
help her family. She would work her way in the entertainment
world even working for the famous Ziegfeld Follies. A former
speakeasy dancer and Broadway lead, she married musical star
Al Jolson in 1928. Ruby was picked up with a contract at the
Warner Brothers Studio. After several films she retired from
the screen in 1941. She charmed audiences again in 1971 with
a return to Broadway in the reprised musical
No No Nanette for two seasons plus two seasons of
tours. In 1974 Ruby survived a brain aneurysm and became
spokesperson for the National Stroke Association. She always
contended that she had a horrible singing voice, could not
act, and that her dancing skills were not that good either.
(2019) |
Barbara Kent |
née Cloutman. Born December 16, 1907, Gadsby, Alberta. Died
October 13, 2011, Palm Desert, California, U.S.A. Barbara and her
family moved to California when she was a teenager. In 1925
she won the Miss Hollywood Beauty pageant. Described as
gorgeous , full-figured, and baby faced, and even though she
had never acted previously, she was signed up by Universal
Studios. Her debut was as the only woman in the western
Prowlers of the Night, batting her eyelashes as she
nursed the wounded sheriff back to health. In the landmark
1926 film Flesh and the Devil, opposite
Greta Garbo, the
lovelorn Kent displayed her broken heart in an Oscar-worthy
supporting performance. She starred in Lonesome , the
last great silent American film in 1928. Kent's
natural voice was a bit too “tinny” and her career in the
talkies was in doubt. Determined she took voice lessons. Her
career peaked when she played superstar
Harold Lloyd's
love interest in his first two talkies, Welcome Danger
and Feet First. In 1932 she married Harry
Edington, a longtime Hollywood producer He tried to revive
his wife’s career in the late 1930s, but her roles became
smaller and films less prestigious. Her last film was
Guard That Girl in 1935. After her husband died in
1949, Barbara retired from show business retreating
from public view and refusing all demands for photographs
and interviews. She married a second time to engineer
Jack Monroe who died in 1998. She had been living in a
retirement home in Sun Valley, where neighbors were
unaware she had once graced the silver screen. At the
age of 103 she was one of the last surviving silent screen
actors. Sources: Bergan, Ronald “Alberta –born silent
film star transitioned to talkies, then retired”
The Globe and Mail
October 31, 2011 page R9 (accessed November 2011. ) Suggestion
submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa.
(2021) |
Florence
Annie
Bridgewood Lawrence
|
Born January 1 1890, Hamilton, Ontario.
Died December 28, 1938, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A. . This pe tite Canadian born actress is
universally acknowledged as the world’s first movie star. At
age 4 she was performing as “Baby Flo, the Wonder Whistler”
on vaudeville. In the pioneer days of filmmaking, credits
with the names of actors were not important. She became
known simply as the "Biograph Girl". In 1915 she tried
to help someone in a studio fire and was badly burned.
She never achieved her former active career. By the
time of her death she had appeared in 250 films! For more
information
read Florence Lawrence, the Biograph Girl :
America's First Movie Star by Kelly R Brown
(McFarland, 1999).
(2021) |
Viola
Léger
|
See Politicians - Senator Viola
Léger
|
Carla Lehmann |
Born February 29, 1917, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died December 1
1990, Berkshire, England. Carla appeared in little
theatre productions from the time she was 15 years old. She
trained to be an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA), London, England and joined the Croydon Repertory
Company. In 1941 she Married George Anderson McDowell Elliot
but the marriage ended in di During World War ll she stared
in war films with American male counterparts. In 1947 she
married John R. Townsend and the couple had three sons.
In 1952 she played in the BBC TV series The Three
Hostages.
(2021) |
Jane Mallett
3978 |
Born Jean Dawson Keenleyside, Born April 17,
1899, London, Ontario. Died April 14, 1984, Toronto,
Ontario, Jane was performing at the University of Toronto's
Hart House Theatre when she was an undergraduate at Victoria
College at the University. In 1921 she was on stage at Upper
Canada College, Toronto. In 1926 she married a chemistry
teacher from Upper Canada College Frederick Mallett. She
would continue to appear on stage in the 1930's , 40's and
50's and was an well known comic talent.
Jane worked on CBC Radio in the 1940's through to the 1970's
and was known for her ability to portray different voices
for different characters in the same show! She is best
remembered for the radio comedy series Travels with Aunt
Jane. In 1977 a television was created for Aunt Jane
but was never picked up. Jane is also well known for
her stage work which included performances at the famous
Shaw Festival and the Stratford Festival. Form 1967 through
to 1983 she worked in ten films. In 1975 she was inducted as
a Member of the Order of Canada. In 1976 she earned the John
Drainie Award from Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television
and Radio Artists (A C T R A) for her significant
contribution to broadcasting in Canada.
She earned the title of 'Godmother of Canadian Performers'
with her creation of the Actor's Fund of Canada which helps
those in need in theatre work. In 1984 the Jean
Mallett Theatre was named in her honour at the St. Lawrence
Centre for the Arts in Toronto.
Source: Nothernstars online (accessed 2022) |
Marie Lise Monique Mercure |
née Emond. Born
November 14, 1930, Montreal, Quebec. Died May 16, 2020,
Montreal, Quebec This actress who
headed up the National Theatre School has acted the classics
but also retained an active interest in new works of our
writers and directors. In
1949 she married Pierre Mercure and the couple had
three children.
She has won the Palm d’Or for Best Actress at the
world famous European Cannes Film Festival in 1977. In 1983
she won a Genie for Best Supporting Actress in Beyond Forty and she earned a second Genie again for her role in
Naked Lunch in 1992.
Her third Genie was earned in 1999 as Best Supporting Actress in
Conquest. She is an Officer in the Order of Canada in 1979
and was promoted to Companion of the Order in 1993. She has
received the Governor General's Award for Lifetime
achievement and in 2006 she became a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Canada.
(2019) |
Clara Morris |
née
La Montagne. Born March 17, 1848, Toronto, Ontario. Died November 20,
1925 New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.A. When she was just three
Clara moved with her mother to Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
where the mother adopted her mother's name, Morrison. Her stage name was Clara Morris and she was known as
the “Queen of the Melodrama”. Clara began her stage career
at 13 in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. In 1870 she relocated
to New York City, U.S.A. and soon became a member of the
Augustin Daly's company working there for nine years.
November 30, 1874 she married Frederick C. Harriot
(died1914). She is said to have had the
ability to bring a whole audience to tears with her acting.
She would later write her life story in three volumes of
memoirs. By 1910 she was blind and living in poverty. There
is a plaque on the grounds of Cleveland Public Library
marking the location of the home of her youth.
(2021)
|
Claire 'Clairette' Françoise
Oddera |
Born April 3, 1919, Marseille, France. Died
October 28, 2008, Montreal, Quebec. At 20 she was
working as a waitress at a local French film studio shen she
got her firs film role in La fille du puisatier in
1939. She would so work as a singer on radio. During World
War ll she mad movies and toured France with stage and
variety shows. She visited Quebec for the 1st time in 1949.
Married in 1940 the marriage only lasted a few years. In
1956 she immigrated to Quebec. Here she opened Chez
Clairette offering young French Canadian talents such as
Robert Charlebois a chance to perform. She closed and
reopened again in a different area of Montreal and this time
she remained open for a decade. She performed at at Chez
Clairette and from time to time had roles on local TV
series. She would also open an academy for singers. She was
inducted into the National Order of Quebec in 2002 and as a
Member of the Order of Canada in 2003. Her final public
appearance was in June 2008. (2019) |
Louise Olson
3785 |
née Downing ? Born 1903?, England. Died
August 19, 1998, Toronto. Ontario. While still a child the
Dowling family immigrated to Canada ans settled in Moose
Jaw, Saskatchewan. Louise attended the Regina Normal School
(teachers' college) and taught in the early 1920's in Moose
Jaw. She married Carl Olson and the couple had three
children in Saskatoon Interested in drams she joined
the Saskatoon
Little Theatre Club and was known to have
participated in some 30 productions and served as club
president.
She was an adjudicator for high school drama about the
province from 1933 through 1957. She served as director and
producer of the Quota Club Children's Theatre for two
seasons at the end of World War ll in 1945. From 1949
through 1956 she was the drama chair for the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and took part in various Saskatoon radio
productions. After the theatre club disbanded
she founded in 1952 the Saskatoon Community Players where
she again served as president for four years. IN 1955 she
took a business course and began teaching at the Saskatoon
Business College. She retired around 1973.
Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed
2022) |
Rose Alma Ouellette
3449 |
Born August 25, 1903, Montreal, Quebec. Died
September 14, 1996, Montreal, Quebec. When Rose was just
twelve she won several local singing and theatre contests.
At 19 she was on stage in Montreal theatres. She became a
duo act with Olivier Guimond Sr. and they became popular
province wide. At first she called herself 'Casserole'
but then became 'La Poune'. She became a leading figure in
the burlesque and vaudeville productions of the Montreal
théâtre. From 1936 through 1953 she was in charge of the
Théâtre National. In 1958 she began a career in
cabaret which lasted over two decades. In the 1960's and
1970's she worked at the Théâtre des varietes of Montreal
and beginning to appear on television. In 1985 she won, by
popular vote, the Rose d'or. That same year she published
Comment atteindre le bel age en grand forme. In 1990 she was
inducted into L'Ordre national du Québec. In 1991 she
earned the Prix Victor du festival just pour rire pour
l'ensemble de sa Carriére. Source:
Hommage à 56 femmes d'exception qui ont changé le Québec.
Editions spéciale 7jours. 2021. |
Mercedes Palomino |
Born February 2, 1913, Barcelona, Spain. Died
April 18, 2006, Montreal, Quebec. When she was just five her
family relocated to Argentina. IN Argentina she studied at
the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. She worked as a
journalist and broadcaster. In the 1940's she was acting in
Chile and then she worked as head of the theatre section of
Radio-Lima, Peru. By 1946 she was working with Columbia
Broadcasting Services radio in New York City. Next she was
off to Paris France as a reporter for La Prensa. By
1948 she was working in Montreal, Quebec where she founded
the Théâtre du Rideau Vert where she served as Chief
Administrator until her death. From 1953 to 1965 she
was the producer of Spanish Services at Radio Canada
International. From 1971 to 1985, she was president of the
Association des Directeurs de Théâtre and, from 1986 to
2003, she was President of the Théâtres associés. In 1983
she became a member of the Order of Canada . In 1991 she
earned the Prix Victor-Morin from Societé Saint-Jean
Baptiste followed the next year with the Gascon -Thomas Award
from L'Ecole nationale de Théâtre. In 1994 she earned a
lifetime achievement award from the Governor General's
Performing Arts Awards and was named to the Ordre National
du Québec. (2019) |
Minou Petrowski |
SEE - Writers - Journalists & Broadcasters |
Daphne Katherine 'Kate' Reid
|
Born November
4, 1930, London, England.
Died March 27, 1993, Stratford, Ontario. As a child she
immigrated with her family to Canada settling in Oakville,
Ontario. After high school she attended University in London
and the studied acting at a performance art school in
Canada. This warm and vulnerable performer thrived
while working live theatre.
She is well known for her role as Lady MacBeth in Macbeth
and Katharina in the Taming of the Shrew and Martha
in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe on stage. She has
also appeared in some 50 movies from the 1960's through the
1980's. did numerous television productions. She was
nominated for Tony and Emmy Awards and holds many Canadian
awards including an A C T R A. In 1974 she was inducted as
an Officer in the Order of Canada.
(2021) |
Marigold 'Goldie' Semple
|
Born December 11, 1952, Richmond, British Columbia. Died
December 9, 2009,
Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario. She studied
at the University of British Columbia where she met her
husband, Lorne Kennedy. The couple had one daughter. The
young couple continued their studies and began their career
at the Bristol, England, Old Vic Theater. After traveling to
gain roles the couple settled in Ontario where Goldie honed
her craft and gained a solid reputation garnering lead stage
roles at Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival. She
combined unequalled grace beauty and elegance on stage.
Although diagnosed with cancer she continued on stage. Her
last performance was in a Noel Coward play, Brief
Encounters in 2009.
Source:
Goldie Semple by Richard Ouzounian, The Toronto
Star
December 9, 2009 online (accessed August 2011.) (2021) |
Jean Roberts |
Born 1926, Perth, Scotland. Died December 12, 2012,
France. She studied in Belgium and at the University of
Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1949 she joined what is now the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford on Avon, England
working on stage set up and earning promotions to the level
of assistant director. In Canada she worked at the Crest
Theatre, Toronto, and the Red Barn Summer Theatre at Jackson
Point, Ontario. In Ottawa she established the theatre
section at the National Arts Centre where she worked from
1971-1977. At the NAC she preferred not to import talent but
rather use our own Canadian talent. She became Director of
Theatre and Artistic Director of English Theatre at the NAC
before moving to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to
develop and produce television drama. She also taught
directing and production of plays as a freelancer. She
received the Maggie Basset Award and the Toronto Theatre
Alliance Award in 1984. In the mid 1990’s she retired to
France. She was inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada
in 2006. Upon her death the flags at the NAC were flown at
half staff in her honour.
Source: Jean Roberts by Kate Taylor,
the
Globe and Mail January 2, 2013. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa,
Ontario
(2021) |
Anna Claudia Russell
|
Born December 27, 1911, London, England. Died October 18,
2006, Rosedale, New South Wales, Australia. Her mother was
Canadian and in 1939, after the death of her father the
family settled in Toronto. Anna married twice: John Denison
from 1934- 1946 and Charles Goldhamer 1948-1954 but sadly
both marriages ended in divorce. Although she had appeared
as a fold singer on the British Broadcasting Network in
England in 1931 it was not until the family was in Canada
that she found success. By 1940 she was successful on stage
as a solo artist. Her one woman comedy show debuted in New
York City in 1948 and there as a U.S., Britain and
Australian tour that would be one of many English Language
country tours. By 1953 “Anna Russell’s Little Show” was on
Broadway, the 1st of several Broadway shows. She also
appeared on the Ed Sullivan television show, performed at
Carnegie Hall as well as for the Canadian and Metropolitan
Opera Companies. Her operatic parodies were famous. Some
even said she was the funniest woman in the world. In the
1960’s she retired to Unionville, Ontario , living on a
street names in her honour. In the next 2 decades she would
come back to the stage in several farewell tours to satisfy
public demand. In 1985 her auto biography was published
under the title; I didn’t make this up you know.
She spent the last years of her life in Australia.
Source:
Obituary by Patrick O’Connor, The Guardian, October
24, 2006 (2021) |
Helen Nell Shipman |
née
Foster-Barham. Born October 25, 1882, Victoria, British
Columbia. Died January 23, 1970, Cabazon, California, U.S.A.
When she was 13 her family relocated to Seattle, Washington,
U.S.A. Prior to being in films Ness worked in theatrical
stock companies working on stage. In 1910 she married silent
f ilm
producer Ernest Shipman (1871-1931). The couple moved to
Hollywood and raised one son. Nell was became a
pioneer in early Hollywood. She was one of the 1st women in
the world to direct her own films and she even established
her own production company. She was one of the 1st directors
to shoot her films almost entirely on location. In 1919 she
and Ernest had a successful Canadian silent film
entitled Back to God's Country in which she debuted
and performed one of the 1st nude scenes in film. Filmed on
location in Alberta, Nell swam in frigid water during some
of the film. She began an affair with co-star Bert Van Tuyle
(1878-1951) and she divorced Shipman. Nell loved animals and
spoke out against animal cruelty in Hollywood. She rescued
animals and developed her own zoo containing more than 200
animals. The couple created Nell Shipman Productions
focusing on major themes with wild animal, feminist heroes
and filming on location. by 1924 the production company had
financial problems and she broke up with Bert Van Tuyle who
had become unstable and killed many of her animals.
In 1925 she married Charles H. Austin Ayers (1889-1964) and
the couple had twin daughters. Nell's last major
project was her autobiography, The Silent Screen and My
Talking Heart which was published posthumously.
(2019) |
Margaret Ruth Springford
3992 |
Born 1921, Toronto, Ontario. Died November
20, 2010, Etobicoke, Toronto. Ruth had a long career in
radio, stage, film and television. Ruth began her acting
career in 1961 and appeared in films for 20 years. She acted
on stage at the Crest Theatre and the Royal Theatre. She
received the John Drainie Award for her significant
contribution to broadcasting in Canada. From the Alliance of
Canadian Cinema she olds a coveted Andrew Allan Award.
Award. She also worked in films in Hollywood, California and
In New Zealand. She also holds a Dora Mavor Award from the
Toronto Alliance for the Performing arts which recognizes
theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto.
Source: Obituary online (accessed 2022)
|
Mary June Storey
3935 |
Born April 20, 1918, Toronto, Ontario. Died
December 18, 1991, Alta Vista, California, U.S.A. June's
family relocated to Tyler Lake, Connecticut, U.S.A. when she
was just five years old. The family moved again to Long
Ilsand, New York and by 1930 they were living in Southern
California, U.S.A. As a teen she acted with the Laguna Beach
Little Theatre. She auditioned and was picked up by Fox Film
Studio. She then took acting and dancing lessons while being
part of the Fox training school for young actors. In
1934 she made her first screen appearance in the movie
Student Tour. All in all she would appear in 45 films in the
1930's and 1940's for Fox ant Republic Pictures where she
played opposite the cowboy star Gene Autrey (1907-1998). In
1947 she married a businessman, Fred Bohing, and the couple
had one son. After her divorce she married a second time to
Nick Ostreyko. and they had a daughter. Her last role was in
the Movie Miss Mink in 1949. Leaving films after a serious
auto accident she worked as a nurse in a doctor's office and
then in a nursing home. Inspired by her work she earned and
nursing degree and worked as a private nurse. In 1979 she
married for a third time to Lincoln Clark.
(2022) |
Janine Sutto
3444 |
née
Mamert. Born April 20, 1921, Paris, France. Died March 28,
2017, Montreal, Quebec. Janine immigrated to Montreal,
Quebec with her family in 1930. At 14 she began acting in
radio dramas. In 1943 she was a founding member of Théâtre
de L'Equipe troupe and through the early 1950's worked with
Théâtre de nouveau Monde. She would go on to make over 100
roles in theatre, as well as 75 film and television
appearances. She was the mother of two children. In 1986 she
became an Officer in the Order of Canada and this was
advanced to Companion in 1991. In 1998 she was inducted into
the L'Ordre nationale du Québec. Her son-in-law,
Jean-François Lépine
published her biography, Vivre avec le destin /
Living With Destiny in 2010. In 2014 she received a Governor
General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic
Achievement for her contribution to Canadian theatre.
Source: Hommage AA 56 femmes d'exception
qui ont changé le Quebec. Editions spéciale 7 jours.
2021. |
Eva Tanguay |
Born August 1, 1879 *
Marbleton, Quebec Died January 11, 1947, Hollywood,
California, U.S.A. Eva began her
career on stage at the age of 8. Her true medium was
vaudeville and musical comedy. She would become known as the
"I don't care girl" after a song "I don't care what happens
to me" that she sang in a show called the Chaperons in 1904.
In 1912 she was one of the most highly paid women actors in
the United States. She made a couple of musical recordings
and was the star of two movies Energetic Eva (1916) and The
Wild Girl (1918). In 1929 she suffered from ill health and
was losing her eyesight forcing her to retire from acting in
1930. In 1953 a movie The I don't care girl was loosely
based on her life and career. Evidently her ghost spends
time just off stage left in the centre of balcony row at
Cohoes Theatre in Albany New York, U.S.A.
* Her birth year is sometimes reported as 1878 (2021) |
Marie Rose Yvette Thuot |
Born October 13, 1918, Iberville, Quebec.
Died December 5, 2021. After studying dramatic arts in
France and in Quebec Yvette began her acting career in the
lat 1940's appearing in the film Maternité
in 1947 and in 1949 on stage with Les Compagnons de
Saint-Laurant. She then spent 20 years living in France.
Yvette did not return to the North American screen again
until the early 1970's. with her last film being Lawrence
Anyways in 2012 when she was 94. . From the 1960's through
to 2012 she she appeared on more then 20 television shows
many with recurring roles. On stage in the 1980's, 1990's
and in the early 2000's she worked with various artistic
groups including Théâtres du Rideau Vert, Centre National
des arts, Théâtre St.-Mathieu de Beloeil, Théâtres du Rire
and Theatre du Nouveau Monde. Source:
Northernstars online (accessed 2022) |
Aloha Wanderwell - Baker
|
née
Idris Galcia Hall. Born October 13 1906 (sometimes reported 1908) Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died June 3, 1996,
Newport, New Jersey, U.S.A. Her father was killed in action
during World War l and she moved with her mother and sister
to France. In 1922 she joined the Wanderwell Expedition, a
travelogue company as a secretary. Here she also
participated in production and acted in four travelogue
films. The company traveled to China, Egypt, France,
Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Palestine, Soviet Union,
Turkey and Yemen. In December 1924 they landed in the U.S.A.
On April 5, 1925 she married Walter Wanderwell (d 1032) in
Riverside, California, U.S.A. The couple had 2 children. By
1926 they were off on a new expedition to South Africa and
South America. Widowed Aloha Married Walter Baker on
December 26, 1933 and the couple continued to work on
travelogues . Her final films were produced in the 1950's.
In 1982 she gave her last public performance as a travel
lecturer at the Natural History Museum, Los Angeles,
California, U.S.A.
(2021) |
Actors - TV
and Movies
Return
to categories |
Susan Aceron - Gray
3812 |
Born July 6, 1972, Tisdale, Saskatchewan. Died October 9,
2016, Edmonton, Alberta.. Susan was a Canadian actor and
businesswoman of Asian descent who appeared in several film
and television roles. She was perhaps best remembered for
voicing Sailor Pluto in the English adaptation of Sailor
Moon. She was the announcer on Honey, I Shrunk the
Kids tv show. She also voiced a number of roles in
Beyblades. She married Jundee Grey in the summer of 1996
and the couple had three children.
Source: I M D B online (accessed 2022) |
Sharon Acker |
Born April 2, 1935,
Toronto, Ontario. Died March 16, 2023, Ontario.An actor in movies and television her
career spans from the 1950"s through to the late 1980's. A
supporting actress she has appeared in such TV shows as Star
Trek, Mission Impossible, Cannon, McMillan and Wife, Barnaby
Jones, The Rockford Files, Quincy and Murder She Wrote. She
also played Della Street in the TV Movie The New Perry
Mason. |
Claire Adams
3988 |
née Beryl Vere Nassau Adams. Born September 24, 1898,
Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died September 25, 1978, Melbourne,
Australia. Claire was educated in Canada, England, and
developed acting skills for silent films in Hollywood,
California, U.S.A. She began to appear in films in 1912 and
completed her career in 1934. In 1924 she married Benjamin
B. Hampton who died in 1932. In the 1920 she was making
numerous silent films. In 1926 alone she appeared in 10
films! In total she appeared in some 80 films. In 1932 she
married Donald Scobie Mackinnon (died 1974.) She would spend
the second half of her live in Australia. Some of her
photographs are maintained in the Special Collections and
Archives ot the University of California Irving Libraries. |
Frances Bay |
Born January 1, 1918, Dauphin, Manitoba. Died
September 15, 2011,
Tarzana,
California, U.S.A. Frances was a young stage
actress in Winnipeg and during World War ll she hosted CBC
Radio's weekly Everybody's Program for the Canadian Troops.
This radio stint earned her the title "Girlfriend of the
Canadian Forces". After the war she and her husband Charles
lived in New York an Boston where she did more stage work.
The couple had one son who committed suicide when her was
23. It was not until she was 60 did Frances find herself
immersed in the world of TV and movies. In 1978 she played a
small part in the movie Foul Play and both she and the
industry became ‘hooked’ on each other. She would go on to
become “Hollywood’s Granny” in such movies as The Karate
Kid, Twins, Little Red Riding Hood (Faerie Tale Theatre) and
Happy Gilmore with Adam Sandler. Her TV Granny appearances
were also numerous and included Happy Days, Hill Street
Blues, Touched by an Angel and The Golden Girls. In total
she has played in over
140 roles. She has also played roles both on and off Broadway stage
and regional theatre. Her work has won her 2 Drama Lodge
Awards and a Gemini Award for her role in Road to Avonlea.
In 2002, as the result of an auto accident, she had to have
part of a leg amputated. That same year she suffered the
death of her husband Charles. Once recovered and walking
with an artificial leg she is back at work and in 2008 she
had a star placed on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto.
Source: Online Canada’s Walk of Fame (
accessed July 2008) ; Obituaries.
Globe and Mail September 23, 2011 (2021) |
Kirsten Johanne Alice Bishopric |
Born September 1963,
Montreal Quebec. Died April 15, 2014, Toronto,
Ontario. As a youth Kirsten
and her brother, Thor, both worked as models. At eight she
worked on the Kids of Degrassi Street a popular television
show. Kirsten made her acting debut on the stage at
Stratford Theatre, Ontario. At 11 years of age she had a
role in a David Croninburg thriller movie. She studied drama
at Dawson College, Montreal and in 1983 she spent a year at
Stratford. She had a distinctive voice and had numerous jobs
doing voice over animation as well as her screen roles for
movies and television. Some of her role credits appear under
the name Kirsten Bishop. For 20 years she helped others
learn acting in The Monday Night Group in Toronto. She
married but did not use her married name, Roberts,
professionally. The couple had two sons.
Source: Kirsten Bishopric, A distinctive Voice Silenced Too
Soon by Fred Langan. The Globe and Mail June 4, 2014.
Suggested by June Coxon,
Ottawa, Ontario.
(2021) |
Rachel Louise Blanchard |
Born March 19, 1976, Toronto, Ontario, She
started her career in a McDonald’s commercial! At eight she
appeared in The Kids of Degrassi Street a popular
television show. She appeared in Are You Afraid of the
Dark? before she landed her current role in the series
Clueless. Rachel attended Havergal College in
Toronto before attending and graduating from Queen's
University, Kingston, Ontario. In 1993 she received
the Young artist Award as an outstanding Performer in a
Children's Program.
Other movies she has appeared in are Road Trip,
Nailed in 2001 and Wild Dogs in 2002
from 2004 for two years she appeared on the television
series 7th Heaven. Through the years she has appeared
in numerous television series including in 2014 the series
Fargo. She also has appeared in musical video with such
artists as Maroon 5. In 2007 she earned a Golden Nymph
from The Festival de Télévision
de Monte-Carlo In 2011 she earned a Gemini Award for Best
Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role in a Comedic
Series. Rachel is married to composer Jeremy Turner.
(2019) |
Nanette Bordeaux |
Born April 3,
1911, St Georges, Quebec. Died September 20, 1956. Her real
name was Helene Olivine Veilleux. She was an actress who is
perhaps best remembered for roles she played in a series of
movies with the famous Three Stooges in the early 1950's. |
Genevieve Bujold |
Born July 1,
1942, Montreal, Quebec. She trained at the Quebec
Conservatory of Dramatic Art and
began her acting career in French Canadian theater making her
debut in 1962. During a trip to Europe she was 'noticed' by
French director Alain Resnais who placed her in several of
his films. Returning to Canada she married film director
Paul Almond in 1967.The couple had one son. Her
husband placed her in three films including Isabel in
1968 and the Act of the Heart in 1970 which won the
Canadian Film Award for Best Actress. She has
received recognition for her dramatic talents with a Golden
Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) and
an Oscar nomination for the role in
Anne of a Thousand Days.
released in 1969. In 1973 she again won Best Actress from
the Canadian Film Awards for her role in Claude Jutra's
Kamouraska. Divorced in 1973 the couple worked again in
Final Assignment in 1980 and The
Dance Goes On in 1991. She won a Genie Award in 1980
as Best supporting Actress and in 1981 for Performance by an
Actress in a leading role which she earned again in 1989,
1994, and1998. She acted in numerous films in the 1970's
and early 1980's with top male stars of Hollywood. After a
long departure she returned to Quebec to be in two films by
Michael Brault. She has continued to work mainly in
independent films. In 2010 she earned the Best Performance
by a Female from the Canadian Comedy Awards for
The Trotsky. In 2013 The Canadian Screen Awards honoured
her with Performance by and Actress in a Leading Role in
Still Mine. |
Jacqueline 'Jackie' Burroughs
3981 |
Born February 2, 1939, Southport, England. Died September
22, 2010, Toronto, Ontario. In 1961 she married Zalman
Yanovsky co-founder of musical group The Lovin'
Spoonful. The couple had one daughter before they divorced
in 1968.Jackie began a career in acting in 1966 and would
appear in over 50 films during her career. In 1969
Jackie earned a Canadian Film Award for Best Actress for the
television film Dulcima. In 1976 Jackie began her
acting career on stage at the famous Stratford Festival in
Ontario with the role of Portia in the Merchant of
Venice. She worked in numerous films including The
Grey Fox, 1982, The Dead Zone, 1983 and did voice
over in the animated anthology Heavy Metal in 1981.
In 1985 she appeared in Anne of Green Gables. Later
she played Hetty King in the C B C TV series Road to
Avonlea in the 1990's. She also played Mother Mucca in
the television adaptations of More Tales of the
City and Further Tales of the City. In 1987
she would co-write, produce and direct A Winter Tan.
In 2001 she earned the Earle Grey Award for her
contributions to arts and entertainment from the Academy of
Canadian Cinema and Television. In 2005 she receive the
Governor General's Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
In 2006 she was in the Film The Sentinel and also
appeared in the TV series Smallville.
(2022) |
Kathleen 'Kay' Emmett
Callard-McNaughton
4119 |
Born November 10, 1923, Toronto, Ontario.
Died March 7, 2008, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England.
Most of Kay's professional acting career was in Great
Britain. She first appeared in the Limping Man in
1953. In 1959 Kay married Jack McNaughton (died 1990).
She appeared in some 22 films with her last appearance being
in Riders in 1993. She was also a popular performer in
British television series in the 1950's and 1960's.
Source: IMDB (accessed 2022) |
Neve Adrianne Campbell
|
Born October 3, 1973, Guelph, Ontario. Acting seems to be in
the family blood as her grandparents ran and performed in a
theatre company in the Netherlands and her father was a high
school dram teacher. At six she began taking ballet and
later performed with the National Ballet School of
Canada in Toronto. She changed to acting when she was 15 and
performed on stage while she was still in high school. In
1991 she appeared in a commercial for Coca-Cola. On
television she had roles with The Kids In The Hall,
Are you Afraid of the Dark? , and
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. By 1994
she was in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. making a name for
herself in acting on television with Party of Five which
ran from 1994 to 2000. After the sixth season she wanted
the freedom from the TV show to pursue work in movies.
Her talents have seen that she has had success appearing in
over 30 movies. She earned the Saturn Award for Best Actress
in the 1996 film Scream. In 1995 she married Jeff Colt but
the marriage ended in 1998.In Scream 2 in 1997 she the MTV
Movie Award for Best Female Performance. In 1998 she was
listed as on of 50 Most Beautiful People by People
magazine, as 100 Sexiest Movie Stare by Empire
magazine, and was included as one of FHM's sexiest
women in the world. She has even played a real princess,
Elizabeth Windsor in Churchill: the Hollywood years in
2004. In 2006 she work on stage at the Old Vic Theatre.
She has also written scripts for movies and is a known
producer of movies. In 2007 she married Jeff Light but this
marriage also ended in divorce in 2011. In 2009 Neve
returned to Television staring on NBC's drama series The
Philanthropist. She has also been guest star in numerous
TV shows. Since 2012 she has been partners with J.J. Field
and the couple have one and have adopted a second son. Hers
is a career to watch.
(2019) |
Rose Marie 'Tantoo' Cardinal
Métis Star |
Born July 20,
1950, Fort McMurray, Alberta. The baby Rose Marie was named
Tantoo by her grandmother. It was her grandmother to
educated her in the Cree language and the traditions of her
people. Tantoo has become one of North
America’s most widely recognized
Métis
actors. In 1968 she married Fred Martin and the couple had
one son prior to their divorce. She has
earned a Grammy award for her work as a guest appearance on
the TV program
North of 60,
one of numerous television shows in which she has appeared.
Tantoo had a second son with actor Beaver Richards. In 1988
she married actor John Lawlor and the couple had a
daughter. She has also appeared in numerous films including Dances
With Wolves (1990). She has also won the American Indian
Festival, Best Actress, and the 1st Rudy Martin Award for
Outstanding Achievement by a Native American in film
for
Legends of the Fall.
In 1991
Maclean’s Magazine declared her
Actress of the Year.
In 2002 she was inducted as a Member of the Order of
Canada 'for her contributions to the growth and development
of Aboriginal performing Arts in Canada, as a screen and
stage actress, and as a founding member of the Saskatchewan
Native Theatre Company. Tantoo has her hands in cement on
Neka'new'ak: The Aboriginal Walk of Honour, Edmonton,
Alberta. On August 3, 2011 she, and fellow Canadian actor
Margot Kidder (1948-2018), were arrested with others for
protesting the proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline.
In 2017 she received the Earle Grey Award for Lifetime
Achievement from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and
Television. She played a guest role in the popular Scottish
series Outlander in 2018 and continues to
appear in popular movie and television productions.
In the fall of 2021 she was on of the recipients of the
Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.
(2022) |
Kim Victoria Cattral |
Born August 21, 1956, Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. She
immigrated as an infant with her family to Courtney, British
Columbia. At 11 she lived with her grandmother in England
and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic
Arts. Returning to Canada she completed High School and
earned a scholarship at the American Academy of Dramatic
Arts in New York City. She made her movie debut with
director Otto Premanger in Rosebud in 1975. She then
worked in television series including Quincy,
Columbo
and The Hulk before returning to the movies and live
theatre. She has enjoyed stage work in both the U.S.A and in
England. She has been married three times: 1977 to Larry
Davis; in 1982 to Andre J. Lyson and in 1998 through 2004 to
audio designer Mark Levinson. She has earned numerous awards
including a Genie Award for best leading lady in 1980, 2
Gemini Awards (2006 and 2010) ad a 2010 Razzie Award with
co-stars for worst actresses in Sex in the City 2. On
September 9, 2009 she received a star on Canada’s Walk of
Fame in Toronto. |
Sarah Chalke |
Born August 27, 1976, Ottawa,
Ontario. Sarah would grow up in Vancouver British Columbia
where she worked in musical theatre when she was just 8
years old. . Sarah began professional acting with children's
television shows, she got her break in 996 when she became
Becky Connor # 2 on Roseanne, the popular television
show about the Connor family . She has appeared in movies
and television, including
Ernest Goes to School; Beyond Obsession; Dead
Man's Gun; Neon Rider, and for nine years she had
a role on the NBC comedy
Scrubs. She took up her role as Becky Connor on the reboot of the
Roseanne
show in 2018. When not acting Sarah can be found
on the ski slopes where she is a qualified instructor. Sarah
and her life partner lawyer Jamie Afifi became parents for
the 1st time in may 2016. She is an ambassador for the
Audrey Hepburn Children's Foundation and in 2009 was
ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Passionately Pink for the
Cure program. (2019) |
Andrée Champaign |
SEE - Politicians |
Cayle Vivian Chernin
4166 |
Born December 4 1947, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
Died February 18, 2011, Toronto, Ontario. When she was six
her family relocated Stephenville, Newfoundland. There were
no public schools in the town at the time so these Jewish
children attended Catholic School. At twelve the family was
living in Toronto where Cayle started acting classes. Cayle
began an acting career working the Canadian classic film
Goin' Down the Road in 1970. Moving at first to Montreal
and then to Los Angeles in California, U.S.A. , she finally
settled in Toronto. In 1998 she met her husband,
actor Dwight McFee.
They married December 19, 1999. Cayle
appeared in TV series like Little Mosque on the Prairie
and Queer as Folk and in theatre productions.
She went on to have a career as
a producer of award winning documentary films. In 2010 she
filmed a sequel to Goin' Down the Road called Down the Road
Again. The film was released posthumously in October 2011.
(2022) |
Rae Dawn Chong |
Born February 28, 1961,
(sometimes
reported as 1962),
Edmonton, Alberta.
She began her movie career with a movie in which
there was no dialogue! Quest for Fire which premiered
in 1981. She has appeared in numerous movies including the
Color Purple in 1985 and Far Out Man in 1990. She
married Owen Bayliss and the couple had one son divorcing in
1982. In 1989 she married actor C. Thomas Howell, a co-star
in the movie Soul Man. Divorced she married Nathan
Ulrich but again the marriage ended in divorce in 2014.
She also appeared with her father in Cheech & Chong's the
Corsican Brothers. Her career to 2013 had spanned roles
in some 40 movies. and numerous appearances on TV show
including many recurring roles.
(2017) |
Katherine 'Kate' Mary Craven
Clark
3529 |
née Hawtrey. Born
November 8, 1926, Toronto, Ontario. Died June 11, 2021,
Toronto, Ontario. Kate was educated at Trinity College,
Toronto. She began acting on stage at Hart House Theatre and
then was off to England for a year with the Embassy Theatre,
London. In 1956 she married fellow English actor John Clark
and in 1959 the couple lived in New York City, U.S.A. . In
1963 their son was born. Sadly the couple divorced in 1967
and Kate returned to Toronto with her son. Here she appeared
in numerous film and television productions. In 1980 she was
well known when she appeared in the film Funeral Home.
She worked well into the 2000's including doing voice for
Grandma Bunny on the children's TV show Max and Ruby
from 2002 through 2019. (2021) |
Suzanne Clouthier
3980 |
Born July 10, 1923, Ottawa, Ontario. Died
December 2, 2003, Montreal, Quebec. Suzanne began her career
as an actor in New York City and then worked with the Comédie
Française. In 1951 she played Desdemona in Orson Welles'
film of Othello. She acted on stage in London, England
with Peter Ustinov (1921-2004) and the couple married in
1954. They had three children before divorcing in 1971.
After some time in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. she
relocated to live in Montreal in 1988.
(2022) |
Dorothy Davies |
Born Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. Died March 27, 2002. She
worked as a radio actress, script writer and director on the
CBC radio serial The Carson Family from 1947 through 1965.
She was an original member of the Totem and Everyman
Theatres which were early professional troupes. In 1955 she
won the Dominion Drama Festival Award with a UBC Alumni
production of The Crucible.
She was the first recipient of the Jessie Richardson Award
for lifetime achievement. She also won the Sam Payne Award
for developing young talent. She was a charter member of the
British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Source.
The History of Metropolitan Vancouver – Hall of Fame (accessed June 19, 2009.)
|
Yvonne De Carlo |
née Middleton. Born September 1, 1922, West Point Grey (now
Vancouver), British Columbia. Died January 8, 2007, Los
Angeles, California, U.S.A.. Her mother was Marie De Carlo
who was an aspiring actor. Her father abandoned the family
when Yvonne was three years old and she went to live with her
grandparents. At ten she and her mother were in Hollywood,
California and she began dance school until their visas
expired and they returned to Vancouver. Mother and daughter
made many trips to Los Angeles where Yvonne entered beauty
pageants. In 1941 with dancer and showman Nils
Granlund pledging his sponsorship and offer of steady work
Yvonne was back in the U.S.A. Within the year she quite
dancing and landed her 1st movie role in Harvard, Here I
Come. She never looked back and had sang, danced and
acted her way through 95 movie roles during her career.
Television roles were also numerous on westerns Bonanza
and
The Virginian, but she perhaps left her most
distinctive mark as Lily on the TV hit show The Munsters.
In 1957 she earned a BoxOffice Blue Ribbon Award for her
role in the Ten Commandments and again in 1964 for
McLintock. In 1960 she was awarded two stars, one for
movies and one for TV, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Yvonne
had a daughter from her 1st marriage and she married for a
second time Bruce Ross in 1955 and the couple had two sons,
they divorced in 1974. In 1987 she won the Fantafestival
Award as Best Actress in
American Gothic. |
Adelaide 'Laddie' Margaret
Eleanor Marie Dennis |
née
Boissoneau. Born May 7, 1920, Winnipeg Manitoba. Died
February 22, 2009, Toronto, Ontario. The outgoing young
Laddie took courses and performed at the Montreal Repertory
Theatre. Moving to Toronto and adopting her mother’s maiden name she took a fashion model position which lead her to
fashion commentary. She became a writer and
on-air-host for the Laura Secord Music Box show, CFRB
Radio. She worked with Monty Hall (later a famous U.S. game
show host of Let’s Make a Deal) and acted in CBC
radio dramas along with doing hundreds of radio commercials.
In 1946 Laddie wore dark pancake make-up, brown lipstick and
green nail polish to provide the best image on demonstration
black and white television sponsored by Eaton’s Department
Stores. In 1951 she married novelist, editor, critic, and
advocate for the disabled James Burke (1917-2006). Their romance
lasted 55 years. She became the first Canadian woman to
appear on Canadian TV, September 8, 1952. Laddie was
named Liberty Magazine’s 1955 TV Demonstrator of the
Year. After a brush with cancer, Laddie found a job with
regular hours from 1970-1985 as Director, Public Relations Scarborough Public Libraries. On vacation she travelled to
Morocco and upon return she sold her travel story. Thus began a
journalistic career that would cover 80 countries. She
was presented with the first Lifetime Achievement Award ,
2001 by the Travel Media Association of Canada.
Sources: Northern Stars (accessed March 2009): Canadian
Broadcast Museum Foundation, (accessed March 2009); Personal
knowledge. (2021) |
Edna Mae 'Deanna' Durbin |
Born December 4, 1921, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Died April 17
(sometimes reported as 20), 2013 Neauphle-le-Château,
France.
Known as 'Winnipeg’s Sweetheart', this glamour
actress of the 1930’s and 1940’s had a real star status in
Hollywood. She began her career in 1926 and had 23 credits
behind her by 1948. In 1938, at 17, she was awarded at he
Academy Juvenile Award. IN 1941 Deanna married assistant
movie director, Vaughn Paul and they divorced in 1943.
In 1945 she married a second time to writer/actor Felix
Jackson (1902-1992) and the couple had one daughter but were
divorced by 1949. Then she simply dropped out of the
Hollywood life. In
1950 she married producer/director Charles Henri David (died
1999) and the couple lived in a farmhouse near Paris, France
with her daughter and their son.
She has not given an interview of any kind since she “dropped
acting” . Up until her death fan mail was still sent to the
reclusive actor. |
Denise Filiatrault |
Born
May 16, 1931?, Montreal, Quebec. An actor, director and
writer, most of her work has been done in the French
language. One of her TV series, Moi et l'autre,
1967-1971, was considered the biggest comedy hit in the
history of Quebec TV. Her stage productions earned her
acclaim and awards. In 1982 she earned a Genie Award for
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her
work in The Plouffe Family ( Les Plouffe) . Her first
film C't'a ton tour Laura Cadieux was so successful
that it required a sequel,
Laura is Back or Laura Cadieux...la suite! In 1994
she became an Officer in the Order of Canada and in 2000 she
became an Officer of the National Order of Quebec. In 1999
she received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for
her work in television.
In 2002, she produced a new comedy fantasy,
L'Odyssée d'Alice Tremblay.
In 2003, taking advantage
of the success of her motion picture characters, Filiatrault
produced a television miniseries for TVA, Le Petit monde
de Laura Cadieux (2003), before tackling a new film
Bittersweet Memories (Ma vie en cinémascope) in
2004 depicting the biography of singer Alyse Robi. In 2006
Denise received a lifetime achievement Jutra Award.
(2019) |
Diane Foster |
Born October 31, 1928,
Edmonton, Alberta. Died July 27, 2019, Hidden Hills,
California, U.S.A.In the 1950's and 1960's she established
herself as an actress in some 20 movies. In the 1960's she
was in demand to appear in guest roles in television. She
appeared in some 50 different roles in such main time shows
as The Wild Wild West, Parry Mason, The Big Valley, My Three
Sons, Ben Casey and The Fugitive. By the 1970's she became
more interested in play the role of mother to her three
children. She has also expressed her talents as an artist
and an accomplished musician. |
Rosemary Forsyth |
Born July 6,
1943, Montreal, Quebec. This
actor has appeared in numerous movies since she began her
career in 1965 in the role of Bronwyn apposite Charlton
Heston in The War Lord and James Steward in
Shenandoah. That year she was nominated for a Golden
Globe Award for Best New Star of the Year - Actress. She
married three times.1966 to 1975 she married Michael Tolan
and the couple had a daughter. In 1972 to 1975 she was
married to Ron Waranch. In 1980 to 1983 she was married to
Alan Horowitz; Maternity leave caused a crimp in her
career but she maintained her career with numerous guest
appearances with day time drama in TV series such as
Days of Our Lives and
General Hospital
and with prime time
evening television shows such as
NYPD Blue, Monk,
and
Without a Trace. In
2003 she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Screen
Actor's Guild.
(2018) |
Nicole Germain |
née
Marcelle Landreau. Born November 29, 1917. Died February 11,
1994. Nicole began her acting career in 1939 on radio and
was voted the French Canadian Miss Radio in 1946. She
enjoyed a successful career in French language films in the
1940’0 and 1950’s. By the mid 1950’s she was a television
journalist and moderator. She was co-chairman of the 1960
Christmas Gift Campaign for the Quebec Division of the
Canadian Mental Health Association which raised gifts for
Quebec's hospitalized mentally ill. For her efforts to
promote the French Language she was named a Member of the
Order of Canada in 1974. (2017)
|
Marie Gignac |
Marie studied at the Conservatoire d’art
dramatique de Québec. She has appeared in numerous roles on
stage and . She has also appeared in several television
series including Nos étés, Smash,
La chambre numéro 13 and Fortier.
In 2011 she became a Member of the Order of Canada
recognizing her work as an actor, director, playwright and
artistic director of Carrfour international de théâtre. |
Gail Gilmore / Gail Gibson
3990 |
née Gerber.
Born October 4, 1937, Edmonton, Alberta. Died March 2,
2014, Sharon, Connecticut, U.S.A. When she was just 15 she
became a member of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. In 1963,
wearing a tight fitting sweater, she was featured in Playboy
magazine ad one of the girls from Canada. The next year she
began acting appearing in four television series, Mr.
Novak, My Three Sons, Perry Mason, and
Wagon Train. She also did some stage work at the Ivar
Theatre in Hollywood, California, U.S.A. She stared with
Elvis Presley two time in Girl Happy in 1965 and in Harum
Scarum 1965. In 1966 she met her life partner Terry Southern
(died 1995) and the couple moved to New York City and
finally settled in Connecticut. From 1973 through 1995 she
taught Balled in Berkshires area of New England in the U. S.
A. In 2005 she published her autobiography Trippin' with
Terry Southern: What I Think I Remember which won the
Independent Publisher Award Silver Medal.
(2020) |
Luba Goy |
Born November 8,
1945, Haltern, Germany. Luba's family immigrated to Canada in
1951 and settled in Ottawa, Ontario. This petite (she is
only 1.5 meters tall) comedienne graduated from
Montreal's National Theatre School. She began her acting
career on stage at the Stratford Theatre in Ontario. In the
1980's she was featured in an education series of TV shows
on computers called Bits and Bites which aired throughout
north America on Public Television stations. She went on and
worked on such shows as Bizarre and did some of the
voices in Care Bear
animated features. She became a welcome addition to Air
Farce where she is known for her impersonations of
Sheila Copps, Pamela Wallin, Hanna Gartner, Queen
Elizabeth, Kim Campbell, and even Donald Duck. As part of
the Air Farce tem she has won 15 ACTRA Awards, a Juno, the
Maclean's Honour roll and was one of the 1st Canadians
inducted into the International Humour Hall of Fame. In 1996
she received the Outstanding Achievement Award from Women in
Film and Television Air Farce won in 1998 the Governor
General's Award for Performing Arts. for Lifetime Artistic
Achievement. She speaks Ukrainian fluently and has been
featured in Ukrainian films. In May 2012 she debuted
he one-person show LUBA, Simply Luba at the Berkeley
Street Theatre in Toronto, Ontario. She does not like to
publish the year of her birth. |
Patricia Hamilton |
Born April 27, 1937, Regina, Saskatchewan. Patricia married
fellow actor Leslie 'Les' Carlson (193302914) in 1967 and
the couple had one son who also became an actor. She began
her acting career in 1971 appearing on numerous television
shows. Patricia will be remembered for her recurring role as
the character Rachel Lynde in the television mini series
Anne of Green Gables, all the TV sequels and
several Anne movies. She also provided the voice of this
character for the Public Broadcasting Services' animated
series. She was nominated for a Gemini Award three
times for her performance as Rachel Lynde and won the award
in 1996. In 2008 she starred in the Harold Green Jewish
Theatre production of Kindertransport in Toronto. |
Jillian Hennessy |
Born November 25, 1969,
Edmonton, Alberta. Jillian
has an identical twin sister Jacqueline. The girls were
partially raised in Kitchener, Ontario by their grandmother.
She is multi lingual speaking Italian, French, Spanish, and
German. The twin girls played call girls in 1988 film
Dead Ringers. but it was Jillian who went on to a full
career as an actor in numerous movies. She earned
roles in Robocop
and had TV presence on in dramatic roles in Law
& Order and
Crossing Jordan
which ran for 6 seasons. In 1990 she debuted in the
Broadway musical
Buddy.- the Buddy Holly Story. In 2000 she wrote,
produced and co-directed the independent film
The Acting Class.
That same year she married Paolo Mastropietro. The couple
has two children. In 2001 she played Jackie Kennedy in the
film
Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot. June 9, 2007
she received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. She
plays guitar and as a singer cut her 1st album in 2003 and
she had brought out her second album
I DO in 2011 for which she wrote all the songs. The
band Molly cuddle wrote a song, The Ballad of Jill
Hennessy. In 2012 she appeared in Sunshine Sketches of a
Little Town in which she was nominated for a Canadian
Screen Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Film.
She continues to appear in movies and TV series.
(2019) |
Catherine 'Cathy' Theresa Mary
Andrea
Jones |
Born April 6, 1955, St. John’s, Newfoundland. At 17 she
worked touring for the summer with the Newfoundland
Traveling Theatre Company and the following year she
relocated to Toronto, Ontario for more theatre work. In 1973
she and her thespian friends for med CODCO, a
Canadian comedy troupe. In 1992, along with Rick Mercer, she
was part of the group that created the TV series This
Hour has 22 Minutes. She has played numerous roles of
both men and women on the show. She has earned 18 Gemini
Awards and three Canadian comedy awards for Best Writing in
a Comedy Series for her work on
22 Minutes and CODCO. From 1996 through 1999
she was married to Paul Hannon and the couple had two
children. She toured with a one woman show; Wedding in
Texas and Me, Dad and The Hundred Boyfriends. In film
in made for TV films Secret Nation and Bruce
McDonald’s Wierdos. In 2006 the TV series on CBC Life
and Times aired Keeping up with Cathy Jones.
(2017) |
Julie Khaner |
Born December 5, 1957, Montreal, Quebec.
This accomplished actor played Alana on
Street Legal (CBC series) and Emily on Jake and
the Kid
( Global TV Series). She is also a regular on the CBC series
Newsroom. Her TV guest roles have included Aderly,
Night Heat, My Secret Identity and many more. She also
enjoys live stage work and has played various roles at the
famous Stratford Festival located in Ontario.
|
Margaret
"Margot' Ruth
Kidder |
Born October
17, 1948, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories Died
May 13, 2018, Livingston, Montana, U.S.A. Margot's family
moved a lot during her early years and she suffered from
some mental problems including attempting suicide at 14.
While attending Havergal College, a girls boarding school in
Toronto, Ontario Margot gained an interest in acting.
Graduating in 1966 she had her 1st acting job in a 'short'
film. After working in Canadian TV series she relocated to
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. in 1970. In 1975 she
married novelist Thomas McGuane. The couple had one daughter
but this marriage lasted two years. In 1979 she
married actor John Heard but the marriage only lasted
6 days. In 1983 she married Philippe De Broca but the
marriage only lasted one year. Margot was to
date Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau in real life and
become the girl friend of
Superman
in the movies. She appeared
in all four of the Superman movies. She has over 80 movie
and major TV productions to her credit. Her career was
stalled and she was injured in a serious car crash in 1990.
She then became bankrupt. In 1996 she suffer ed a public
breakdown. Sh would pick up her career in the 2000's with
movies and in 2004 a TV series which was a Superman spin-off
and the series Brothers and Sisters. Did you
know that the comic book characters of Superman and Lois
Lane were the idea of a young Canadian artist? Look it up! |
Marilyn Iris 'Mimi' Kuzyk
|
Born February 21, 1952, Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a child she
loved dance and joined the Russia Folk Ensemble where she
danced and was a choreographer for fifteen years and briefly
studied Jazz dance at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School.
Happiest when she was on the stage she relocated to Toronto
in 1977 to pursue acting as a career. She first appeared in
commercials which led to small TV roles and then relocating
to Los Angeles in 1983 she landed recurring TV roles on
successful TV shows such as Hill Street Blues. She
also had a successful movie career beginning in 1984 with
the film He’s Fired, She’s Fired. Her career has
included earning a Genie nomination for Best Supporting
Actress. In 2013 she entered the would of video games. She
has married twice to Don Cilinsky and in 1996 to Manolin
Kourtikakis and has one daughter. In 1994 she relocated to
Toronto appearing with Donald Sutherland in a made for TV
movie. She also returned to police presence on TV in the
2001-2004 series Blue Murder where she earned two Gemini
Award nominations again for best supporting actress. She
continues to work on TV shows and movies in Canada.
(2018) |
Carole Laure |
Born August 5, 1951, Shawinigan, Quebec. She began a career
as a teacher but did not find it to her liking. In 1971 she
appeared in her 1st movie Mon enfance à Montréal and
has a distinguished career not only in French language films
and television but also in English language films. In 1980
she appeared in a dinging role in the film musical
Fantastica. Here solo singing career is like her acting,
bilingual with single discs and LP’s in both languages.
(updated Sept 1, 2014)
|
Ruta Lee |
née Kilmonis. Born May 30,1936, Montreal, Quebec. In
1948 she moved to Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. where she
studied at Hollywood High School and Los Angeles City
College and the University of California. Her 1st TV
appearance was as a guest on the George Burns and Gracie
Allen show and then the Roy Rogers Show. This
actress began her career in films in 1954 in
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
She has mainly appeared in lesser-known films such as
Pterodactyl Women from
Beverly Hills. She also continued to appear in numerous
TV shows and was popular on TV western and TV detective
shows. She made regular appearances on Game shows such as
Hollywood Squares. In 1974 she hosted the show High
Rollers for two years. In 1976 she married Webster B.
'Webb' Lowe Jr., a restaurant executive. During the
1980's she did voice for cartoon shows such as the
Flintstones and the Smurfs.
Turning to the live stage she performed extensively in
such musicals as Peter Pan. In the 1990's she once again did
numerous guest appearances on TV .In 1995 a Golden Palm Star
was placed for her on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. In 2002 she earned a Golden Boot Award for her work on
western TV shows. In 2006 she received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the 2000's she once again took to
stage work. On August 24 she was inducted into the National
Lithuanian American Hall of Fame. |
Anne Marie Loder -DeLuise |
Born August
3, 1969, St John's, Newfoundland. An accomplished TV and
movie actor, she always wanted to act. She took local
classes in St John’s Newfoundland until she discovered
theatre school. After university she attended the Ryerson
Theatre School for Acting in Toronto. She had her 1st role
in Family Pictures in 1993. She Married actor and
director Peter DeLuise in 2002 and the couple have one
son. To date he most notable roles are Dr. Greene in
Fifty Shades of Grey
and Mrs. Briggs on Strange Empire for which she won
the Leo Award from British Columbia for Best Supporting
Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series.
(2019) |
Mari-Lou MacDonald |
Born circa 1941, perhaps in Toronto, Ontario. She was a
model and actress who in the mid 1960’s was introduced to
skydiving by Canadian champion skydiver Darrell Henry.
In May 1964 she placed second in several women’s sky diving
events at the National Championships and in July 1966 she
was overall Champion woman skydiver. In September 1964 she
became the 1st woman skydiver to perform in the Royal
Canadian Air Force’s international Air Show at the Canadian
National Exhibition. She was not only an actor but she was a
stunt woman for movies, television and commercials. In 1970
Life
magazine did a photo layout of some of Mari-Lou’s
achievements.
Sources:
Mari-Lou MacDonald (accessed June 2015)
;
Life Magazine September 25, 1970 Online, (accessed
June 2015) ;
Ottawa Citizen September 2, 1962 Online, (accessed
June 2015)
Suggestion submitted by Bernard Pelletier.
|
Barbara Jean Maczka
March
4103 |
Born October 9, 1953, Toronto, Ontario. Died
August 1, 2019, British Columbia. Barbara graduated from the
University of Windsor in Ontario and shortly after
graduation she began her acting career. As a stage actor she
performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, the Guthrie
Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. as well as stages
in New your City and Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. In 1979
she married
Alan Scarfe and the couple had one daughter.
.
An actress of television and movies she played in Star
Trek: the Next Generation in 1987, Star Trek: Deep Space
Nine in 1993 and Star Trek: Generations in 1994. She also
had numerous TV appearances in L.A. Law, the Luck of the
Draw, and the Deserters for which she earned a Genie
Award nomination. (2022) |
Andrea Martin
|
Born
January 15,1947, Portland, Maine U.S.A. Andrea's
grandfather had been an amateur thespian and had changed the
family Armenian name from Papazian to Martin. Like many
youngsters she took piano lessons and had played piano at
the Portland Art Museum. In 1965 she was crowned Miss
Deering High and was a member of her high school drama club.
After graduating from
Emerson College, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. she earned a
role with a touring company.
She has had guest
appearances since the 1950’s in such series as Maverick,
Carol Barnet Show, Superman, and doing voices on The
Simpson’s.
She visited Toronto Often
and settled there in 1970 finding work on TV, in films and
theatre. In 1974 she earned the Sitges Film Festival Best
Actress Award for he role Black Christmas. In
1976 she joined fellow Canadian John Candy, Dave Thomas,
Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis and Joe Flaherty
on the TV series S C T V. She became a well known
impersonator portraying top actors of the day. In 1981 she
was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Variety Show for her S C T V work. In 1992 with her
Broadway debut in My Favorite Year she won a Tony
Award, Theatre World Award, and a Dram Desk Award for Best
featured actress in a musical. She authored and performed in
the one woman show Nude, Nude, Nude, Totally Nude
appearing across the United States and earning the 1996
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show. She
has been equally successful with movies and television guest
appearances throughout the decades of her career. In 2017
she became a Canadian citizen. In 2018 she was
inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. A proud
mother of two sons, and now a grandmother she continues to
perform on stage, TV, and movies often winning more awards
for her performances. (2022) |
Lois
Ruth
Maxwell |
née
Hooker. Born
February 14, 1927,
Kitchener, Ontario. Died
September 29, 2007, Fremantie, Australia. Lois ran away from
home at fifteen to join the Canadian Women's Army Corps
during World War 11. She was quickly on stage as part of the
Army Show in Canada. Later as part of the Canadian Auxiliary
Services Entertainment Unit she was sent to England where
she appeared next to such entertainers as Wayne and Shuster.
When her true age was discovered she was discharged and she
enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
She became friends with fellow student Sir Roger Moore. They
would re-unit during their careers in the James Bond film
series. During her acting career she also used the name
Lois Hooker. At 20 she moved to Hollywood and won the
actress Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for a
role with actor Shirley Temple. Between 1950-1955 she lived
in Rome, Italy, making films and at one point becoming
an amateur race driver. Visiting Paris, France she met her
future husband Peter Marriott (died 1973) and they married
in 1957 settling in London, England. The couple had two
children together. After the death of her husband she
returned to Canada living in Fort Erie, Ontario. She
appeared in numerous TV shows including, The Saint,
with her old friend Roger Moore. While she is credited with some 68 roles in
movies and TV she will perhaps be best remembered for her
portrayal in the Ian Fleming's James Bond films as Miss
Moneypenny. In her first appearance as Miss Moneypenny she
even supplied her own wardrobe. Her last appearance in the
Bond films was in a View to Kill, 1985. She wrote a column
from 1979-1994 for the Toronto Sun newspaper using the pen
name Miss Moneypenny. In 1994 she returned to England to
live closer to her family. In 2001 she relocated to Perth,
Western Australia to live with her son.
(2021) |
Rachel
Anne McAdams
|
Born November 17, 1978, London, Ontario. She began to show
an interest in acting at the age of 7 but her artistic
talents were originally brought out as a competitive figure
skater. By the age of 13 she was performing Shakespeare at
summer theatre camp. In high school she was active on the
Student Council, participated in Crimestoppers and was a
member of the Per Help Group. In the summers she worked at
McDonald’s fast food restaurants. In 1995 she received
an award for appearing in an one act school play at the
Sears Drama Festival. In 1998 she was working on a
Disney series. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts
from York University, Toronto, in 2001. She starred in the
Time Traveler’s Wife which won Best Breakthrough movie
award at the National Movie Awards and in 2011 Sherlock
Holmes which won the Best Action / Thriller Award. Well her
career became noticed by the fans in Mean Girls she has
appeared in numerous comedy and romantic comedy films. An
active environmentalist she is a co-founder of
www.greenissexy.org which helps raise awareness about
the environment. She lives in Toronto, preferring to travel
rather than live in Los Angeles when required to work there.
Sources: imdb (accessed February
2012) |
Allyn Ann
McLerie |
Born
December 1 1926, Grand Mere, Quebec. Died May 21, 2018,
North Bend, Washington, U.S.A. Allyn and her widowed
mother moved to the United States when she was just one year
old. Allyn become an actress having made films from
the 1940's through to the 1980's. A listing of her TV
appearances is like a listing of the classics, Bonanza,
The Walton's
and Dynasty to name a few of the shows in which
she appeared. She married Adolph Green a lyricist in 1945
but they divorce in 1953. She married a second time to actor
George Gaynes (1917-2016) and the couple had two children.
She retired from acting in 1993. |
Marie Louise
Monique Mercure |
Born November
14, 1930, Montreal, Quebec. Died May 16, 2020, Montreal,
Quebec.As a child she learned to play
the cello. Monique began playing roles on the stage in 1947.
In 1949 she married Pierre Mercure (1927-1966) a composer
and TV producer. The couple had a daughter and twin sons.
After her divorce in 1958 she took up acting once again.
This actor who in 1991 headed up the national
Theatre School has acted the classics but also retained an
active interest in new works of our writers and directors.
She has performed in Quebec and throughout north America, in
France and in England.
She has won the Palm d’Or for Best Actress at the world
famous Cannes Film Festival. In 1992 she won a Genie for
Best Supporting Actress in the film Naked Lunch. In 1994 she earned the
Toronto Drama Bench Award for Distinguished Contribution to
Canadian Theatre. She became an Officer in
the Order of Canada in 2006. She has received the Governor
Genera's Award. (2019) |
Ramona Milano
|
Born November 9, 1969,
Nobelton, Ontario.
Before entering the Drama program at Humber College
she worked on stage at Canada’s Wonderland theme park located just outside of Toronto, Ontario.
On June 25, 1994 she married Fabio D'agostino and the couple have one
child. She has appeared mainly on Television and
maybe best known for work as Francesca on the TV series Due South for which she was nominated twice for Gemini
Awards in 1997 an 1998. She has appeared in roles in addition TV series as well as commercials
for various Canadian companies. Ramona has co-hosted Living
Romance on the W Television network. She has also enjoyed
appearing on state in Sudbury, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario
and Toronto, Ontario. |
Gabrielle Miller |
Birth name Gabrielle Sunshine Miller.
Born November 9, 1973, Vancouver, British Columbia. As a teen she
worked at many odd jobs including being a gas station
attendant. She gave up working at her mother’s house
cleaning business and attended the Breck Academy of the
Performing Arts in B.C. By 2008 she has had over 50
different TV and movie credits, had won three Leo awards, and had
maintained key roles in Robinson Arms and the award winning
Corner Gas, the highest rated television program in Canada
at that time. She shares her time between Los Angeles and
Vancouver for her work and yet finds time to do charity time
as well. In 2007 she travelled to Mali with World Vision and
handed out trees, piglets and clean water to villages. She
is also the spokes person for the VELA Association, a
non-profit organization helping people with disabilities.
She enjoys time with her dog Duncan and regularly works out
with a boxing coach. Definitely a rising Canadian star to
watch.
Source: Official Gabrielle Miller web site (accessed June 2008)
|
Belinda Montgomery |
Born July 23, 1950, Winnipeg, Manitoba. When she was 11 her
family moved to England for a couple of years before
settling in Highland Creek, a village east of Toronto,
Ontario. She and her brother modeled for the Sears catalogue
as children and did some work for the CBC TV. While still a
teen she was in Hollywood as a popular youth actor. One of
her earliest appearances was in the TV Western the
Virginian. She became popular on the TV – Movie circuit and
shared billing with some of the top talents such as George Pepard, Pernell Roberts, Jessica Walter, and Ida Lupino. She
had numerous appearances on the top TV series of the 1970’s
and 1980’s; Marcus Welby,
Medical Centre, Love Boat, Man from
Atlantis, Trapper John MD , to name a few. She
had a recurring role as the ex-wife of the character
Crockett (Don Johnson) in Miami Vice and played the
mother on Doogie Houser, M.D. She appears less
often in T. V. series in the 1990’s and 2000.s. From the
time she sold her first piece of art work at 11, Belinda
continued to relax and express herself with painting. She
works in both acrylic and watercolours and now enjoys having
shows of her works.
Sources:
Belinda Montgomery web site (Accessed January 2012) ;
imdb.com (accessed January 2012)
|
Margaret
'Maggie'
Glenesk Beal
Morris
|
née Morris. Born December
10, 1925. Died September 4, 2014, Toronto, Ontario. At 14 she
was sent from England to Winnipeg, Manitoba as an evacuee
child to protect her from the ravages of World War ll. She
was chosen to participate in a Christmas telephone hook –up
between refugee children in Canada and their British parents
back home in England. At 18 she returned to the United
Kingdom and completed studies as a nurse and midwife. While
visiting Winnipeg to be a bridesmaid for a friend she met
and fell in love with the grooms brother Victor Morris and
they married in 1950. She became involved with the local
theatre and radio drama at CBC Winnipeg. Resettling in
Ottawa but the marriage broke down and she became a single
mother to her two daughters. She worked on the CBC TV show
Diplomatic Passport interviewing foreign diplomats. She
won a position with CBC Toronto on the TV quiz show
Flashback and held that position from 1962-1968. She
became popular with her audiences and received five fan mail
letters to one received by male counterparts. In 1970 she
was let go from CBC because of her “Precious pronunciation”
and strange style. She worked in Public Relations at Bell
Canada and was the voice for the message “ the number you
have dialed…”In 1971 she married for a second time to
Stanley Smolensky and the couple settled in New Orleans,
Louisiana, U.S.A. Sadly Stanley died within 5 months of
their marriage and Maggie returned to work in Public
Relations for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. In later years she
worked recording audio books.
Source: Globe and Mail
September, 2014.
Suggested By June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario. |
Carrie-Anne Moss
|
Born August
21, 1970, Vancouver, British Columbia. When she was 11 she
became a member of the Vancouver Children's Musical Theatre
and when in high school she toured Europe with the
Magee Secondary School Choir in her senior year. While
modeling in Europe she obtained a movie role in a film being
done in Spain. She began her North American acting career
with appearances in TV and movies in 1991.
She was in several TV series,
Dark Justice
in1991, Models Inc. in 1994, and F/X
the Series in 1996.In 1997 she was nominated fro a
Gemini Award for her role as a guest on the popular TV
series Due South.
In 1999 she married actor and director, Steven Roy.
The couple have three children. In 1999 through 2003 she
appeared in the Matrix Trilogy, winning an Empire
Award for Best Newcomer in 1999. In 2000 she earned an
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female in
Memento. She has kept busy with additional movies
earning a Genie Award for Best Performance by and Actress in
a Supporting Role in the romantic drama Snow Cake
in 2006 and a Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for
Best Actress in a Canadian Film in Fido. . Busy with
numerous movies she has also tried voicing animated films
such as the Clockwork Girl in 2013. Her career
continues with her appearing in two to three films a year
and numerous TV guest roles.
(2019) |
Kate Patricia Colleen
Nelligan |
Born March 16, 1950, London, Ontario. Kate
began studies at York University but switched to the Central
School of Speech and Drama in London, England.
She was born in London,
Ontario, and studied at York University and in London,
England. She began her stage career in Bristol, England. and
appeared in the British TV series The Onedin Line. In
1974 she joined the Comedy Theatre and later the National
Theatre Company. As an actress, she has
appeared in films for over 30 years. She is at home in both
cinema and TV. In the movie Up Close and Personal
she worked along side of leading actor Robert Redford. A
count shows 29 movies and TV productions since 1990 alone!
In 1991 she earned a British Academy of Film and Television
Arts (B A F T A) for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In
1993 she won a Gemini Award. She has also received Toni
nominations for her work on Broadway. She has also worked on
several TV specials including the mini series A Wrinkle
in Time in 2002. |
Claire Françoise 'Clairette' Oddera |
Born April 3, 1919, Marseille, France. Died
October 28, 2008, Montreal, Quebec. At 20 years of age she
was working as a waitress in a canteen of a local French
film studio and in 1939 she had her 1st film role. At
21 she married. She adopted the stage name of Clairette. She
began working in radio where she became known as a singer.
She would make three movies during World War ll and worked
on stage and in variety shows. In 1949 she visited Quebec
and by 1956 she immigrated to Quebec. She opened Chez
Clairette when she held auditions to scout local artists
helping to launch the careers of numerous French Canadian
entertainers. She also continued to perform herself at Chez
Clairette. She also performed occasionally on TV and opened
an academy for singers at the home of her younger sister. In
2002 she was inducted as a Knight of the National Order of
Quebec. In 2003 she was named a Member of the Order of
Canada. Her final public performance was in June 2008.
(2019) |
Catherine Anne O’Hara
|
Born March 4,1954, Toronto,
Ontario. She was a waitress at the Firehall Theatre in
Toronto when she convinced Canadian actor John Candy to
listen to her comedy routine. She joined the Second City
TV troupe in 1973. She began her film career in
1980 and has appeared in such films as Beetlejuice,
Dick Tracey, Home Alone,
and such TV series as
Tales From the Crypt. In 1981 she won a Primetime Emmy
Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. In 1988
she had the staring role in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice.
In 1992 she married production designer Bo Welch and the
couple have two sons. She has also stared in additional Tim
Burton productions including the Nightmare Before
Christmas and Frankenweenie. In 2000 she won a
Genie Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in the
film the Life Before This. She played the mother in
the two Home Alone movies. After 2000 she has done
mainly voice over work for animated stories. In 2001 she won
the Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture from the
American Comedy Awards. In 2006 she won the National Film
Board Review for Best Supporting Actress in
For Your Consideration. In 2016 she was playing
in the series Schitt's Creek. and won the Canadian
Screen Award for Bst Performance by an Actress in a
Continuing Leading Comedic Role for this series. Her role
also garnered her an ACTRA Toronto Award for Outstanding
Performance.
She has won two
Canadian Screen Awards for
Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, at the
4th Canadian Screen Awards
in 2016 and the
5th Canadian Screen Awards
in 2017. |
Hugette Oligny
3443 |
Born January 31, 1922, Montreal, Quebec. Died
May 9, 2013. Hugette began her acting career in 1939 on
stage playing in the great classics of French theatre. In
1952 she was Miss Radio-Television. In the 1950's she worked
regularly with Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and appeared in many
works by Michael Tremblay. She is also well known for her
work in television productions. Her marriage to Marcel
Alexandre, with whom she had two children had sadly ended in
divorce. In 1973 she married Gratien Gélinas
who was a pioneer in Quebec theatre. In 1984 she was
inducted as an Officer in the Order of Canada and this was
promoted to Champion in 1996. In 1998 she earned the Prix
Gemeaux de la mailleure actrice de soutien pour son role de
Marie-Rose Julien dans Sous le signe du lion. In 1999 she
became an officer in L'Ordre nationale du Québec.
Source: Homage à 56 femmes d'exception
changé le Queebec. Editions speciale 7 jours. |
Marina Orsini |
Born January 4, 1967, Ville-Emard, Montreal,
Quebec. She started her career as a model in 1982.. By 1996
she was acting with a major role in a TV series Lance et
Compt. In 1990 and 1991 she earned a Gemini Awards
for her work in Les filles de Caleb and
L'or et le papier.
Since 1991 Marina has been the spokesperson for the
Tel-Jeunes kids talk-help program. In 1995 she began performing on
stage. She married Serge Postigo in 1996 and the couple have
one child.
In 1998 she appeared in the miniseries The Sleep room
and the following hear she was the Canadian Horror series,
The Hunger. By 2009 she was hosting an afternoon radio
show in Montreal. In 2012 she was appointed a Member of the
Order of Canada. (2019)
|
Candy Palmater
Indigenous Actor,
Comedian & Broadcaster |
Born December 4, 1968, Point La Nim, New
Brunswick.
Died December 25, 2021, Toronto,
Ontario.
Candy attended Dalhousie Regional
High Scholl where she enjoyed various sports. After
graduating secondary school she entered St Thomas
University, Fredericton and followed this up with a legal
secretary course at the Maritime Business College. Her legal
secretary course led her to attend Dalhousie Law School
where she graduated as the first Aboriginal law student in
Canada to be valedictorian of her graduating class. in 1999.
While a law student she served as president of the Dalhousie
Aboriginal Law Student Association. She took a job with a
law firm but soon recognized that corporate law was not her
true calling. Her second job was was with the Nova Scotia
Department of Education. She was soon a contributor to the C
B C Radio program, Definitely Not the Opera and wrote
a regular column on The Next Chapter. She also served
as a host of the radio show Q. She also wrote a series for
the Halifax Daily News called Mi'kmaq History Month.
She was soon doing her own show called, The Candy Show,
on A P T N TV. She also enjoyed being on the Canadian
comedy club circuit. In 2011 she produced her first film,
Building Legends: The Mi'kmaq Canoe Project. She
appeared in the TV series Forgive Me, Sex & Violence and
Trailer Park Boys. In 2016 she debuted her C B C daily radio
show The Candy Palmater Show. During her career she had been
nominated for an East Coast Music Award, a Canadian Screen
Award for Best Direction in a Variety or Comedy TV Series,
and for an A C T R A Award for Best Supporting Actress. In
2017 she received the Bonham Centre Award for her contributions to the advancement and
education of issues around sexual identification.
Source: Obituary (2021) |
Denise Pelletier
3448 |
Born May 22, 1923, Saint-Jovite, Quebec. Died May 24, 1976,
Montreal, Quebec. After graduating from school she answered
an advertisement that was offering acting course by the
Montreal Repertory Theatre. At the theatre she was presented
in various classical plays and went on to perform in some
radio soap operas. In 1943 she appeared in on of the first
Québécois films AA la croise des chemins. She was one of the
few actors who was performing in both official languages. In
1952 she appeared on television as Cécile in Les Plouffes.
In 1955 she was crowned Miss Radio Television. In 1970 she
was inducted into the Order of Canada. In 1958 she became a
widow of Basil Zarov. The couple had one son. In 1975
she made her last stage appearance in The Devine Sarah at
the famous Stratford Festival. The provincial government of
Quebec has created the Prix Denise-Pelletier which is
presented to individuals for an outstanding career in the
performing arts.
Source: Hommage à 56 femmes d'exception qui ont changé le
Québec. Editions spéciale 7jours. 2021 |
Mary Pickford |
née
Gladys Louise Smith. Born April 8, 1892, Toronto,
Ontario. Died May 29, 1979, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.
Gladys Smith become seriously ill with diphtheria and is
baptized by a Catholic priest and has her middle name
changed to Marie. In 1900 her mother, having been left alone
to raise her three children, suggests her daughters Gladys
and Lottie be cast in a play. January 8, 1900 'Baby Gladys
Smith' makes her stage debut at the Princess Theatre,
Toronto in the play The Silver King. By 1905 Gladys
is in Manhattan, New York, U.S.A. sharing a room with future
film star, Lillian Gish (1893-1993) and her family. In 1907
Gladys take the name Mary Pickford. She began her screen
career in the silent films in 1909 with the Biograph Film
Studio in New York City, U.S.A. The following year she
becomes the company's second 'Biograph Girl' after fellow
Canadian Florence Lawrence (1886-1938) leaves. January 7,
1911 she married, in a secret ceremony, Owen Moore but it
was a strained marriage. She would divorce him to marry
Douglas Fairbanks on March 28, 1920 when they were know as
the King and Queen of Hollywood. As an actress she stands
above the rest of her era and earned
herself a Best Actress Academy Award (1929) at the second
annual event. She was the 1st
Canadian Born woman to have won an Academy award.
Her sweet girlish looks and her long ringlets endeared her
to the the fans who knew her as "America's Sweetheart". Her
dedication to realism in her work sometimes meant getting
down into real mud! Her talents went beyond her sincerity
and heart melting appearance. She entered the film industry
and became Hollywood's 1st female
businesswoman "movie mogul" creating with her colleagues
United Artists Studios. She was the 1st woman to make
$1,000,000.00 a year in the U.S. Movie business!!! Mary
and Douglas Fairbanks marriage did not survive the constant
making of movies and being constantly in the limelight. The
divorced in 1936. The following year Mary married actor and
banc leader Charles 'Buddy' Rogers (1904-1999). and
they adopted two children. She remained to the end of her
life, proud of her Canadian heritage. The Toronto Sick Kids
Hospital is build on the site of her birthplace and around
the corner there is an historic plaque
and a monument. In 1999 she received a star on Canada's Walk
of Fame, Toronto. Catherdral City, California, U.S.A. has a
Mary Pickford Theatre established in 2001, build complete
with a bell tower and three-story lobby. In 2006 Canada Post
issued a Canadian Postage Stamp in her honour. February 2011
the Spadina Museum, Toronto, staged performances of
Sweetheart: The Mary Pickford Story, a one woman musical
based on Mary's life. On August 20, 2019 the Toronto
International Film Festival presented the first Mary
Pickford Award. (2021) |
Lorraine Pintal |
Born September 24,1951, Plessisville, Quebec.
Lorraine studied
at the
Conservatoire Lassalle
and the
Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal.
She debuted with the
Théâtre du Nouveau Monde
in 1973 in
Mistero Buffo.
That same year, she was a co-founder of the Théâtre de La
Rallonge. She has directed works at the Théâtre du
Nouveau Monde where she is also been the artistic Director
since 1992. She has also worked with Compagne
Jean-Duceppe, the
Théâtre de Quat'Sous
and for the
Théâtre Denise-Pelletier.
As a playwright she is known for her script and acting in
the one woman play Madame Louis 14.
In 1998 she received a Masque Award for best staging and
production. In 2001 the National Theatre School of Canada,
Montreal presented her with the Gascon-Thomas Award. Since
the late 1990's Lorraine has also produced a number of
series for television. In 2002 she was inducted into the
Order of Canada. In 2014 she tried her hand at provincial
politics running as a candidate for the Parti Quebecois but
was not successful. (2019) |
Amanda Michael Plummer |
Born March 23,
1957, New York, New York, U.S.A. Amanda is the daughter of
Canadian actor Christopher Plummer. Amanda attended
Middlebury College and as a young adult she studied acting
at the Neighbourhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New
York City. Following her fathers love for acting she won a
Tony in 1982 in Agnes of God. She has starred
in such films as The Fisher King, The World
According to Garp, Pulp Fiction, Dallmake, The Last
Angel, and Triggerman. In 1996 she won a Cable
Ace Award for The Right to Remain Silent and an Emmy
Award for her guest appearance on The Outer Limits TV
show.
With movies and TV she has had some 9 appearances in
2002 alone! In 2005 she was awarded a second Emmy for her
appearance on in Miss Rose White,
a Hallmark made for television film. She has also
had success on Broadway and off Broadway stage performances. |
Louise Portal
|
née
Lapointe.
Born May 6, 1951, Chicoutimi, Quebec. A
Twin, both she and her sister Pauline too to being actors.
This actress has be recognized with nominations for Best
Actress Genie Award in1980 and won the Best Supporting
Actress Genie Award in 1987 for the film The Decline of
the American Empire.
In the film Sous-sol in1996 she won the Guy-L'ecuyer
Award for Best Actress. She has also won two Gemini Awards
in 1994 and 1996 for her work on TV. As if this was not
enough she has written an novel,
Jeanne Janvier and has written plays. Composing some
40 songs she has released 4 successful albums. In 2015 she
had a staring role in the TV Series Marie-Louise and from
2012- 2015 Lance et Compte. She has been successful
appearing in French language series for TV.
(2018) |
Marie Provost
3989 |
née Marie Bickford Dunn. Born
November 8, 1898, Sarnia, Ontario. Died January 21, 1937,
Hollywood California. Marie went to High school in
California, U.S.A. and at 15 she was working as a secretary.
Beginning her acting career during the silent film era she
would appear in over 120 films. She was discovered by
Hollywood mogul Mack Senate (1880-1960) in the 1910's. In
1918 she married Henry Charles 'Sonny' Gerke and the
marriage ended in divorce in 1923. In 1922 she signed a
contract with Warner Brothers Studios where she became a
leading lady of films. In 1924 she married felloe actor
Kenneth Harlan (1895-1967) but the marriage only lasted
three years. She was 'let go' from Warner Bros. in 1926 and
she began to play secondary roles. She began to abuse
alcohol making it difficult to obtain good roles in film. By
1935 she was reduced to playing 'bit parts' with her las
film being in 1936. She squandered most of her earnings and
died in poverty. Her death prompted the film community to
open the Motion Picture & Television House and Hospital.
Marie Provost has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(2022) |
Barbara Read / Reed
3605 |
Born December 29, 1917, Port Arthur (now
Thunder Bay), Ontario. Died December 12, 1963, Laguna Beach,
California, U.S.A. In the mid 1930's Barbara relocated to
California, U.S.A. While watching the filming of a movie on
site she was spotted and offered a screen test! Needing
experience she joined the Laguna Beach Players Theatre where
she acted for two years. In 1936 she had her debut in films
in Three Smart Girls, with Deanna Durbin (1921-2013).
In the fall of 1936 she eloped with artist William Paul lll
but within two months the couple were divorced, From 1937
through 1939 she appeared in nine films. In the next decade
she had roles in 11 films including The Shadow
series. December 27, 1947, she married a second time to
talent agent William 'Bill' Josephy and the couple had two
boys. A third marriage happened in 1953 to actor William
Whitney Talman lll (1915-1968) and had another two children.
The couple divorced in 1960. (2021) |
Pierrette Robitaille
|
Born June 6, 1950. Pierrette is well known for
acting in Quebec. She was nominated for a Genie Award twice
for her role in It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux, and the show
sequel. She earned a Jutra Award for Best Actress for her
work in the film: Vic et flo ont vu un ours. In
2011 she became a Member of the Order of Canada.
(2019) |
Sandi Ross
4314
Black Actor of
Stage, screen, & TV |
Born 1949, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, U.S.A. Died August 31, 2016, Toronto, Ontario.
Sandi attended the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, U.S.A. where she studied theatre arts earning a
Bachelor of Fine Arts. Sandi relocated to Toronto in
the mid 1970's. She was an accomplished stage actor who was
part of the George Luscombe Company at the Toronto Workshop
Productions (now Buddies in Bad Times) and was one of the
1999 founding members of the Obsidian Theatre. One of her
favourite shows was called The Seahorse. She also
appeared in the Vagina Monologues with Jann Arden,
The Crucible, and many more productions. Television and
film roles also contributed to her working career but it was
her love of the stage that kept her busy. She appeared for
three seasons at the famous Stratford Festival including
traveling to New York City with Much Ado About Nothing.
She also worked with Karen Woolridge's Company, Johnson
Girls where she inspired younger performers. She performed
in the play Portia White: First You Dream in Nova
Scotia which expressed her love of opera. She had also
worked with the Canadian Opera Company or Opera Atelier
productions. She would work on the first national symposium
on non-tradition casting for Canadian Actors Equity
Association, Talent Over Traditions in 1987. She would go on
to work with the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and
Radio Artists (A C T R A) conference in 1989. In 1994
she was the first woman and
first person of colour elected president of A C T R A
Toronto. She received the New Pioneers Award
for the Arts from Skills for Change. In 2008 she earned a
Crystal Award for in Women in Film and Television.
She was also founding editor and producer of
Into the Mainstream, a casting directory of visible and
audible minorities. In 2012 A C T R A named her Woman
of the Year. In 2016 the A C T R A Share the Screen
Awards were renamed in Sandi's honour.
Source: In Memorium: Sandi Ross By Jon Kaplan
Toronto Now September 7, 2016 (online (accessed 2023)
|
Susan
Douglas
Rubes
|
Born March 13, 1925, Vienna, Austria. Died January 23, 2013,
Toronto, Ontario. Susan's actual birth name was Zuska Zento
Bernstein. She and her mother immigrated to New York, U.S.A. to
escape the oncoming ravages of World War ll (1939-1945). She
Americanized her name and began a long distinguished career
on stage, TV, and film. She married Czech – Canadian opera
star and actor Jan Rubes (1920-2009) September 22, 1950. The
couple had three children. She played on TV soap opera The
Guiding Light for ten years as well as numerous movie credits
and a Tony Award for best debut on Broadway. She joined her
husband to settle in Canada in 1959. She was the founder of
the Young People’s Theatre in 1966, an organization she
worked with for the rest of her life. In 1982 to 1986 she
was head of the C B C Radio Drama and from 1987-1989 she was
president of Family Channel. She was also a Board Member of
the St Lawrence Centre. In 1975 she was inducted into the
Order of Canada. Source: Obituaries.
Globe and Mail, January 26, 2013
Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa Ontario.
(2021) |
Margaret
'Meg' Ruffman |
Born February 28, 1957, Richmond Hill, Ontario. Although she
studied physical Education at the University of Toronto it
was acting that became he main interest. In 1980 she won the
Du Maurier Search For The Stars’. In 1985 she had a role in
the movie Anne of Green Gables followed in 1987 with
Anne of Avonlea. From 1990 through 1996 she had a major role
in the TV series Road to Avonlea. During this time she
commuted to San Francisco, California U. S. A. to work at
construction with her husband Daniel Hunter. Meg became a
licensed in construction and this second main interest in
her life led her to a career as a TV handy woman. She hosted
shows on home improvement for W network TV, the Canadian
Women’s Network. From 1999-200 she hosted A Repair to
Remember. She launched her won series Anything I Can Do.
She also writes a home improvement column for the Toronto
Star newspaper. She founded Ruffman Entertainment and has
produced a video series of fun colourful projects that
families can build together. In 2000-2001 she hosted the TV
show Men on Women. She has also maintained her acting career
and made an appearance on the acclaimed Canadian TV series
Murdoch Mysteries. She narrated My Grandmother Ironed the
King’s Shirt which was an animated film nominated for a
Jutra Award and an Oscar. She is the National spokesperson
for Habitat for Humanity. In 2003 she published ToolGirl
columns as a book, How Hard Can it Be? She continued
to act in movies an on television. In 2008 she made her
directorial debut in the movie The Red Green Story: We-re
All in this together. In 2017 she had a recurring role
in the film Alias Grace filmed in Kingston, Ontario.
In 2020 she had a recurring role in the TV series Avocado
Toast.
(2021) |
Camilla Scott |
Born
June 12, 1962, Toronto, Ontario. A childhood dream of
becoming a dancer helped propel this native Torontonian to
fame as an actor, singer and noted talk show host.
Her 1st lead role was in
Evita at the Limelight Dinner Theatre. She worked
on soap operas in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. then
returned home and kept busy acting in a variety of guest
spots on television shows and a couple of movies. She also
performed in musical theatre in Toronto. From
1996-1998 she had her own TV Talk show but it was cancelled
after receiving a poor critical reception. Her role in
the TV hit series Due
South
which ran from 1995 through 1999 was much more successful.
In 2002 she married actor Paul Evans and that same year she
was the voice of Mamma Bear in the Berenstain Bears.
In 2008 she starred as Khashoggi, a role usually played by a
man in the Toronto production of the Queen musical
We Will Rock You. As her acting career wound down she
took a position with Arbonne, a multi lever marketing
company becoming Executive National Vice President. |
Helen Shaver |
Born February 24, 1951, St. Thomas, Ontario. As a child she was not
very health and spent a lot of time in hospital. However as
a teen she was of good health and attended the Banff School
of the Fine Arts. She also studied drama at the University
of Victoria in British Columbia. In 1978 she got her big
break when she won the Canadian Film Award as Best Lead
Actress in the film In Praise of Older Women. In 1985 she
won the Bronze Leopard Award at the Locano International
Film Festival for her work in Desert Hearts. In 200 she
earned a Genie Award for her portrayal of a drug addicted
prostitute in We All Fall Down and another Genie Award in
2003 for Just Cause. She also appeared in numerous TV
episodes in various top rated Television dramas. In 2004 she
was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto.
Source: Canada’s Walk of Fame online accessed July 2009
|
Edith Norma Shearer |
Born August
10, 1900 or 1902, Montreal, Quebec. Died June 12, 1983. The
parents of Edith Norma and Athole (pronounce Ethel)
registered the birth of both daughters but did not include
their first names. Norma would go on to become an actress of
great repute and would always claim to be the youngest of
the sisters. The family moved from Montreal to New York
working as performers and models. It was tough times
but eventually Norma would make it to Hollywood where she
would become one of the great stars at MGM. She would marry
the famous studio executive Irving Thalberg. She was the
presented with the third top Actress Academy Award for her
work in the film The Divorcee. She was the second
Canadian woman to receive this award.
|
Madeleine Louise Helene
Sherwood |
née Thornton Born November
13, 1922, Montreal, Quebec. Died April 23, 2016, Lac Cornir,
Quebec. Her 1st stage appearance was at the age of 4 in a
passion play at church. In 1950 she studied acting under lee
Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio, New York, U.S.A.. In 1952
she made her Broadway debut and went on to work in such hits
as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Camelot. She also had numerous
film roles and day time TV roles. She played the Mother
Superior in the hit TV series the Flying Nun from 1967
through 1970. She had been black listed during the U.S.A.
McCarthy era for active participation in the Civil Rights
Movement. She was arrested during a Freedom March in
Alabama. She was also a staunch supporter of the women’s
right movement in the 1970’s. In the 1980’s she became the
1st woman to direct a short film for the American Film
Institute. In the early 1990’s she retired to Victoria,
British Columbia and later relocated to Saint-Hippotyte,
Quebec. In 2010 she released a short film called Madeleine’s
Method for the Actor’s Studio. She married Robert Sherwood
and the couple had one daughter.
Source: Mike Barnes, “Madeleine Sherwood; Star of Tennessee
Williams Classics on Stage and Scene Dies at 93.” The
Hollywood Reporter April 25, 2016. |
Joanna Shimkus |
Born October 30, 1943, Halifax,
Nova Scotia. Joanna began he film career in the mid 1960's
with some 14 movies to her credit by the mid 1970's. In 1976
she married actor Sidney Poitier and abandoned her career to
devote herself to her family of two daughters. Currently she
is immersed in a successful career in Interior decor. |
Gladys Alexis Smith
|
Born June 8, 1921, Penticton, British Columbia. Died June 9,
1993, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.. She began her long
acting career as a teenager in summer stock in Canada
before relocating to the U.S.A. “Discovered” while studying
at college she was signed on to act for Warner Brothers
Studios. In 1944 she married actor Craig Stevens. She was a
leading lady in movies of the 1940’s and 1950’s playing
opposite such leading men as Errol Flynn in Gentleman Jim
1942 and
San Antonio in 1945; Cary Grant in Night and Day,
1946 and Clark Gable in
Any number Can Play in 1949. She won a TONY Award in
the musical Follies in 1971/72 and played in the TV
series Dallas from 1984 -1990. She died just before
the release of her final film, The Age of Innocence. |
Jessica Steen |
Born
December 11, 1965, Toronto, Ontario. There was a lot of time
to practice acting in Jessica's house. There was
always an annual Christmas skit, and trips to the theater
with her director father. She had her first TV role at the
age of 8. In the mid 1960's she appeared in a TV
movie with Lindsay Wagner and schoolmate Keanu Reeves.
Lately she has had roles in Touched by an Angel; The
Outer Limits; ER; and Due South. If her busy
schedule between TV and movies allows it, she enjoys
kayaking and rock climbing. She is also a volunteer
with environmentalist David Suzuki. |
Cree Summer |
Born July 7,
1970, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Her father wanted to
raise his children away from the hustle and bustle of
American society and he moved his young family to rural
Saskatchewan where Cree would live for eight years. This
actress is more known for her voice than her face. She
has been doing voices for animated movies since 1985. She
began with the “Care Bears Movie” and can also be
heard in the cartoon shows of “Inspector Gadget”, “Rugrats”,
and “Tiny Toons” among others. |
Betty Thompson-Beauman
3921 |
Born 1934, Walkerton, Ontario. Died 1994.
Betty graduated in broadcasting from Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute (now Metropolitan Toronto University). Betty began
working in 1956 at C K C O-TV in Kitchener, Ontario. At
first she was a writer of local commercials which in those
days were performed live on TV. For a couple of years she
left the TV station and worked as a teacher but by 1971 she
was back with in television. She earned national television
exposure as the first host of the C T V version of the
popular children's program Romper Room from
1972 through 1975 as 'Miss Betty'. She returned in 1992 for
the 20th anniversary special of the show. She also hosted
shows such as Ladies First, The Flower Spot,
Be My Guest, and Betty and Friends. She was
also a frequent guest at the Canadian National Exhibition.
In 1992 she was honoured at a Mayor Dinner in Kitchener
which was followed with being Kitchener Citizen of the year
from the twin cities Junior Chamber of Commerce. Betty
married a sedonc time to Ken Bauman and raised three
daughters. In 1992 she became C K C O's community relations
co-ordinatior. In 1992 the annual Betty Thompson Golf
Classic was established to raise funds for breast Cancer
education and research. She was a founding member of the
club and had served as a past president. She was also a
strong supporter of the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, the
local Big Sisters organization, the John Howard Society, The
United Way, and Parents Are People Too. In 1990 she was the
special events chairman for the Ontario Summer Games.
In 1995 she was inducted into the Waterloo Region Hall of
Fame. In 1996 the Betty Thompson Youth Centre was named in
her honour. (2022) |
Jennifer Ellen
Tilly |
née Chan. Born September 16 1958, Harbour City, California,
U.S.A. Her parents divorced when she was five and she moved
with her mother to Texada Island, British Columbia. At 16
they were living in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied
for her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre at Stephens College, Missouri,
U.S.A. By 1883 she had roles in TV series such as Hill
Street Blues, Cheers and Frasier. In 1984 she
married Sam Simon, producer of The Simpson’s. The
couple separated in 1991. Her breakthrough in movies was in
the Fabulous Baker Boys. She has worked with Richard
Dreyfuss, Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, and Jim Carey. In
2001 she portrayed gossip columnist Louella Parsons in
The Cat’s Meow. And starred in the Broadway revival of
The Women. In other theatre she has won the Theater
World Award for the off-Broadway play One Shoe Off.
She is a popular choice for voice over for animated features
such as Family Guy, Monsters, Inc., Stuart Little and
others. In 2004 she became life partner with Phil Laak. In
2005 In 2005 she won the World Series of Poker and later
that same year she won the World Poker Tour Ladies
Invitational Tournament. After the series Out of
Practice in which she appeared was cancelled in 2006 she
began only to return to TV in 2008. Dividing her time
between films and professional poker. In 2005 she won the
World Series of Poker and later that same year she won the
World Poker Tour Ladies Invitational Tournament. In 2006 she
began dividing her time between films and professional
poker. She has appeared in several online TV poker events.
In 2008 she retired from her poker career with the idea of
treating it more like a hobby. In 2012, she returned to
Broadway in
Don't
Dress for Dinner
and the following year she appeared on the London stage in
Grasses of
a Thousand Colors. Among the awards
she has won she has earned the
Golden
Gate Award –
GLAAD
Media Award
for media professionals who increase the
understanding of the
LGBT
community. |
Margaret
'Meg' Elizabeth Tilly |
née
Chan.
Born February 14,1960, Long Beach, California.
In the mid 1960's her
parents divorced and she lived with her mother and
stepfather in Texada Island, British Columbia later moving
to Vancouver. As a youth she wanted to be a dancer and
studied at the Connecticut Ballet Company and later at the
Throne Dance Theatre. However her career turned to
acting with a back injury after her debut in
1980 when she appeared in “FAME” The following year
she began acting career with a small part in the hit TV
series Hill Street Blues. In 1983 to 1989 she was married to
Tim Zinnemann and the couple had two children. in 1993 she
dropped out of the acting scene. In 1994 she published her
1st novel Singing Songs
which is about a young girl and her sisters living in
the Northwest who are molested by their stepfather. Meg has
stated that she had been abused by her own step father. In
1995 through 2002 she was married to John Calley. In 2002
she married Don Calame. In 2010 she was once again acting in
a TV series. Her sixth novel appeared in 2007, Porcupine
which was a finalist for the Sheila A. Egoff Children's
Literature Prize. In 2011 she appeared at the Blue Bridge
Repertory Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia. In January
2012 she stared in the Global Television mini series Bomb
Girls winning a Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead
Actress in 2013. |
Marie-Soleil Tougas
3446 |
Born May 3, 1970, Mont-Saint-Hillaire,
Quebec. Died August 10, 1997, Kuuijjuaq, Quebec. As a teen
she began her career with the role of Zoe in the soap opera
Peau de banane and went on to do additional television
shows. She was co-host of the Show Fort Boyard and The Débrouillardds
with Gregory Charles. She also worked on advertising
campaigns for such companies as Toyota. She was a well known
spokesperson for the Educ'alcool organization with promoted
reasonable alcohol consumption. She was involved in the
cause of disabled children and was spokesperson for
Operation enfant soleil, hosting their annual téléthon.
She died with her boyfriend Jean-Claude Lauzon in a plane
crash near Ungava Bay, northern Quebec.
Source: Hommage à 56 femmes d'exception qui
ont changé le Québec. Editions spéciale 7 jours 2021. |
Shannon Lee Tweed |
Born March 10, 1957, Placentia, Newfoundland.
The family moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan after the father
fell into a coma after a car crash. After appearing in the
Canadian TV series Thrill of a Lifetime where she won a
sitting for photographs for Playboy magazine she was chosen
Playmate of the Month for November 1981 and was Playmate of
the Year in 1982. She would life at the Playboy Mansion for
over a year where she met her future husband musician, best
known for being part of the rock group Kiss, Gene Simmons.
This native Newfoundlander has been busy with appearing in
60 movies since 1978. She made her debut in
“Of Unknown Origin” and she has been on the TV series
Falcon Crest from
1978-1983, daytime drama with
Days of Our Lives
as well as Pacific
Blue in 1996 and more recently Diaries of Darkness
and My Guide to Becoming a Rockstar.
From 2006 through 2012 she, along with her family, had a
reality TV show,
The Gene Simmons Family Jewels. It was during the
show that Gene proposed to Shannon after some 20 years of
being together. They married October 1, 2011. Saskatoon
City Council named Tweed Lane in her honour. She
has a
video game featuring her
voice and appearance called Shannon Tweed's Attack Of The
Groupies. She has also narrated the reality TV Show
Ex-wives of Rock
|
Mary Cynthia Walsh |
Born May 13, 1952, St John’s Newfoundland Mary
caught pneumonia as an infant and was taken to live with two
aunts and an uncle with whom she remained. A bit of a rebel
as a teen she became engaged to an American service man and
took off to the U.S.A. When things did not work out she
returned to Newfoundland and was in the right place when a
Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) had a local opening. Her
natural quick wit and vivacity meant she would never look
back. She joined a the Newfoundland Traveling Theatre
Company and ended up moving to Toronto to study theatre.
However, another opportunity opened up and she left school
to join a young group that would become well known as CODCO
from 1987-1992. There followed in 1993 This Hour Has 22
Minutes. In 2003 she hosted May Walsh’s: Open Book and went
on to create Hatching Matching and Departing for the CBC
which won a Gemini Award. On a personal front she was
fighting alcoholism which had began in her early teens. By
2005 she was awarded the Courage to Come Back Award by the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She also wanted to
participate in helping others and became the spokesperson
for Oxfam Canada (an international aid agency). She became a
member of the Order of Canada in 2000.
Mary suffers from Macular degeneration, a condition that
usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision
in the center of the vision field. From time to time she has
served as a spokesperson for the Canadian National Institute
for the Blind. In 2012 she was presented with the Governor
General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement,
Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts.
Source Mary Walsh: an inferno of wit by Peter Feneck Good Times
February 2007 pg 8-14 : Library and Archives Canada.
Canadian Women in Theatre and Dance. (accessed March 2008) ; |
Janet Wright
3837 |
Born March 8, 1945, Farnborough, England.
Died November 14, 2016, Vancouver, British Columbia. The
Wright family immigrated to Canada and settled in
Saskatchewan when Janet was just a child. She married Brian
Richmond and the couple had two children. In 1974 she and
her sister Susan (died 1991), co-founded the Persephone
Theatre Company in Saskatoon. Janet appeared in such popular
TV shows as The Beachcombers and the King of
Kensington. In Vancouver she worked at the Vancouver
Arts Club where she appeared in and directed over 40
productions. She also had roles in other live theatre
productions across Canada including the Stratford Theatre in
Ontario. In 1992 she earned the Best Actress Genie Award for
her role in the film Boardertown Café. In 1995 she
became the first woman to take the role of King Lear in the
Shakespearian play in Toronto. In 2003 she took Best
Supporting Actress in a dramatic program or miniseries in
Betrayed. In January 2004 her daughter Rachel Davis
(1981-2004) her was fatally shot while intervening for a
stranger being beaten in Vancouver. Janet and her husband
Bruce Davis, founded the Rachel Davis Foundation to
recognize bravery in young people. From 2004 to 2009 she
played on the comedy TV show Corner Gas as Emma Leroy
for which she won the 2006 Canadian
Comedy Award for Pretty Funny TV Female.
Source: Obituary (accessed 2022) |
Vina Fay Wray
|
Born September 15, 1907, Cardston, Alberta. Died August 8,
2004, Manhattan, New York, U.S.A. She and her family
relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. in 1912 and then
to Hollywood where Fay attended high school. At 16 she
appeared in her first movie, a short historical film, sponsored
by a local newspaper. She went on in movies having
unaccredited bit parts until 1926 when she became one of the W A M P A S Baby Stars, a group for up and coming
starlets. She
came under contract to Universal Studios and had parts in
low budget westerns. In 1927 she was with Paramount Pictures
where she had her first lead role in the Wedding March. She
remained with Paramount
as Hollywood entered the era of the ‘Talkies”. Leaving
Paramount she worked for numerous companies including R K O
Radio Pictures where she found her most famous role in the
movie King Kong. She became a naturalized Citizen of the
U.S.A. in 1933. She continued to star in various films
through to the 1940’s. Retiring in 1942 but with mounting
financial constraints She returned to acting in films and
in bit parts on television. She played in individual episodes
of the show Perry Mason, Playhouse 90, Alfred
Hitchcock Presents, and 77 Sunset Strip to name a few. In 1988 she
published her biography entitled On The Other Hand; a
Life Story. She married three times first to John Monk
Saunders (1897-1940), with whom she had a daughter, Robert Riskin (1897-1955), with whom she had a daughter and a son,
and she had three children with Dr. Sanford Rothenberg
(1919-1991). She was a special guest at the
70th
Academy Awards, where she was introduced as the
"Beauty who charmed the Beast". She was the only 1920's
Hollywood actress in attendance that evening. In 1991 she
was a special guest at the 60th anniversary of the Empire
State Building. Two days after her death, the lights of the
Empire State Building
were extinguished for 15 minutes in her memory. Along
with numerous other awards she received a posthumous star on
the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2005. A small park in the city
of Cardston, Alberta has been named in her honour. In May
2006, Wray became one of the first four entertainers to ever
be honored by
being featured on a Canadian postage stamp.
Sources:
Fay Wray, IMDB Online (Accessed 2005); Adam
Bernstein, ‘Fay Wray Dies at Age 96’, Washington Post,
Online (accessed 2004); Fay Wray, Canada’s Walk of
Fame Online (accessed 2005) |
Dancers
Return to categories |
Peggy Laurayne Baker
|
née
Smith. Born October 22, 1952, Edmonton, Alberta. Peggy
studied at the University of Alberta where she was
introduced to modern dance. She married Michael J. Baker and
then in 1971 she moved to Toronto, Ontario to study at the
School of Toronto Dance Theater. In 1974 she co-founded the Dancemakers Dance Company. In 1980 she relocated to New
York, City, U.S.A. working with the Lar Lubovitch Dance
Company. In 1990 she joined Mikhail Baryshnikov’s dance
company which re-launched her career as a dancer and
choreographer. In 1990 she married a second time to Ahmed
Hassan ( -2011) In 1993 she joined the National Ballet
School of Canada as their 1st artist-in-residence. In 2006
she was inducted into the Order of Canada and in 2007 she
became the 1st person to receive the Ontario Premier’s Award
for Excellence in the Arts. In 2010 she earned the Walter
Carsen Prize. |
Patricia Beatty |
Born May 13, 1936, Toronto, Ontario. Patricia studied modern
dance at Bennington College in Vermont, U.S.A. in 1959 and
at the Martha Graham School in New York City, U.S.A. In 1966
she founded the New Dance Group of Canada. In 1968 she was a
co-founder of the Toronto Dance Theatre. She was an
inspirational teacher and mentor who played a seminal role
in fostering the growth of modern dance performance and
choreography in Canada. She retired in the early 1990’s but
continued to present occasional performances focusing on
spiritual themes. In 2004 she became a Member of the Order
of Canada. |
Louise Bédard |
Born Montréal May 26, 1955. She turned to dance later in live with
the Group Nouvelle Aire in Montréal in 1979. She studies
various forms of dance, including modern dance, butch,
ballet and she also studied voice. In 1981 she performed in
Linda Robin’s O’Parade and the intensity of her
dancing did not go unnoticed. In 1983 she began work as a
choreographer with Pulsions et Dérisions. In 1987 she helped
found Circuit-Est a co-op which assured a consistent
rehearsal venue. She formed her own Louise Bédard Dance in
1990. She has also worked beyond the live stage in numerous
film and video productions for Television, the National Film
Board as well as dozens of productions where she dances for
others in the story lines of movies.
Source: Louise Bédard by Linda Howe-Beck The Canadian and
World Encyclopedia [Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1997) |
Helen Birdsall |
Born
1906, Toronto, Ontario.
Died
November 19, 1988. Helen and her sister Fanny had a lifelong interest
in dance and teaching young performers in their art. From
1923-1983 the sisters operated a ‘legendary’ dance studio in
Toronto. In the 1920’s and 1930’s she was choreographer for
the grandstand show at a the Canadian National Exhibition (C
N E).
The 1931 C N E production featured a cast of 1,500! She was
also well known for the annual spring dance review that were
held each year at Massey Hall and the C N E. |
Debra Brown |
Debra earned her Bachelor of Arts from York University, Toronto and moved to
Canada’s west coast. Her work is a fusing of gymnastics and
dance and she has travelled all over the world with her job.
In 1987 she joined the famous Cirque du Soleil as Principal
choreographer. In 1999 She won a Golden Clown Award at the
World Circus Festival for her work on Quidam’s Banquine Act.
In 2002 She earned an Emmy Award for her production of the
74th Academy Award show. She has choreographed operas in
Chicago, New York, Vancouver and Toronto. She has also
worked with such performers as Madonna and Aerosmith. Her
film work includes such movies as Catwoman and VanHelsing.
In 2008 she was inducted onto Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Source: Canada’s Walk of Fame. Online. (accessed 2009) |
Rachel Browne |
née Ray Minkoff. Born November 6, 1934. Died June 9, 2012
Ottawa, Ontario. Rachel loved to dance and to teach dance to
others. After high school she trained in New York City, New
York, U.S.A. She joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in
1957 and retired from ballet in 1961. She was the founder of
Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers in 1964. Rachel traveled to
New York City annually to study and learn as a dancer.
It became Canada's longest running modern dance company.
Rachel was Director until 1983 but remained connected
working as a fundraiser and advisor. In 1995 she was awarded
the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Creativity in Dance. In
1997 she became a member of the Order of Canada. That same
year the venue for the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers named
their venue in her honour the Rachel Browne Theatre.
(2019) |
Yvonne Millicent Firkins |
Born Worcester, England. Died January 6, 1966, Vancouver,
British Columbia. During World War I, she lived in
Birmingham, England, where she was introduced to theatre.
She immigrated to Vancouver in 1920. Her husband was
magistrate Walter H.C. Firkins, a police court clerk for 31
years. Yvonne was a founding member of the Vancouver Little
Theatre, Vancouver Ballet School and Vancouver Dance
Festival. She served as president of the British Columbia
Drama Association and was a founder of the
British Columbia Dance Festival. She was also a
member, Community Arts Council and a director of
Theatre Under the Stars. From 1939 throughout World War ll
she was production manager of service shows for
Pacific Command. In 1964 she opened the Arts Club Theatre
and produced the controversial Who's Afraid of Virginia
Woolf. She is considered B.C.'s first lady of the
theatre.
Source: Vancouver Hall of Fame on line
(accessed January 2013) |
Judy Jarvis |
Born June 6, 1946, Ottawa, Ontario. Died November 1, 1986,
Toronto, Ontario. Judy devoted her life to introducing a
distinctively European aesthetic to the Canadian dance
scene. She was recognized as a brilliant dancer and this
allowed her strength in her teachings. From 1967 through
1983 she was the force behind a series of companied teaching
classes and hold workshops at Canadian universities. The
Judy Jarvis and Theatre Company toured in Canada, Berlin,
Germany and Edinborough, Scotland. In 1983 her company lost
it’s government funding forcing Judy to attend teachers’
college. At the time of her death she was teaching dramatic
arts at a Toronto high school. In 1988 the Judy Jarvis
Foundation was established to promote and protect her work. |
Lata Pada
Bharatanatyam Dancer & Choreographer |
Born November 7, 1947, India. At thirteen she
made her solo debut at a dance recital. Dance would become
an important part throughout her life. She married
Vishnu Pada in 1964 and the couple settled in Thompson,
Manitoba in 1965. The couple went to Indonesia and then back
in Canada they lived in Sudbury, Ontario. The couple have
two daughters. In 1985 she traveled ahead of her family to
India. The family were to join her but their Air India
Flight 182 crashed off the cost of Ireland. Lata became the
spokesperson for the families of the victims. Lata
turned to her dancing in her grief. In 1997 earned a
Master's Degree in Fine Arts from York University, Toronto.
Lata is the founder and artistic Director of Sampradaya
Dance Creations. In 1990 she formed The Sampradaya
Dance Academy , Mississauga, Ontario, which is the only
South Asian dance school in North America affiliated with
the British based Imperial Society for Teachers of Dancing.
In 2008 she was named a Member of the Order of Canada for
her efforts in choreography, a teacher, a dancer and
artistic director. She is an Adjunct professor in the
Graduate Faculty of Dance at York University. In 2011 the
President of India presented her with the Pravasi Bharatiya
Samman Award recognizing her outstanding contributions. She
is the 1st Canadian to have received this award. In 2012 she
was presented the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal.
(2019) |
Menaka Thakkar |
Born March
3, 1942, Bombay, India. Died February 5, 2022, Toronto,
Ontario. Menaka studied dance as a child in Bombay and
performed with her older sister. She learned classical
styles of Indian danced and Japanese dance. In 1963 she
earned her BA in visual arts. She came to Canada in 1972 to
visit her brother and to perform classical dance of India.
Her acceptance was so warm that she made Canada her home.
In 1974 she founded the Menaka Thakkar dance company and
was director of Nrtyakala: the Canadian Academy of Indian
Dance. She been a major influence in the development and
appreciation for Indian classical dance in Canada. In the
1980's students at York University, Toronto could earn
credits for taking her dance classes. She soon became an
adjunct professor of dance. She has taught dance across
Canada. Her dance company has traveled to Asia, Europe and
Australia. She has been the recipient of numerous awards
for her work both in Canada and in India including the
Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in Performing Arts from
the Canada Council of the Arts in 2012. The following year
she received the Governor General's Award in Performing
Arts. (2022) |
Onna White |
Born March 24, 1922, Inverness, Nova Scotia.
Died April 8, 2005, Hollywood California, U.S.A.. When Onna
was 12 she began a live long passion with dance. She would
study dance in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. Her 1st
Broadway performance was in Finnian's Rainbow in 1947
which was followed by her appearing and assisting in the
choreography of Guys and Dolls. In 1948 she married
Larry Douglas, an actor. The couple had two children before
they divorced in 1958. In 1956 she would choreograph her 1st
Broadway show, Carmen Jones. In 1969 the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted her an Academy
Honorary Award for Oliver!. It is rare that the Academy
recognizes choreography in a film and her award is the only
one that states the name of the film. Onna continued to
choreography stage and film production into the late 1970's
winning eight Tony Awards for her work including The Music
Man in 1958 and I Love My Wife in 1977. |
Tracy Wright |
Born December 7, 1959, Toronto, Ontario. Died
June 22, 2010, Toronto, Ontario. In 1989 Tracy was a
founding member of the Toronto Augusta Company along with
her future husband Don McKeller.
One of Tracy's first major film role was in Highway 61
in 1991. As well as appearing in numerous films she
appeared on television in such shows as Kids in the Hall
and Twitch City. In January 2010 she
married fellow actor Don McKeller (1963- ). In
2011 she was posthumously presented along with Co-star Molly
Parker with the Best Actress at the A C T R A Awards for her
role in Trigger. This role also saw her nominated for the
Genie Award for Best Actress. (2021) |
Yoné Young |
née Kvietys. Born Kaunas, Lithuania. Died July 17, 2011,
Calgary, Alberta. As a child she enjoyed music and dance and
loved to express herself with experimental moves. In the
early 1940’s she participated in early European contemporary
dance and moved to Hamburg, Germany, training in modern
dance movement. In 1948, after touring as much as possible
during the war, she was a refugee camp in a post-war
Germany. Eventually the family landed in Toronto. She worked
in dance briefly in Toronto before heading to Montreal to
teach at McGill University. She also ran a dance company and
began dancing in New York City, Chicago and performing for
CBC Television. Moving back to teach at the University of
Toronto she had her only child, a son. She broke up with her
common la husband Giliaras Urbonas in 1966. And
shortly after married Ray Young and the family settled in
Calgary. She became an importer of contemporary dance for
the city and worked at the Drama Department at the
University of Calgary where she laid the basis for the Dance
Department. In 1970’s she was disillusioned with government
sponsorship and cut all ties with dancing turning to visual
arts and painting for her artistic release. She worked with
paints, stained glass and mixed media often being inspired
by the animal world and celestial themes. Her works were
displayed at numerous showings at galleries in Alberta and
beyond.
Source: An experimental dance pioneer who found a second
life on canvas by Philip Fine. Globe and Mail
September 10, 2011
Suggestion submitted by
June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario |
Dancers - Ballet
Return to categories |
Annette av Paul |
Born February 11, 1944,
Stockholm, Sweden. She began her ballet career in Sweden
training at Swedish Ballet School from 1953 to 1961. In 1964
she married Canadian choreographer Brian Macdonald. In 1973
she joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal. She
brought beauty, vast experience and artistic maturity to the
many roles that were created for her. She retired from the
stage in 1984. and two years later founded the Ballet
British Columbia and served as artistic director. Leaving
Vancouver in 1987 she as worked as a guest teacher
throughout Canada and in Sweden.
She has also served as director of the dance program at
the Banff Centre in Alberta. |
Margaret Ruth
Pringle Carse
|
Born
December 7, 1916, Edmonton, Alberta. Died November 14, 1999.
This ballet dancer was a true pioneer of her profession in
Western Canada. She founded the Alberta Ballet Company and
it's associated school of dance. She studied with
several leading institutions including the National Ballet
of Canada and in New York City. An injury in 1954 forced her
to retire from the stage. She turned her talents to
teaching the youth of Western Canada. She was winner of the
Dance Canada Award in 1989 and she holds the Order of
Canada. |
Ludmilla
Alexandrovna
Chiriaeff |
née Otzoup-Goeny. Born January
10,1924, Riga, Latvia. Died September 22, 1996.Ludmilla was
trained in ballet in Berlin, Germany. During World War ll
she was confined to a Nazi labour camp as she was was
suspected of being Jewish. Escaping the camp she found her
way to
Switzerland
where she could resume her career in dance. Here she married
a Russian Artist Alexis Shiriaev. The family name became
Chiriaeff in French. In 1952 the family immigrated to Canada
and settled in Montreal, Quebec. Founder of Les Grands
Ballets Canadiens she was a strong force in the development
of dance in Quebec and Canada.
The company was brought to international attention
during Canada's Centennial year at Expo '67 World Festival.
This success was followed by tours throughout North America
and Europe. In 1969 she was inducted as an Officer in the
Order of Canada and in 1984 she was promoted to the rank of
Companion in the Order.
Ludmilla retired as co-artistic director in 1974. n 1978 she
was proclaimed a Grande Montréalaise by the City of
Montreal, and in 1985 she was made a Grand Officier de l'Ordre
National du Québec.
In 1993 she received the Governor General's Performing Arts
Award and that same year she earned the Denise Pelletier
Award for the Performing Arts.
(2019) |
Betty Farrally |
née Hey. Born May 5, 1915, Bradford, England. Died April 9,
1989 Kelowna, British Columbia. Betty trained in dance at a
studio in Leeds, England. In 1938 she emigrated to Canada
with her former dance teacher Gweneth Lloyd. The two women
opened the Winnipeg Dace Club in 1939 and changed the name
to Winnipeg Ballet in 1941. In 1945 the dance company began
to tour and in 1953 they received Royal patronage as the
Royal Winnipeg Ballet (R W B). Betty was the Ballet Mistress
training and rehearsing the dancers as well as being a
principle dancer. When Gweneth Lloyd relocated to Toronto in
1950, Betty remained to work with the R W B. Betty also worked
with Gweneth as co-head of the Banff School of the Arts
summer dance program for many years. In mid 1950’s she moved
with Gweneth to Kelona , British Columbia where they founded
a branch of the Canadian Ballet School. In 1970 she
received the Manitoba Centennial Medal celebrating the 100
years of the Provincial history. In 1981 she was inducted
into the Order of Canada and in 1984 she received the Dance
in Canada Award.
Sources:
Memorable Manitobans online (accessed April 2014) ;
The Canadian Encyclopedia online (accessed April
2014). Book: The Royal Winnipeg Ballet: the first forty
years (1979). (2021) |
Celia Franca |
Born
Celia Franks June 25, 1921, London, England.
Died February 19, 2007, Ottawa, Ontario. Celia was
introduced to dance when she was just four years old.
She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal
Academy of Dance. She made her professional debut when she
was 14. In 1947 she joined the Metropolitan Ballet of
Britain as a soloist and ballet mistress. and began
choreographing for television. In 1950 she was offered a
position to stat a Canadian classical company. To support
herself at this time she worked as a file clerk at Eaton's
department store. The new company opened on November 12,
1951. She became in 1959 the
founding artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada.
She was strong willed and determined ballet dancer traits
required to face the many trials over the 23 years as
she helped the young ballet company to succeed.
She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1967 and
in 1985 she was promoted a Companion in the Order. In
1994 she received the Governor General's Performing Arts
Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
In 1979 she joined the School of Dance in Ottawa as a
co-artistic director. She was a member of the board of
governors of York University, Toronto and the board of
directors of the Canada Council. She later served on the
Board of Directors for the Canada Dance Festival Society.
Her biography The Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia
Franca by Carol Bishop-Gwyn was published in 2011.
(2021) |
Margie Gillis |
Born July 9, 1953, Montreal,
Quebec. She began taking gymnastic and ballet lessons when
she was just three years old. She is a solo artist who
has presented modern ballet around the world. She has
hip-length chestnut hair and wears remarkable costumes. In
1881 she founded the Margie Gillis Dance Foundation to
support and present her artistic work. She introduced
modern dance to contemporary China. She has performed in
Asia, India, Europe and the Middle East as well as
throughout North and South America. She was named Canadian
Cultural Ambassador in 1981 and in 1986 Quebec Cultural
Ambassador. When she is not on stage she had been dedicated
to the fight against AIDS and a strong supporter of OXFAM
and the Planned Parenthood Foundation. In 1988 she was
appointed to the Order of Canada, the 1st modern dance
artist to receive this honor. In 2001 she she received a Career Grant from the Conseil des arts et des
lettres du Québec for her exceptional contribution to Quebec
culture. In 2004 she was named as one of the 25 to Watch by
Dance Magazine. In 2008 she received the 1st MAD Spirit
Award from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York,
City, New York, U.S.A. for her involvement in various social
causes. That same year she was awarded the Walter Carsen
Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts from the Canada
Council for the Arts. In 2009 she was inducted as a Knight
in the National Order of Quebec. On March 3, 2011, Gillis
was named a 2011 laureate of the Governor General's
Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Two months later she received a Lifetime Artistic
Achievement Award from the Governor Generals Performing Arts
Awards. In 2013 she was
upgraded to Officer of the Order of Canada. |
Gail Gilmore / Gibson |
SEE - Actors - TV & Movies |
Vanessa Clare
Harwood-Scully
|
Born June 14, 1947, Cheltenham, England. In 1959 she was one
of the 1st pupils of Betty Oliphant at eh National Ballet
School of Canada in Toronto. In 1965 she joined the National
Ballet of Canada and became a soloist in 1967 and principal
dancer from 1970 through 1987. Her performance in the ballet
Swan Lake garnered her the nickname of ‘Superswan’.
Vanessa married noted surgeon Dr. Hugh Scully whom she met
on a blind date on June 14, 1980. In 1984 she became an
Officer in the Order of Canada. In 1992 she received the
Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian
Confederation. She also holds both the Queen’s Golden
Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. She
also worked as an actor with roles in the Canadian
Television series Road to Avonlea and Due South.
She has served as the President of the Board of Directors”
Fund of Canada 1996-98. In 2001 she appeared in the film
Betty Oliphant: A Life in Dance. |
Melissa Hayden |
(real name
Mildred Herman). Born April 25, 1923, Toronto, Ontario. Died
August 9, 2006, Toronto, Ontario. This
ballerina who trained as a young girl in Toronto, became an
internationally known dancer. She danced with the New
York City Ballet. Upon retiring as a dancer she opened her
own teaching studio in New York City. |
Karen Kain |
Born March 28 1951, Hamilton, Ontario. Karen
trained at the National Ballet School, Toronto, Ontario. She
joined the Corps de Ballet of the National Ballet of Canada
in 1969. A prima ballerina, Karen has won international
recognition for her dancing. At 19 years of age she was the
principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada. In 1973
she earned the silver medal in the Women's category at the
International Ballet Competition in Moscow, Russia. In 1983
Karen married Ross Petty, a stage and film actor. In
1991 she was elevate to the level of Companion of the Order
of Canada. In 1997 after her fair well tour she became
Artist-in-residence at the National Ballet. She has been
named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France.
In 1997 she received a Governor General's National Arts
Centre Award and received a Governor General's Lifetime
Artistic Achievement Award in 2002. From 2004 to 2008, she was Chair of the Canada Council for
the Arts. In 2007, she was presented with the Barbara
Hamilton Memorial Award for demonstrating excellence and
professionalism in the performing arts. In 2008, the Karen
Kain School for the Arts officially opened,She
is the founding president and president for life of the
Dancer Transition Centre which is dedicated to helping
retrain retiring professional dancers. In 2005 she was named
Artistic Director of the National Ballet. In 2011 she
received the Distinguished Artist Award from the
International Society for the Performing Arts. Her
Biography
Movement Never Lies may be found at your library.
|
Judith
Rose Marcuse
|
née Margolick. Born March
13, 1947, Montreal, Quebec. Judith began her training
in Montreal but was soon attending Britain's Royal Ballet
School from 1962 through 1965. Back in Canada she
danced with les Grands Ballets Canadiens, before going to
Israel in 1970 with Bat-Dor Dance Company. In 1974 for two
years she danced with Ballet Rambert in England. She is is
also know as a choreographer and artistic director having
worked in Vancouver, British Columbia as the Judith Marcuse
Dance Project Society the Repertory Dance Company of Canada
and DanceArts Vancouver. A versatile dancer who has danced
with les
Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Bat-Dor of
Israel, and the
Ballet Rambert of England. She now prefers
choreography. In 1976 she earned the Jean A. Chalmers Award
for Choreography and in 1979 the Clifford E. Lee Award.
In the 1997 production of
ICE: Beyond Cool, a show about teenage suicide that
played in shopping malls to thousands of teenagers in a
seven-city Canadian tour.
In 2000 the production was adapted for TV. Both ICE and a second production FIRE
broke new ground for the company, allowing young people to
articulate solutions to problems facing them, and involving
a broad range of sponsors, government-agency collaborators,
and venues not normally associated with dance presentation.
In 2009 the
Canada Council awarded her with the Jacqueline Lemieux
Prize.
(2019) |
Emily Molnar |
Born September 7, 1973, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Emily is a graduate of the National Ballet School of Canada,
Toronto, Ontario. She has danced with the National Ballet of
Canada and the Frankfurt Ballet, Germany. She has performed
throughout Europe, Asia and North America. 2009 she
became. Artistic Director of Ballet British Columbia. In
2013 the Globe and Mail newspaper named her Dance Artist of
the Year. She has served as Artistic Director of at Banff
Centre for the Arts and Creativity. In 2016 she received the
Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award and she became a Member of the
order of Canada. She has also received the BC Community
Achievement Award, the YWCA Woman Of Distinction Award in
Art, Culture and Design. (2019) |
Nancy Elizabeth
'Betty' Oliphant |
Born August
5, 1918, London, England. Died
July 11, 2004, St. Catharines, Ontario. Betty was encouraged
by a do ctor
to
take ballet as a means to help her breathing after she
suffered from pneumonia as a child. By the age of 17 she had
opened her own dance school. Betty immigrated to Canada in
1947. By 1959 she was a co-founder of the National
Ballet School of Canada and founding director from
1959-1979. She has also worked for ballet schools in Sweden,
Denmark, and Russia.
She is an Officer of the Order of Canada as well as
many additional awards from the City of Toronto, France and
the 125 Anniversary of Confederation Medal of Canada. She
has also published her autobiography; Miss O: My Life in
Dance. The Betty Oliphant Theatre is located in Toronto. Sources: Canadian
Encyclopedia (2019) |
Paula Cecilia Isabel/Isobel
Teresa Campbell
Ross |
Born April 29, 1941, Vancouver, British
Columbia. Paula began to study ballet at five years of
age. At 15 she left home to join a traveling performing
group at the Bellevue Casino in Montreal. She chose the name
Paula Ross as her stage name. She travelled with the club
throughout north America performing as a dancer and as a
comedienne. By the early 1960's she had returned to
western Canada and had become a principal dancer in
the Pacific Dance Theatre in Vancouver. In 1965 she
opened her own Paula Ross Dance Company. The Company,
although well presented in western Canada and the United
States, dissolved due to financial problems in 1987. Paula
was known for her dance creativity and continues to work in
Canada, Japan, and France. (2019) |
Geneviève Salbaing |
née Nehlil. Born February 2, 1924, Paris,
France. Died May 8, 2016, Montreal, Quebec. She was
brought up in Casablanca Morocco and this is where she
received her early ballet training. She won 1st prize as a
ballerina at the Casablanca conservatory and continued her
training in Paris, France. She met her husband in Casablanca
during World War ll. She also studied at the Sorbonne in
France to earn her BA in philosophy but left after a year to
be married. She went on to study with great Russian dancers
in Paris. She and her husband emigrated to the US before
settling in Montreal in 1946. Although trained as a
classical dancer she turned to jazz as a less restrictive
form of dance. She became co-founder of Les Ballets Jazz de
Montréal. Her style blends classical ballet with the free
form of jazz. She was appointed a member of the Order of
Canada in 1987. In 2012 she received the National Order of
Quebec. (2018) |
Berta Lynn Seymour |
née Springbett. Born March 8, 1929,
Wainwright, Alberta. She studied ballet in Vancouver and
England. In 2959 she was a principle dancer with England's
Royal Ballet. Between 1966-1969 she was with the Deutsche
Opera Ballet of Berlin, Germany. In 1978-9 she was director
of the Bavarian State Opera Ballet in Munich, Germany. In
Canada she has danced with the Royal Ballet, the Western
Dance theatre and the National Ballet of Canada. In 1984 she
published her autobiography. |
Victoria Tennant |
Born January 15,1947, London,
England. This prima ballerina of the National Ballet of
Canada won international acclaim for her extraordinary
versatility and dramatic power as she danced herself around
the world for 25 years.
Retired from dance she turned her talents to writing
and producing for television and theatre. She has written
books for children and is doing freelance writing for
notable Canadian magazines. She volunteers for charity and
has bee chairperson for UNICEF.
She belongs to the Order of Canada. |
Eva Von Gencsy |
Born March 11,1924, Hungary. Died April 11, 2013, Montreal,
Quebec. She studied ballet at the Trognoff Russian
Ballet Academy as a young girl. She won a scholarship to
study at the University Mozartium Saltzberg in 1924. The
next year she made her solo debut. In 1948 as she entered
Canada a customs officer, seeing she was a dancer, suggested
she move to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Working as a domestic
servant to fulfill the requirement of working for a year in
order to stay in Canada she studied with the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet. In 1954 when the R W B was destroyed by fire she moved
to Montreal to continue dancing. She worked in Banff and
taught jazz dance for 13 years. Often summers vacations were
spent in New York City taking ballet and jazz classes. She
specifically loved jazz-ballet as a celebration of the soul.
In Montreal she formed a jazz ballet group Les Jazz-Ballet
Contemporaines but left in 1978 after a disruptive collision
of ideas with others in the group. She spent the next 35
years as a freelance teacher. In 2003 Mireille Dansereau
completed a documentary feature EVA about the talented
dancer. She had married at one time but did not relish the
role of homemaker and definitely loved dance more than
married life which also carried the treat of motherhood. She
had a love of learning often taking courses at local
institutions. At 80 years of age she discovered and embraced
life with a computer.
Source: Her legacy is all that
bale-jazz by Paula Citron,
The Globe and Mail, April 30, 2013. |
Dancers
- Contemporary - Modern
Return to categories |
Maud Allan |
née Ulla
Maude Durant. Born August 27, 1873, Toronto, Ontario.
( sources give varied dates of birth from 1873 to 1880)
Died October 7, 1956, Los Angeles California, U.S.A. The
family moved to San Francisco, California, U.S.A. and then
in 1895 to Germany where Maud studied piano in Berlin. Maud
changed her name to cover her relationship and scandal with
her criminal brother who was hanged in 1898 for murder in
San Francisco. The trauma of her brother's death was such
that she abandoned her piano playing and took up dance.
Maud became true pioneer of modern dance.
Her
costumes were very creative and were fashioned and sewn by
herself. Her version of the Dance of the Seven Veils became
somewhat notorious. In 1908 she published My Life and
Dancing and she went on tour in England. She would
continue to perform in Europe, North America, Australia,
Africa, and Asia. By 1915 she was appearing in silent films.
In 1918 she sued a British Member of Parliament who had
called her a lesbian but she lost the case which became
entangled in obscenity charges against her dance
performance. There was a ban on public performances on the
play by Oscar Wilde from which her dance was based. Her
bothers crimes were also brought out during the trial to
suggest sexual insanity in her family. Maud taught
dance in the 1920's. From 1930 through 1942 she opened the
West Wing School of Dance for slum children to learn dance
in New York City, U.S.A. In 1937 she opened the West Wing
School of Art in London, England for underprivileged
children. She continued to appear in films in the 1930's and
early 1940's. (2019) |
Patricia Beatty |
Born May 13, 1936. Born in
Canada, her early dance training was in the United States.
She soon brought her talents back to Canada and founded the
New Dance Group of Canada. |
Rachel Browne |
Born November 16,1934,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Although trained in
classical ballet, Rachel became one of the most important
figures in Canadian modern dance. She created Winnipeg's
Contemporary Dancers. |
Nancy Lima Dent |
Born 1919, Toronto, Ontario. Died February 15, 2013,
Toronto, Ontario. Nancy had her introduction to
ballet in Toronto as a child and studied modern dance in New
York City. In the 1940’s and 1950’s she worked with the
Toronto New Dance Theatre establishing the Nancy Lima Dent
Dance Theatre in the 1960’s. She created a body of over 30
dance works, many of which were a commentary on social
issues of the day. She also performed, choreographed and
organized modern dance festivals in 1960’s Toronto. Her last
original choreographic work was presented in May 1974. In
1986 there was a production of her work Heroes of Our
Time originally performed in 1952. |
Saida Gerrard |
Born April 9, 1913,
Toronto,
Ontario. Died
May 4, 2005. Her Russian immigrant parents passed on to her
the love of music as a child and she studied at the Toronto
Conservatory of Music., and then on to New York City.
In the 1930’s she would make significant contributions to
the early establishment of modern dance in Canada.
In 1951 she and her pianist husband, Aube Tzerko moved to
work in Los Angeles where she formed her own dance company.
|
Judy Jarvis |
Born June 6, 1946, Toronto, Ontario. Died
November 1, 1986,Toronto, Ontario. Judy was one of Canada's
important modern dance choreographers. In 1963 she
moved to Germany to become one of the last protégées of
modern dance choreographer Mary Wigman. She retuned to
Canada in 1967 and taught dance in the physical education
department at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. She
later formed a series of modern dance companied and taught
dance at the University of Waterloo i Ontario. Sadly she
struggled for most of her professional career to achieve
acceptance. In 1974 she was the first recipient of the
Jean A. Chalmers Award in Choreography.
In 1983, when funding from the Ontario Arts Council and the
Canada Council was
withdrawn for her company, Jarvis returned to teacher's
college. She was teaching dramatic arts in Toronto at
Madonna High School at the time of her sudden death. She dies as a result of smoke inhalation during a fire in
her apartment. The Judy Jarvis Dance Foundation,
created in 1987, seeks to preserve Jarvis' legacy.
Source: Canadian Encyclopedia (2021) |
Jacqueline Lemieux |
Born November 13, 1957, East Angus, Quebec. By the age of 13
she knew she would be a professional dancer. 1978-1979 she
trained at the Ecole de dance Pointepiernu and then with the
Groupe nouvelle aires’s school in 1980. 1981-1982 found her
training in New York City, U.S.A. In the 1980’s she toured
internationally as a performed and artistic collaborator
with several groups. After ten years of touring she returned
to Montreal, Quebec working with various choreographers. In
1993 she was working with Danse Cite Volet Interpretes. She
is known for her modern jazz techniques. She teaches actors
and circus performers to enhance their physical
expressiveness.
(2018) |
Ginette Laurin
|
Born January 3, 1955, Montreal,
Quebec. Ginette trained as a gymnast as well as a dancer of
modern dance and ballet. began her choreographic career in
1979. She founded her own company in 1984, O Vertigo. She
has also done work with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens,
Introdans in the Netherlands, and for films. She also taught
at the Université du Québec, Montréal. The company appeared
at Expo 86 and won the Jean A. Chalmers Award. In 1987 she
was profiled in the documentary film, Dance for Modern
Times. Since 1986 the company has returned to appear in
Europe, the United States of America, Denmark, Singapore,
Hong Kong, and Japan. In 2003 she earned the Cinedance Award
for Best Direction at the Moving Pictures Festival,
Toronto. In 2015 she was invested with the Order of Canada.
(2021) |
Jeanne Renaud
|
Born August 27, 1928, Montreal, Quebec. Jeanne
studied music at Ecole de musique Vincent-d'Indy, Montreal,
Quebec. She went on to train in classical ballet and modern
dance with private tutors. She also studied in New York
City, New York, U.S.A. In 1948 she married Jean-Pierre Labrecque and the couple had two children. From 1949
through 1954 she taught dance in Paris, France and joined
the Canadian group Les Automatistes who were in Paris to
perform. Back in Montreal in 1959 to 1965 she danced and
taught with the Ecole de dance moderne de Montréal.
She founded Le Groupe de la place Royale, the 1st official
modern dance company in Quebec in 1966. Jeanne served as a
dancer, choreographer, artistic director and administrator
until 1972. She operated until 1975 Galerie lll, a space for
contemporary visual art, theatre, music and dance. She
worked for the Canada Council, the Quebec Ministere des
affaires culturelles and was head of the Conservatoire d'art
dramatique du Québec in both Montreal and Quebec City. In
1990 she retired from teaching at the Université du Québec à
Montréal. In 1989 Renaud received the prestigious Prix du
Québec Denise Pelletier, and in 1995 the Governor General's
Award for the Performing Arts. Jeanne is also a member of
the Order of Canada. (2019) |
Ola Shanks
4085
Black Dancer |
née Shepard. Born 1926, Toronto,
Ontario. Died August 13, 2018, Toronto, Ontario. Ola
immigrated from the Caribbean with her family in 1918 and
settled in Toronto. As a youth learned to tap dance by
copying what she saw and liked in movies and then performed
professionally at various venues and events in Toronto in
the 1940's. After her marriage and the birth of her four
daughters she took up dancing again and trained in
western interpretive dance forms. Inspired to learn more
about her African heritage, Ola reached out to universities
in Ghana and Nigeria and learned dances directly from
Nigerian students on exchange at the University of Toronto
in the 1950's. She continued with classes with pearl
Primus in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. and began to merge
western interpretive dance forms and the dances of the
African Diaspora in her own teaching and fashion design. She
performed taught and choreographed extensively for stage and
television folk festivals, Caribana and the San Diego Museum
of Art in California, U.S.A. She also taught at the
University of New York in Buffalo and at the Three Schools
Artists' workshop in Toronto. In 1974 she would open her own
studio. In 2018 she was inducted into the Dance Collection
Dance Encore! Dance Hall of Fame. Source: It's About Time:
Dancing Black in Canada 1900-1970. online (accessed
2022) |
Filmmakers
Return to categories |
Evelyn Spice Cherry
4146
Documentary
Filmmaker |
née Spice. Born 1906, Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Died December 17,
1990, Victoria, British Columbia. Her first career was that of a
teacher in public schools in Saskatchewan. She returned to
school herself graduating with a degree in journalism from
the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, U.S.A. in 1929.
After graduation she too a position as society columnist with
the Regina Leader Post newspaper. By 1931 she was in London,
England working with the Government Post Film Unit and worked
with members of the British Documentary Film Movement as the
only Canadian and only women in the unit. While in London she
met met her husband Lawrence William Cherry (1903-1966. The
couple had two children. With the outbreak of World War ll
(1939-1945) the couple returned to Canada and became successful
independent film makers. She would also work as the Head of the
Agricultural Films Unit with the National Film Board of Canada
where she served from 1941 to 1951 making 128 films. During her
time at the NFB she helped to found a nursery so her son would
be taken care of when he was young. She is considered a pioneer
in the Canadian documentary filmmaker industry. After being
forced into retiring from the NFB during the era of the 'Red
purge" Evelyn returned to teaching. In 1960 she was once again
working with her husband making films is Saskatchewan as Cherry
Films Ltd. which was founded in 1961. She retired a second time
in 1985. Some of her texts and photographs are kept in the
Library and Archives Canada. Suggested by Nancy Addison.
Source:
Canadian Women Film Director's Database online (accessed 2022. |
Jennifer Hodge de Silva
Black Film Maker |
Born January 28,
1951, Montreal, Quebec. Died May 5, 1989, Montreal,
Quebec. Jennifer began high school in Canada and then
finished her secondary education in Hasilberg-Goldern,
Switzerland. She completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
in Fine Arts at Glendon College, York University in
1974. This was followed by a Bachelor of Ap plied Arts in
Television Arts at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute (now
Ryerson University) in 1979. She apprenticed at the
National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in Montreal
where she worked on documentaries such as
A Great Tree Has Fallen and Potatoes which
told the story of the P.E.I. potato industry. In 1982
she began working for he CBC.
Jennifer became the 1st film
maker to work constantly with the NFB and the CBC.
That same year she married producer Paul de Silva and
the couple had one daughter.
Together she and her husband started a film
production company Jenfilms Inc. Jennifer was among the
1st Black filmmakers. Her documentaries covered such
diverse topics as Chinese-Canadian immigrants, World War
ll, Indigenous artists, prison reform, diverse
neighbourhoods, and Black history in Canada. Her works
earned numerous awards. For her work on the film Dieppe
1942 won the CBC's Prix Anix. In 1987 she received the
Award for Creative Excellence from the U. S. Industrial
Film and Video Festival for her prison reform
documentary called In Support of the Human Spirit.
Her work Inside Stories
garnered her a Gemini Award in 1989. Jennifer produced
Neighbourhoods
series which told the history and character of various
communities in Canada. Terminal illness did not slow her
filmmaking which she continued until her death from
breast cancer. In 1992 the Film Jennifer Hodge: The
Glory and the Pain was produced.
Photo: National Film Board of Canada's web site nlc8893 |
Dorthea Mitchell
4010
Early
Filmmaker & Accomplished Businesswoman |
Born 1877, England. Died 1976, Victoria,
British Columbia. Dorthea's father worked for railroads
internationally so she grew up in Egypt and India until they
returned to England in the 1890's By 1904 they had
immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto. She purchased a
boarding house in Toronto so that her mother and sister
could join her. She became a "work companion' to a mining
engineer as his wife in Silver Mountain, Ontario. She
remains here becoming the Canadian Pacific Railway station
master, post master and ran her own general Store.
Since people preferred to trade for goods she was ont making
a living so she bought a saw mill and became a 'Lady
Lumberjack.' Applying for land under the Homestead Act
and as an unmarried woman she received 79 acres instead of
the usual 160 acres granted to single men. From 1911 through
to 1920 she operated her saw mill prior to relocating to
Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. She took business
courses and by the summer of 1921 she was teaching the
courses! In 929/30 she and the Port Arthur Amateur Cinema
Society produced three feature length silent films. Their
work was so popular that people were turned away from the
theatre. The advent of sound films and the depression
saw the demise of the Society.
In 1930 she became the first
secretary-treasurer of the Port Arthur General Hospital.
From 1931 four four years she dabbled in local real estate.
She was also a prominent member of the Daughters of the
Empire. During World War ll (1939-1945) she trained Red
Cross Transport Corps members to go overseas. She was in
charge of the registration of Canadian women. She also
worked to provide accommodation for British child evacuees
with the Children's Aid Society. Dorthea retired to the
Canadian West Coast for her heath and joined the Victoria
Amateur Movie Club. She would also published numerous short
stories. At 92 she penned the story of life at Silver
Mountain. (2022) |
Lea Pool |
Born September 8, 1950, Soglio, Switzerland.
Lea immigrated to Canada in 1975 to study at the Université
du Québec, Montreal where she graduated with a degree in
communications. She was working at the National Film Board
of Canada (NFB) when she produced her 1st solo film
Strass Café in 1980. It was in the early 1980's that she
worked on a TV series
Planète et Eva en Transit,
aired on
Radio-Québec. Known
for her feminist film studies she produced several films in
the 1980's and 1990's including a documentary on the life of
author Gabrielle Roy which earned a Jutra Award. Some of her
works have been screened at the Famous Sundance Film
Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A. and the Venice Film
Festival in Italy. In 1984
La
femme de l’hôtel
was awarded the Best Canadian Feature Film at the
Toronto International Film Festival.
In 1986 she received the
Audience Award
for
Anne Trister
at the International Women's Film Festival in Créteil,
France.
Her 1st work in English Lost and Delirious was shown
at Sundance and the Berlin Film Festival in Germany. In 2006
she was awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier for her outstanding
career in cinema from the Quebec government. In 2011 she
presented Pink Ribbons Inc which premiered at the Toronto
Film Festival. In 2013 she was inducted as a Member of the
Order of Canada. in 2017 accepted the
Vancouver Women in Film and Television Artistic Merit
Award at
Vancouver International Film Festival.
(2019) |
Kathleen Shannon |
Born January 1, 1935, Vancouver, British
Columbia. Died January 9, 1998, Kelowna, British Columbia.
After dropping out of high school at 16, Kathleen worked
cataloguing films at Crawley Films , Ottawa. By 1956 she was
working at the National Film Board (NFB) she worked as
a sound and picture editor. In 1970 she directed her 1st
film Goldwood. in the Working Mothers series.
Kathleen became a driving force behind the creation of the
famous Studio D (1974-1996) , a women's film production unit
producing feminist documentaries created by and for women.
She was the 1st executive producer a position she held for
12 years and over saw the creation and production of some 80
films including a 1977 and 1982 Academy Award winning films.
One of the last films from Studio D was a biographical
documentary, Kathleen Shannon: On Film, Feminism, and Other
Dreams. The NFB also established a documentary prize,
the Kathleen Shannon Award presented annually at the Yorkton
Short Film and Video Festival. Kathleen was married twice
and was mother of one son. She retired to the Kootenays in
British Columbia opening a guest house for women. In 1986
she was inducted into the Order of Canada.
(2020) |
Musicians
Return to categories
|
Winnifred Estella
Bambrick |
SEE - Writers - Authors |
Katherine E. Bellamy |
Born Bay Roberts, Newfoundland. Died March 23, 2010, Newfoundland.
Katherine earned her Bachelor of Arts from Mount Saint
Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At 18 she
entered the Sisters of Mercy of Newfoundland. She became an
educator of music serving in numerous schools. Under her
tutelage the Our Lady of Mercy Glee Club was the first
Newfoundland Junior choir to with the Matheson Trophy, a
national award. She spent more than 20 years as organist
and choir director at the Basilica of St. Jon the Baptist.
She has also demonstrated a commitment to serving the less
fortunate in areas where she has taught. In 2006 she was
inducted into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and in
2007 she was appointed to the Order of Canada.
Sources:
Order of Newfoundland and Labrador online : Order of Canada
Online (accessed November 2011) (2020) |
Helen Arlene Dahlstrom
|
née Underbakke. Born
June 5, 1917,
Regina Saskatchewan. Died July 25, 2013, Victoria, British
Columbia. Helen married
Alton Dahlstrom and the couple had two children. It was
however, her love of music which she would best known for.
She received her piano teachers certificate from the Toronto
Conservatory of Music. In 1934 she received he Licentiate
for Music Diploma at the University of Saskatchewan. She
actually started her piano career at 16 when she played with
the Regina Symphony Orchestra. She toured, played on radio
and accompanied notable musicians at recitals. In 1950 she
moved to Rossland, British Columbia and began her lifetime
work at St. Andrew’s United Church. She also shared her
leadership and management skills by holding numerous
positions of local, provincial, national and international
music organizations for 70 years. She was paramount in the
organization of Canada Music Week for which she chaired for
25 years. In 1998 she received the Order of British Columbia
in recognition of her contribution to the enrichment of the
love of music in the province.
Sources:
Canadian Women of Note, Media Club of Canada (Toronto:
York University, 1994) # 189 page 208; Trail History Society
online (accessed August 2011).
|
Shirley
Rose Eikhard
4171 |
Born November 7, 1955, Sackville, New
Brunswick. Died December 15, 2022, Orangeville, Ontario.
Shirley came from a talented musical family and she was
given her first guitar when she was just eleven years old.
When she was a teen her family relocated to Oshawa, Ontario.
At 12 she had her first stage performed at a fiddle festival
in Cobourg, Ontario. In 1969 she was successful in her
audition for the Songwriter's Workshop at the Mariposa Folk
Festival. In 1971 she wrote It Takes Time which was
performed by Anne Murray (1945- ). By the
early mid 1970's she had released her first album and her
work earned her two R P M Weekly Gold Leaf Awards in Canada
and a 1973 and 1974 Juno Awards. This was followed with
three more albums. Her works have been recorded by Kim
Carnes, Anne Murray, Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris, Alannah
Miles, Cher, and Bonnie Raitt. Her work Something to Talk
About received a S O C A N Classics Award and a B M I Award.
In 2020 Shirley was inducted into the Canadian Songwriter'
Her final album was released in October 1921. s Hall of
Fame. (2022) |
Joyce Margaret McCulloch
Brooker |
Born 1921, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Died 1991, Portage
la Prairie, Manitoba. She was educated locally and served as
secretary-manager of the Portage la Prairie Chamber of
Commerce for many years. With her husband she led, and
played piano in, the Brookers Bombshells, a leading dance
band in southern Manitoba. She also helped found the Portage
Music and Arts Festival.
Source:
Dictionary
of Manitoba Biography
by
J. M.
Bumsted
University of Manitoba Press, 1999 |
Eleanor Reed Townsend |
Born January 8,
1944,
Dungannon (near Stratford) Ontario.
Died December 31, 1988.
Eleanor studied
classical violin as a youth before choosing fiddle music as
her preferred art form. She won the women's Class Canadian
Open Old Time Fiddler's Competition four times from 1967
through 1974. In 1979 she became the first woman to win the
Open Class Competition (competition open to both men and
women). When she was not touring
with her music she taught fiddling at the boards of
education in Scarborough and Simcoe Ontario. She cut four
albums of music and published the Townsend Old-Time Fiddle
method (1996) She is a member of the Fiddler's Hall of Fame
(1984) in Oceola, New York and also the Canadian National
Fiddling Hall of Fame. |
Grace Trotman
4313 |
Born April 14, 1911, Liberia. Died March 8, 1982, Toronto.
Grace immigrated to Canada in 1920 and settled in Toronto.
She graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto.
For some 45 years she would teach the youth of Toronto music
lessons. She was the choir leaded and organist of the
British Methodist Episcopal Church. In the 1930's she was
known to have established a summer camp for Black youth in
the city. Source: Our Lives and The Black
Women's Collective Salutes Women in Our history in Our
Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper Vol 2 No.
1 March April 1987. Online (accessed 2023); Find a grave
Canada online (accessed 2023) |
Producers & Directors of
Movies & Films
Return
to categories |
Judith Crawley |
Born
April 21, 1914, Ottawa, Ontario. Died September 15, 1986. A film producer,
director, and scriptwriter, she and her husband Frank
“Budge” Crawley formed Crawley Films, which became one of
Canada’s foremost independent production companies.
She was also president of the Canadian Film Institute. |
Sarindar Dhaliwal |
Born 1955, Punjab, India. A
feminist of Sikh descent s he came to Canada with her family
as an infant. She has earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts at
Falmouth School of Art at Cornwall, England in 1978. She
returned to school at York University in Toronto for her
masters in 2002. Her paintings combine fragments from the
past such as photographs and mementos with paper made from
organic plants in geometrically arrangements. She has also
tried her talents as an author of short stories. Since 1983
she has participated in solo and group exhibitions
throughout Canada. Her works resides in major public
collections across Canada as well. |
Madeline Hombert |
Born October 4, 1944, Shoal
Lake, Manitoba. She attended school in Rivers, Manitoba
before heading off to Ryerson University in Toronto. Her
education also included hands on training through cable
television, commercial video, television and film
productions. She has applied herself as a newspaper
columnist, book editor, and a writer of screenplays. She has
worked in most areas of film and television productions,
from setting up equipment through budgeting and production
management to songwriting. Through this experience she had
gained insight to cost control and financial accountability
while still appreciating the artistic demands of production.
In 1989 she received a CTV Fellowship Award. She has always
taken an active interest in her community and expressed
herself in politics by running as a federal Liberal
Candidate in the elections in 1979 and 1980 in Calgary. Her
work in her community, her volunteer efforts and her
political involvement earned her the nomination as a Woman
of Distinction in Calgary 1981. The award encouraged her and
she continues her volunteering with such organizations as
the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Variety Club and the
Canadian Fund for the Support and Assistance of Lung
Transportations. |
Annette Mangaard |
Born March 26, 1955. After
studies at the Ontario College of Art she began her career
as a filmmaker. She has earned recognition as a strong
independent filmmaker. She has also returned her time to her
profession by participating in various associations for
Canadian filmmakers and has served as a board member for the
Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto. She earned the
Award of Merit at the Charleston International Film Festival
in 1994. |
Anne-Claire Poirier
|
Born June 6, 1932, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. A
film director and producer, she joined the National Film
Board in 1960. Her efforts allowed female film
producers their first organized platform for expression.
In 1968 her
documentary Film Du Mere en fille was the 1st feature film
ever directed by a French-Canadian women.
In 1996 her documentary film, Tu as Crie: Let me go.
was made to help her understand the events leading to the
murder of her daughter. In 2001, Poirier received a Governor General's Performing
Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in film. She
was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2003. |
Linda
Marie Gillingwater
Rainsberry
|
Died January 10, 2009. She was a writer, editor, educator,
TV and film producer, philanthropist, and a businesswoman.
She studied at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia for her
Bachelor of Education and earned her masters frat the
University of Toronto. She won a Gemini Award for best shot
dramatic program: Saying goodbye: the first snowfall, which
was a ten part drama/documentary series on grief and
bereavement. She was the director of the Ambassador program
which is an educational program for 16-24 year old youth who
lived on Toronto’s streets. She was the mother of two sons.
Source: Toronto Star, January 17, 2009
pg. CL9 |
Betty Riley
4162
Black TV
Producer |
Born 1930, Saint John, New Brunswick. After
working as a TV producer in New Brunswick Betty relocated to
Montreal where she worked as an office supervisor for a
cable TV company. She noticed that there was noting on TV
about Blacks and decided to do something about this! She
created the TV program Black Id which aired in the 1970's as
Canada's first all-Black TV program. It dealt with
contemporary issues in the Black community such as police
brutality and discriminatory immigration. She ran a
television workshop teaching Black youth the basics of
production. She spoke out against racial and gender equality
in the workplace being herself a Black woman in a male
dominated field. Source: Rediscovering
the roots of Black New Brunswickers. online (accessed 2022)
|
Denise Robert |
Born 1954, Ottawa, Ontario. Denise studied
music at L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts d'Aix-en-Provence, France.
She took travel time from her studies to visit Israel, India
and South America. Back home in Canada in 1978 she worked at
the French-language theatre company of the National Arts
Centre in Ottawa. Moving on to work with the Canadian
Department of Communications she attended workshops on
filmmaking at the Canadian Film Institute and decided to
strike out on her won making movies. In 1984 she relocated
to Montreal and worked for the Société générale du cinema
gaining a solid base understanding of the industry. She
founded in 1988 Cinémaginaire
with production manager Daniel Louis. The 1st film she
produced A corps perdu in 1988 won six Genie Awards. From
1997 for two years she served as President of 2003 her
film Les Invasions barbares, directed by husband
Denys Arcand, won the Oscar. The couple have an adopted
daughter from China. In 1997 for two years she served as
President of Cinematheque Québécoise and from 1999 to 2002
she was President of the Association of Film and Television
in Quebec. By 2002 Cinémaginaire
was established as a commercial force in the francophone
film industry. Denise is a member of the Academy of Canadian
Cinema and Television's National Advisory Council and a
member of the producer's branch of the Academy of Motion
Pictures Arts and Sciences (Academy Awards), the British
Academy of Film and Television Arts (B A F T A) and the Académie
des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma (César Awards).
In 2003 her film Les Invasions barbares directed by
husband Denys Arcand won the Oscar. Her 2009 film
De pére en flic is the highest-grossing French Canadian
film up to 2015. Her films have won more than 100 awards
worldwide. She is a Chevalier in France's L'Ordre des
arts et des lettres. (2019) |
Kathleen Shannon |
Born November 11,1935, Vancouver,
British Columbia. Died January 14, 1998,
Kelowna,
British Columbia. Kathleen dropped out of high school
in Ottawa and began working Crawley Films cataloguing music.
She joined the National Film Board in 1956 as an editor and
by 1962 had 115 films to her credit. She became a film
editor and executive producer for the National Film Board of
Canada using film to examine the role of women in society.
In 1970 she directed her 1st film Goldwood, a film
based on her childhood memories in northern British
Columbia. In 1974 she was the founder and 1st executive
producer of Studio D of the National Film Board which was
the 1st government funded film studio in the world dedicated
to women filmmakers. Studio D provided women with
employment, training and information needs of Canadian women
where they could explore and expand their creativity. The
films produced included Academy Award winning documentaries
I'll find a Way
in 1977 and If You Love This Planet in 1982. Studio D
was closed in 1996 with one of the last films produced being
Kathleen Shannon: On Film, Feminism, and Other Dreams.
The Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival in Saskatchewan
presents an annual Kathleen Shannon Award established by the
National Film Board.
(2021) |
Mina Suingai Shum
Asian Canadian
Producer |
Born December 12, 1965, Hong Kong.
Mina studied for a degree in Theatre and then Film and TV
Production at the University of British Columbia. She is a
writer and producer of films and is perhaps best known for
her work in short films. In 1993 her work Me, Mom and Mona,
won a special Jury Citation for Best Canadian Short Film.
She has won a Genie Award for Best Actress and Best Editing
and she has been nominated for seven Genies in the
categories of Best Picture, Best Direction and Best
Screenplay. |
Laura Sky |
Born 1947, Montreal, Quebec. Laura was born with an
undiagnosed learning disability but she had she had
unstoppable determination. She learned things in her won
way. At 14 she joined the Peace Movement and learned
to research events, debate ideas and calculate strategies.
She became a single parent and stared her career in 1979
with the National Film Board of Canada Challenge for Change
Program. She would be one of the women film makers who laid
the ground work for the famous “Studio D” a special unit of
the National Film Board dedicated to films about women’s
issues. In 1983 she established SKYWORKS, a charitable
foundation that is a community based not-for-profit
educational documentary production organization.
Sources:
Herstory, the Canadian Women’s Calendar 2006
Coteau Books, 2005 |
Anne Wheeler |
Born September 23, 1946, Edmonton, Alberta
Actor, filmmaker, producer, director, and writer are her professions.
She worked for the National Film Board of Canada in
the 1970’s working on numerous documentaries.
Her film
“Bye Bye Blues” made in 1990 won Three Genie Awards.
|
Puppeteers
Return to categories |
Noreen Young |
She studied drawing and
painting at the Ontario college of art but it was something
more along the line of sculpting that would capture her
attention and career. She began to hone her skills as a
puppet builder and puppeteer. In 1979 she formed Noreen
Young Productions. While she has been involved in several
productions for the younger audiences it was her Under the
Umbrella Tree television show that is perhaps the best
remembered. It was aired on CBC, Y T V, Canal Famille and the
Disney Channel. In 1995 she received the Order of Canada for
her achievements in children's television. Her political
character puppets have been a constant source of
entertainment for Canadian adults. |
Vocalists -
Singers - Children's Songs
Return to categories |
Charlotte Diamond |
Born July 31, 1945, Nanaimo, British Columbia. In 1983
Charlotte graduated from University of British Columbia with
a Bachelor of Secondary Education. She continued French
language studies at Laval University, Quebec before teaching
science, French and Music at Junior High school in New
Westminster Secondary School for ten years. Charlotte loved
to sing and performed with local fold groups. She wrote
songs and entertained her own children and also developed a
preschool music program which resulted in requests for
workshops and school concerts around Vancouver and around
the province. In 1986 her recording of 10 Carrot Diamond
, which would become a Gold Record, won the Canadian
Juno Award. She has become a frequent headliner for the
Vancouver International Children’s Festival. Her popular son
Octopus (Slippery Fish) became a book in 2013: Slippery
Fish in Hawaii. In 2015 she released with her son Mat,
Diamonds by the Sea. Trilingual, English , French and
Spanish, she as released recordings in all three languages.
Her works have garnered her Parents’ Choice Awards and
American Library Association Awards. She tours throughout
North America, Costa Rica. She has been awarded the Queen’s
Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal and has been named as a
Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary
International. In 2016 she was appointed as a Member of the
Order of Canada.
|
Vocalists - Singers - Folk & Country
Return
to categories |
Angèle Arsenault |
Born
October 1, 1943,
Abrams, Prince Edward Island . Died February
25, 2014, Saint-Sauveur, Quebec. When she was 14 she won a
television singing contest in Charlottetown, Prince Edward
Island. While studying at the University of Moncton in New
Brunswick she made her professional debut in
Moncton and then Quebec City. She graduated
with her Master's degree from Université Laval in 1968. She
performed on radio, television and toured Canada. With a
sincere love of Acadian folk music as incentive she wrote
and sung her own songs in both of Canada’s official
languages. She hosted the
TVOntario show True North from 1973-1974. Her educational
program won a Gold Hugo Award at the Chicago Film Festival
in 1974. Her 1st album Première appeared in 1975. The
following year she had her only English album. She
earned a Felix-award in 1979 when he album Libre sold more
than 200,000 copies. She is perhaps best known for her
Acadian Anthem Grand-Pre. She used her music
to express her own special brand of humor. She hosted the TV series Angèle
in 1980 for Radio-Canada Atlantique, as well as
Radiomutuel’s Le Radio-café Provigo from1986 to 88,
Radio-Canada’s Mes noëls en Acadie in1988 and
Radio-Canada Moncton’s morning show in1989. She was also a
correspondent in Charlottetown for Telefilm Canada's
PassepArt.
After
a brief break she returned to the stage in 1988 and
performed in France in 1990. She was an officer of the Order
of Canada and a Member of the Order of Prince Edward Island.
She also received the Order de la
Pléiade
from the
Association of French Speaking Parliamentarians for
promotion of the French language and culture. (2019) |
Hélène Baillargeon-Coté |
Born August 28, 1919, Sainte-Marie-du-Beauce, Quebec. Died September 25, 1997,
Montréal, Québec
As a child she loved singing folk
songs. As an adult she studied voice and researched folk
songs. She recorded 10 albums of her beloved folk music. In
1944 she married André Coté and the couple had three
children. From 1959 through 1973 she galvanized Anglophone
children to their television sets with her show Chez Hélène.
She spoke only French to her English speaking mouse friend,
Suzie. To the children it was endearing, in reality she was
bridging tow national cultures. In the 1970’s she became a
celebrity Canadian Citizenship judge accepting new
immigrants who had succeeded in there quest to gain
citizenship to their new country. In 1973 she received the
Order of Canada.
Source:
Herstory: The Canadian Women’s Calendar 2000
(Silver anniversary edition) Coteau Books, 1999. Page 54. |
Carroll Ann Baker
|
Born
March 4, 1949, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Carroll was
performing at the age of four. At 16, Carroll and her family
relocated to Toronto. Carroll had her 1st single song hit in
1970. She dominated the country music
scene in the 1970's winning several Juno Awards as Country
Female vocalist in 1977, 1978 and 1979.
In 1976, she won a Big Country Award for best
album of the year, and in 1978 and 1977 she was named top
female country singer at the same awards.
She produced over 20 albums of her music. In the summer of
1983 she hosted her own television show and was always a
welcome guest on the long running Tommy Hunter show. She
decided to take partial retirement in the early 1990's. She
was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in
1992. In 1997 she received a lifetime achievement award from
the Nova Scotia Country Music Association. In 2010 she
became a Member of the Order of Canada for her singing and
songwriting. |
Anita Best |
Born Merasheen Island, Newfoundland. Her interest in
Newfoundland oral history let her to a career as a
performer. She had made numerous television and radio
appearances and several recordings of songs and stories of
the province. She has served as President of the
Newfoundland Folk Arts Society of which she has been
involved for over 30 years. In 2011 she was appointed
a Member of the Order of Canada for ‘ensuring this priceless
cultural legacy’ of son and stories of Newfoundland and
Labrador. She has explored, researched, catalogued the
lifestyle and culture of Newfoundland. She is considered one
of the province’s most prominent traditional singers. In
2015 she won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Folk Fest
at Bannerman Park. |
Heather Bishop |
Born April 25, 1949,
Regina, Saskatchewan. Heather went to university for her Bachelor
of Arts at
the University of Saskatchewan in 1969. She had studied
piano as a child but decided she enjoyed guitar more when
she was a teen. She also studied voice in Winnipeg,
Manitoba. In 1976 she began her solo career at the Regina
Folk Festival. By the 1980's she was one of Canada's leading
performers in both feminist and children's music and was
touring throughout North America. She has some five albums of
music as well as a recordings of songs for children. |
Marie Bottrell |
Born January 16, 1961,
London, Ontario. To her it seems she has always written and
sang. When she was a teen, her brothers sent he son tapes to
various country and western groups and she was soon hired as
a writer and then she began recording and singing herself.
Her first album, Just reach out came out when she was 17
years old. She has toured all over North America doing
public and TV appearances. After a tour of Germany in 1980
she has maintained a loyal fan base there. She
received the Best Country Awards for outstanding
performance, country female singer in 1979 and best single
recording for the Star in 1980. She was the Canadian Country
Music Awards best female vocalist of the year in 1983 and
1984. She was nominated annually from 1979 through 1986 for
Juno Awards. In 1991 she made a comeback with the hit Lasso
your Love recorded in Nashville, U.S.A. |
Edith Butler |
Born July 27,
1942, Paquetville, New Brunswick. Learning music in her
home town of Caroquet, New Brunswick, Edith applauds the
Acadian culture wherever she entertains. She has a strong
singing voice and is a well rounded entertainer combining
humor with her own music. Edith was one of the first
songsters to promote Acadian culture in Canada and
internationally. She was able to launch her career on
Radio-Canada in Moncton, New Brunswick. By 1962 she was
singing with CBC TV Halifax on Singalong Jubilee. In
1969 she graduated from Laval University, Quebec City. In
1970 she was a featured performer at the Canadian Pavilion
at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. She won the award of the
Académie Charles-Cros, in Paris, France and she was
induced as a Chevalier de l'Ordre de la
Pléiade 1978
in France. In 1999 France presented her with the Chevalier
de l'Ordre Nationale du Mérite
de la République française
She was made a Member of the Order du Mérite de la culture
française by the Canadian Senate and was induced an
Officer of the Order of Canada in 1975. She has
recorded some 27 albums of her Acadian music and in 2007 her
song, Paquetville,
was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of
Fame. July 2, 2009 she was one of four musicians who had
their picture on stamps issued by Canada Post. The following
year she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Society Of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of
Canada (SOCAN). In 2012 she was given the
Lieutenant-Governor's Award for High Achievement in the Arts
for Performing Arts. and in 2013 she was inducted as a
Member of the Order of New Brunswick. |
Carmen Campagne |
Born
September 8, 1959, Willow
Bunch, Saskatchewan. Died July 4, 2018,
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec. Carmen was a singer and
children's entertainer. She loved working with children and
chose to be a kindergarten teacher prior to being a folk
singer and composer. In the 1970’s she was a member of
the folk music band
Folle Avoine. She relocated to Quebec and releases
several French-language albums. She, along with
her sister-in-law,
Connie Kaldor, received a
Juno
Award
at the
1989
in the category
Best
Children's Album
for Lullaby Berceuse.
Her use of own compositions and
traditional folk songs encouraged young Francophone to
discover their heritage, and helped young Anglophones to
learn the French
language. She would also win four Felix Awards and a
Parents' Choice Award in the United States. Along with her
brother and sisters and her former band mates she continued
to entertain with the folk band Hart-Rouge. In 2003 she
returned to her home province to be closer to her family. In
2013, she was made a Member of the
Order
of Canada
"for her contributions as a singer, songwriter and composer
enhancing music for young children and using music in
French-language education". She had taken some time off from
entertaining when she once again taught kindergarten. In
2014 she returned to performing. |
Emma Enid Maude Caslor |
née Carmichael. Born
December 18, 1913, Chilliwack, British Columbia. Died
December 25, 1977, Chilliwack, British Columbia. Emma enjoyed piano lessons as a child and
as a youth too voice in San Francisco, U.S.A., Vancouver, and
Halifax. She was introduced to the joy of folk music in 1930
while living on Canada's east coast. Until 1948 she used the
professional name of Nina Finn when singing and playing
public and radio performances. In the 1940's she worked for
the National Film board in Ottawa. After 1948 she took the
professional name of Emma Caslor and began her own career as
a singer. Her music embraced at first the Celtic roots but
soon took on the folk cultures of Canada's full diversity
from aboriginal music to Elizabethan songs. |
Louise Forestier |
née
Belhumeur. Born August 10, 1942. Louise studied acting at
the National Theatre School, Montreal, Quebec but she
preferred singing to acting. In 1966 she received the Renee
Claude Trophy from Le Matriote and was ‘discovery’ of the
year for radio-Canada. In 1968 she was part of an successful
revue which also toured France in 1969. She continued to
sing and act doing Rock music and then turning folk music.
In 1976 she received the Manteau d’Arlequin prize from
France for the best presentation of a French language song.
In 1984 she was the woman of the year in Quebec in the arts
field. In 2013 she received the SOCAN (Society for
composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada) and was
presented with the Order of Canada.
(2017) |
Connie Isabel Kaldor |
Born
May 9, 1953, Regina, Saskatchewan. Connie earned a Bachelor of
Fine Arts in Theater at the University of Alberta in 1976.
She worked performing with various theatre groups until 1979
she she began a full-time music career. In 1981 she founded
her own independent record label, Coyote Entertainment. She
won her 1st Juno Award with Carmen Campagne in 1989 for the
Best Children’s Album, Lullaby. She earned two more awards
for Best Children’s Album in 2004 and in 2005. She do-wrote
a song for the animated television series based on the comic
strip For Better of For Worse which debuted in 2000. She
married music producer and Hart-Rouge member Paul Campagne.
In 2003 her television show @Wood River Hall debuted on
Vision TV. In 2006 she
became
a Member of the Order of Canada. She continues to write
music and to tour.
|
k. d. Lang |
(Kathryn
Dawn) Born November 2, 1961, Consort, Alberta. This country
singer has real country roots. She grew up in Consort,
Alberta, which has a population of 700. In 1981 she
became a vegetarian. In 1985 she won her 1st Juno as Most
Promising Female Vocalist of the year followed in 1987 with
a Juno as Country Female Vocalist of the year. She has
been very outspoken against cattlemen . Her natural joy of
country music is evident in the songs she sings. In June
1992 she 'came out' as a lesbian. In 1995 she was
awarded the International Solo Artist Award. This multiple
Grammy winner is considered an innovator in her field, she
performs from the heart and is an inspiration to all. In
2005 she received the National Art Centre Award and that
same year she won her 6th Juno this time for Artist of the
year. In 2008 she received a star on Canada's Walk of
Fame in Toronto, Ontario. In 2011 she was inducted to the Q
Hall of Fame Canada in recognition of the work she has done
to further equality for all peoples around the world. In
2014 she made her Broadway debut as a 'Special Guest Star'
in After Midnight. She has also appeared in movies
and numerous television programs over the years. |
Rita MacNeil |
Born May 28, 1944, Big Pond, (Cape Breton) Nova Scotia.
Died April 13, 2013, Sydney, Nova Scotia. As a child Rita suffered from shyness
and endured surgery for a cleft palate. She loved to sing
for her mother who encouraged her to Higher goals. Rita is
mother of two children but her marriage did not ad to nor
survive her budding career. She began writing her own
heartfelt songs. An early title, Born a Woman,
composed to protest beauty pageants, would become the name
of her first album in 1974. She has recorded more than 20
albums since then, setting sales records, and outselling
such icons as Garth Brooks in 1990’s Canada. In the late
1970’s after a slow start to her career, she was invited to
sing with the all male miners choir, Men of the Deep. It was
a successful and long lasting musical relationship. In 1987
she won the first of her 3 career Juno awards. She also
holds 4 Canadian Country Music Awards and 7 East Coast Music
Awards. Her 1990’s CBC TV show, Rita and Friends, garnered
her a Gemini Award. As an entrepreneur the family runs Big
Pons publications and productions as well as her big Cape
Breton tourist attraction Rita’s Tea Room. She holds 5
honourary degrees from Universities, the Dr. Helen Creighton
Lifetime Achievement Award, honouring her contribution to
Atlantic Canada Music and holds the Order of Canada (1992)
and the Order of Nova Scotia (2005). Her autobiography is On
a personal note, written with Anne Simpson Toronto; Key
Porter Books, 1998. Flying on her own is a a musical play of
her life through her songs by Charlie Rhindress, 2008
Source: Rita MacNeil web site
(accessed June 2011); Profiles From a Century of
Canadian Music by Alex Barris and Ted Barris Toronto; Harper
Collins.
|
Anna McGarrigle |
Born
December 4, 1944, Montreal, Quebec. Along with
her sister and singing partner, Kate McGarrigle
(1946-2010)
,
she began singing in coffee houses in Montreal in the
1960's. Anna studied at the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Montreal
from 1964-1968. In 1976 they produced a record album
together and won the Melody Maker Best Record of the Year.
Other albums followed including an all French album in 1982
and the duo would win Juno Awards for their works. Anna
married journalist Dane Lanken and the couple have two
children. The McGarrigles were named to the Order of
Canada in 1994. In 1999 the sisters received the Women of
Originality Awards. In 2006 the singers received a Lifetime
Achievement Award from the Society of Composers, Authors and
Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). |
Kate McGarrigle |
Born February 6,
1946, Montreal, Quebec. Died
January 18, 2010, Montreal,
Quebec.
Kate was the youngest of three sisters who grew up in
St-Sauveur-des-Monts, Quebec. Along
with her sister and partner, Anna, she began singing folk
music in coffee houses in Montreal in the 1960’s.
From 1963 to 1967 she joined Jack Nisserson and Peter Weldon
to form the Mountain City Four. Kate studied engineering at
McGill University before she began writing songs.
In 1976 they produced a record album together which
won Best Record of the year from Melody Maker. Kate married
Loudon Wainwright lll and the couple had two children, Rufus
Martha who themselves became acclaimed musicians.
After a brief solo experience in New York, Kate rejoined her
sister and more albums followed including a French language
collection in 1982. n 1998 the sisters won Juno Awards for
two albums. The McGarrigles were named to the Order of
Canada in 1994.In 1999 Kate and Anna earned Women of
Originality Awards. In 2006 the sisters received the
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Composers,
Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN).
In 2008, after a diagnoses of cancer Kate established a
Fund at the McGill University Health Centre to raise
awareness of the rare cancer called Sarcoma. May 12-13, 2011
a tribute concert was filmed and released in June 2013 as:
Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle
Place Kate McGarrigle was inaugurated August 7, 2013 in
Montreal. |
Renée Martel
3614
Queen of Quebec
Country Music |
Born June 26, 1947, Drummondville, Quebec.
Died December 18, 2021, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Renée was the
daughter of singers and was introduced to a love of music
very young. Renée would earn the title queen of Quebec
Country Music. In the 1960's she had hits such as
Liverpool, Je vais à Londres, and Johnny Angel.
She maintained her career through the 1970's and 1980's. She
toyed with retiring in the 1990's but decided to put out
more albums in the 2000's. Her album L'héritage
won her the Félix for Show of the Year Performer in 2009.
July 31, 2014 Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp with
her likeness on it. She interrupted her 2019 tour, which she
was calling her final tour, due to breast cancer but
fortunately was in remission in 2020. In October 2021
she released an album, Contre vents et
marées
with fellow country singer Paul Darmiche. She died
of pneumonia.
Source: Obituary (accessed 2021) |
Ann Mortifee |
Born November 30, 1947, Durban, South Africa.
In the late 1950's the family immigrated to Canada and
settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. While in school she
entered and won talent shows. At summer camp she was asked
to replace a sick performer and she knew what she she
wanted as a career. She has written an impressive list of
songs and two musicals. She was married to Jazz flutist Paul
Horn (1930-2014). In 1975 Ann produced her 1st solo
album Baptism. In 1980 she received the Worldfest-Houston
International Film Festival Grand Prix Award for her TV
Ontario Special, Journey to Kairos, a one woman show. In
1981 she earned the West Coast Music Award as Best Female
Vocalist and followed this up in 1982 with nominations for
the Genie Awards and the Juno Awards. In 1991 she was
appointed a Member of the Order of Canada and the following
year she was inducted into the British Columbia
Entertainment Hall of Fame. In 1994 she was a featured
soloist at the Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony,
Victoria, British Columbia. In 2002 she received the Queen
Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2012 she received the
Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to
Canada. (2019) Ann has co-authored two books In Love With
the Mystery and The Awakened Heart.
(2019) |
Verna Marguerite 'Marg' Osborne |
Born December 29, 1926, Moncton, New Brunswick. Died July 16,
1977, Rocklyn, Ontario. . Marg began her singing career in a community choir and
won a local radio contest. She earned the nickname ‘ the
girl from the singing hills. In 1947 she was travelling in
her home province she was heard by Orchestra leader Don
Messer and was hired as part of the ‘Don Messier and his
Islanders'. The program was broadcast by the CBC from
Prince Edward Island. She was often performing duets with
Charlie Chamberlain. The show appeared on Television in 1956
running until 1969 becoming Don Messer’s Jubilee. In 1960
she was named the most popular female personality on
television by C F R N in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1967, as part
of the Canadian Centennial show performed live across the
country. After the television show was cancelled Marg
performed as a night club singer, and a fairs including the
Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. She was also a
guest on several C B C shows such as Juliette and the
Tommy
Hunter Show. In 1977 she hosted a half-hour variety program
called That Maritime Feelin’. She collapsed on stage
while performing in Rocklyn, Ontario.(2022) |
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Indigenous
Entertainer |
Born February 20, 1941, Piapot Reserve, Craven, Saskatchewan. (Sometimes
recorded as 1942) This orphaned aboriginal child was
to become a moving force in the international emergence of
folk music. She was adopted and grew up in Massachusetts
where she attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst,
U.S.A. As a child and teen she taught herself to play piano
and the guitar. In 1962 she was touring with her music at
music festivals across North America. In 1963 her song
The Universal Soldier was one of her most popular works
and she was named Billboard Magazines Best New Artist.
In 1964 she attended a Powwow on the Piapot Cree reserve
where she was adopted by the her people and where she
learned of her culture. In 1968 she married Dewain Bugbee of
Hawaii but sadly the marriage ended in divorce in 1971. In
1975 she married Sheldon Wolfchild of Minnesota and the
couple had one child. It was in 1975 that she 1st appeared
on Sesame Street after which she was always a welcome guest.
Once again divorced she married a third time to Jack
Nitzsche (died 2000). In the 1980's she began used Apple
Inc., Apple ll and Macintosh computers to record her music
and visual arts. Many of her songs have been used in movies
and TV including the son Up were we belong in
An Officer and a Gentleman which received the Academy
Award for Best Song in 198 and a Golden Globe Award for Best
original Song in 1983. In addition the song received an
B A F T A Award for Best Original Song Written for a Film. That
same year she was honoured as Best International Artist in
France. .In 1989 she wrote and performed the music for
Where the Spirit Lives, a film about native children
being abducted and forced into residential schools. She took
leave from the profession returning in 1992 after 16 years
releasing a new album followed by another album in 1996. As
an artist her works have been exhibited at the Glenbow
Museum, Calgary, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, The Emily Carr
Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, and the American
Indian Arts Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A. In 1996 she
started a philanthropic fund Nihewan Foundation for American
Indian Education and in 1997 she founded the Cradleboard
Teaching Project devoted to better understanding Native
Americans. She earned a Juno Award, a Gemini Award, a Dove
Award and became an Officer in the Order of Canada. The
following year she received a Star on Canada's Walk of Fame,
Toronto. In 2003 she became the spokesperson for the UNESCO
Associated Schools Project Network in Canada. In 2009 she
was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
and won a Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year
for
Running for the Drum. In 2010 she earned the Governor
General's Performing Arts Award. In 2015 she received the
Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award. In 2016 she
earned two Juno Awards. November 2021 Canada Post issued a
postage stamp with her image.
(2021) |
Sylvia Tyson |
née Fricker.
Born September 19, 1940, Chatam, Ontario.
At age 15 Sylvia knew she would be a folk singer. She moved to Toronto where she met Ian Tyson. The duo became
full time singers with their 1st recording in 1961.
They were among the leaders of the 1960’s North
American fold music boom. Sylvia wrote songs such as “You
Were On My Mind”.
In 1970 they had the their own TV show “Nashville
North”. In the 1970’s Sylvia headed out on a solo career.
She hosed a CBC Radio show, recorded albums, and formed her
own company “Salt Records”. She still enjoys performing today. She has teamed up only three times with Ian to do special
performances, preferring to concentrate on her solo efforts. |
Patricia Lorraine Tutty |
Born April 12, 1953. Known
as Paddy, she and her sister began performing folk music in
the late 1960's. She developed a serious interest in English
and Celtic traditional music. She traveled to England
to perform and collect fold music. She is and active
member of the Canadian Fold Music Society and has produced
albums of this popular and growing form of music. |
Vocalists -
Singers - Classical Music
Return
to categories |
Frances Adaskin |
Born February 3, 1903, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died
August 22, 1988. She studied music and voice in Montreal,
Toronto, and New York City. She made her debut in the 1920’s
and appeared on CBC. From 1931-1941 she was a recitalist for
the Canadian Pacific Railroads Hotels. She was a pioneer in
supporting Canadian composers. For her efforts she received
the Canadian Music Council Medal for “outstanding
contribution to the life of Music in Canada”. She would
become a teacher of music at the University of Saskatchewan
from 1952 through to 1967. |
Stella Irene Boyd |
Born December 23, 1891, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died 1945. Daughter of
William J. Boyd, she was a leading contralto
soloist and vocal teacher in Winnipeg, having studied in
France, Germany, and England. She was a vocal examiner for
many years. She was an executive member of the
Women’s Musical Club
and the Registered Music Teachers’ Association.
Sources:
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by
J. M.
Bumsted (University of Manitoba Press,
1999) ; Memorable Manitobans Online (accessed December 2011) |
Marguerite Cecile Craigie
|
née Homuth. Born February 24, 1895, Wingham, Ontario. Died
August 20, 1986, Toronto, Ontario. Marguerite would be her
debut as violinist at a church concert when she was a child.
In 1915 while a student at the Ontario Ladies College,
Whitby, Ontario she won a gold medal for her singing. In
1918 she graduated from the Toronto Conservatory of Music
and sang in Massey Hall, Toronto. July 5, 1919 she married
Edward Craigie ((1894-1984) and the couple had one daughter.
While traveling with her husband in Spain she gained an
enduring enthusiasm for Spanish music. She did research and
always enjoyed performing Spanish songs. In the 1940’s she
gave public concerts and performed on radio. Source:
Canadian Women of Note, Canadian Womens Press Club, York
University, 1994. |
Ida Joséphine Phoebe
Eva Gauthier |
Born September 20, 1885, Ottawa, Ontario. Died December 26,
1958, New York, U.S.A. As a child she took piano
lessons and at 13 she began voice lessons. As a
mezzo-soprano she made her Ottawa debut in 1902 as a
contralto voice at the Ottawa Basilica participating in a
service commemorating the death of Queen Victoria. Sir
Wilfrid and Lady Laurier assisted her to leave for Europe in
July 1902. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire with an
interruption in her studies when she had an operation for
nodules on her vocal cords. In 1905-6 she toured the British
Isles and Canada with Dame Emma Albani (1847-1930). 1907-08
was spent in study in Italy with her stage debut at Pavia in
the role of Michaela in Carmen.
She performed with orchestras in Holland and Belgium,
including a concert with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 1910 she performed with an orchestra at the Royal Palace
in Copenhagen. It was about this time that she gave up the
stage to devote herself to the more intimate art of recital
and concert. On a tour of the Orient she married Franz
Knoote, who worked as a plantation manager in Java. She
toured throughout Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Divorced in 1911 she continued touring. During World War 1
she returned to America where she made her New York recital
in May 1915. On November 1, 1923 in New York she sang music
of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin with none
other than Gershwin himself at the piano to accompany her.
This performance is considered historically significant as
she would continue to
help introduce more than 700 new
songs in concerts or recitals after this event. In
1927 for the celebration of Canada’s 60th Anniversary since
Confederation she performed in Ottawa. After the 1936 season
in New York and Boston she devoted herself to teaching
giving master classes, and serving on juries for important
competitions. She was a founding member of the American
Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). In 1949, received a
citation from the Campion Society of San Francisco for her
contribution as an interpreter and teacher. Her library and
her personal documents were acquired by the New York Public
Library. Additional documents and photographs are held in
the National Library of Canada. It is fortunate that
recordings as early as 1914 have been preserved and have
been featured in retrospectives of Canadian performers.
|
Doreen Hume |
Born July 14,
1926, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. An operatic soprano, she
started performing on CBC radio in the late 1940’s and in
1954 she moved to England to become principal soprano
soloist in the BBC’s light Music Department for 15 years.
She made 12 albums of light classical music and musical
comedy before returning to Toronto in 1970. |
Suzanne Lapointe |
Born May 16, 1934, Montreal, Quebec. Died
January 2, 2015,
Sainte-Adèle, Québec.
Suzanne took classical studied and studied classical singing
at the Conservervatoire de musique du Québec a Montréal. In
1959 she became the host of a television show La Poule aux
oeufs d'or. In 1960 with a grant from the Canada Council of
the arts she spent two years singing in New York City,
U.S.A. She loved to cooks and worked on the Attention
c'est chaud on Television for Radio-Canada. From 1970
through 1984 she would publish more than twelve cook books.
in 1987 when she co-animated Les Démons du midi with
comedian
Gilles Latulippe.
Their madness and laughter invaded homes around Quebec every
day of the week for six years with a total of 1,050
shows. After the death of her husband, Pierre Larin, and
being a breast cancer survivor she became active in the
cause to find a cure. She was member of the board of the
Fondation de L'Hôpital régionale de Saint-Jérôme, and led
fundraising campaigns travelling all across Quebec as
a spokesperson for the breast cancer screening program. |
Suzie Le Blanc |
Born October 27, 1961, Edmundston, New
Brunswick. As a youth Suzi learned to play the piano and was
a member of a youth choir, Les jeunes chanterus d'Acadie. In
1976 the family relocated to Montreal. From 1979 to 1981 she
studied voice an harpsichord at the
the
Cégep de Saint-Laurent.
Suzie likes 17th and 18th music and began singing
professionally as a soprano. She would join the Consort of
Musicke and would produce two albums with them. In 2000 she
founded Le nouvel Opéra
as she also performs and records opera. She
was also the founder and first artistic director of the
Académie Baroque de Montréal.
Her work won the Opus Award from the Conseil
Québecois de la musique in 2008. She also recorded two
albums of Acadian folk songs. In 2014 she releases an album
of old French Christmas songs. In 2014 her album I am in
Need of Music won the East Coast Music Award for Best
Classical Album. Suzi teaches at the Université of Montréal.
She has also been an actress playing the lead female in
Lost Song winning the Toronto International Film
Festival Award for Best Canadian film in 2008. In 2010 the
Quebec Arts Council awarded Suzie a Career Grant. In 2014
she became a Member of the Order of Canada.
(2019) |
Portia May White
Black
Entertainer |
Born June 24, 1911, Truro, Nova
Scotia. Died February 13, 1968. As a child Portia sang in her
Baptist church choir. Her professional career began its
assent i1941 with an appearance at the Eaton Auditorium in
Toronto. In 1944 she became the first black Canadian woman
to appear in the New York Town Hall, where she was touted as
the “Canadian Marion Anderson”. She toured in Canada, the
U.S.A. and Latin America before returning for further
studies in Toronto. She would teach at the all girls school
of Branksome Hall and eventually open her own studio. She
was very proud to perform before Queen Elizabeth II in a
Command Performance in 1964. Even though she was an
extraordinary contralto, her career was hampered by racial
prejudice shown against black artists at the time. In 1999,
some 30 years after her death, her family released a private
CD “First You Dream”. Canada Post released a special stamp
in her honour as part of it millennium celebration series. |
Vocalists - Singers - Jazz Return
to categories |
Salome Bey
Black Entertainer |
Born 1944, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A. Died August 8, 2020,
Toronto, Ontario. From 1957 through
1966 Salome toured with her sister and brother as the Bay
Sisters throughout the North America. The family made their
1st appearance in Toronto in 1961. On April 7, 1964 she
married Howard Berkeley Mathews. Returning to the city in
1966 she chose to live in Toronto and raise her three children.
She appeared at night clubs, on radio, and on television
singing jazz blues and spirituals. She was a
featured entertainer at the Canadian National Exhibition in
Toronto. In 1972 she earned an Obe Award for her performance
in the New York production, Justine, also called
Love Me, Love My Children. In the 1970’s and 1980’s she
was well received in numerous musicals in New York, Toronto,
and Washington, D.C. In 1978/9 she wrote and starred in
Indigo, a Dora Mavor history of the blues. She
appeared at several benefits with her daughters, Jacintha,
Tuku, and Saidah Talibabh. She performed at Ontario
Place, Toronto and at Expo 86, the World Fair held in
British Columbia. She recorded several albums of her
music. In 1991 she was presented with a Toronto Arts Award
in the Performing Arts Category. In 1995 she did the Salome
Bey Christmas Show for national Television. In 1996 she
received the Martin Luther King Award for lifetime
achievement from the Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal,
Quebec. She celebrated on February 22, 2002 with a
performance for Canada’s Black History Month. She was
inducted as an honourary Member of the Order of Canada in
2005.
Source:
The Canadian Encyclopedia Online Accessed May 2013.
(2022) |
Holly Cole |
Born November 25, 1953,
Halifax, Nova Scotia. Holly resettled in Toronto, Ontario in
order to further a musical career. In 1986 she founded the
Holly Cole Trio and in 1989 they released their 1st album.
Holly is an acclaimed jazz singer who has produced several
music albums that have made her one of the best-selling jazz
artists ever to emerge from Canada. In 1995 she left the
Holly Cole Trio and followed with two jazz albums solo. She
is also very well liked in Japan where she toured in
2012-2013. (2019)
|
Elnora Ruth 'Eleanor' Collins
4008
Black
Entertainer
Canadian First Lady of Jazz |
née Procter. Born November 21, 1919,
Edmonton, Alberta. Eleanor' love of music began as a child
when she sang hymns, and anthems at the Shiloh Baptist
Church, Edmonton. She went on to sing with Joe Macelli's
dance band and the Three E's and was heard on C F R N radio.
Along with her sister Ruby and two friends she headed for
Vancouver where they performed on C B C Radio in the early
1940's. In 1942 she married Richard Collins, a marriage that
lasted 70 years. The couple settled in Burnaby, British
Columbia and had four children. As the only Black family in
the area they survived the experience racism. Eleanor
volunteered at school and became involved with the local Gir
Guides. By the mid 1940's she was singing with the Ray
Norris jazz quintet on C B C and being broadcast to overseas
troops. She removed herself from the music world for awhile
after the war but in 1952 she was appearing in the Musical
Finian's Rainbow and other productions at the Theatre
Under the Stars. In 1954 she
began the C B C television program Bamboula: A day in the
West Indies appearing in the first interracial cast in
Canada and the first variety series produced in Vancouver.
June 19 to September 11, 1955, she became the first person
of colour, and first jazz singer to headline a show on a
national television. She went on to other
popular shows of the 1960's and appeared in 1964 in her own
television program
Eleanor. Her
popularity continued in the 1970's where she appeared not
only on shows on C B C but also on C T V as well as
performing in clubs and in concert. In 1975 she was on
Parliament Hill singing to celebrate Canada Day. In the
1980's she appeared on Jazz Canada, and Jazzland
radio programs. Eleanor was also a music director of
the Unity Church, Vancouver. In 1986 she received the
Distinguished Centennial Pioneer Award. In 1992 she was
inducted into the British Columbia Entertainment Hall of
Fame. In 1994 she and her family in the video documentary
Hymn to Freedom: The History of Blacks in Canada. Among
her award she has received th British Columbia Historical
Society Award, the Alberta Black Cultural Research Society
Award, and in 2006 the Same Payne Award from The Alliance of
Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Arts (A C T R A). On
her 95th birthday, November 21, 2014, she was appointed to
the Order of Canada and that same year she received the
Black Canadian Award for Lifetime Achievement. January
2016 she paid tribute at a memorial service for
musician Leon Bibb (1922-2015). January 21, 2022 Canada Post
Corporation issued a commemorative postage stamp in her
honour.
Source: The Alberta Women's Memory Project.
online (accessed 2022) |
Fanny
Helen Felker-Facault
|
née Leech. Born August 16, 1875,
Victoria, British Columbia. Died March 24, 1955, British
Columbia. Fanny was the daughter of Mary Macdonald
(1837-18920), a 1862 ship bride, and Peter Leech an
architect in Victoria. The family was a neighbor of Emily
Carr (1871-1945) and Fanny and Emily became friends. In 1899
she married William Philip Felker (1866-1902). The couple
settled on the Felker Ranch on the Cariboo Trail and had two
children. In 1904 she married Alphonse Facault (1866-1946)
and they settled in WalhShe removed herself from the music
scene after the war but by 1952 she was appearing at Theatre
Under the Stars in Finian's Rainbowchin where they had a child to grow
up with the children from Fanny's first marriage. When a new
grand piano arrived in the new hall in Walhchin Fanny packed
the hall with prople coming to hear her play the piano. She
played classical jazz, ragtime and other popular music of
the era. She would also travel to perform in towns like
Kamloops and Williams Lake. She continued to perform up
until the 1940's. |
Judith 'Jude' Marian
Johnson
|
Born January 6, 1954, Hamilton, Ontario. She began
performing at the age of 3 in commercials. She attended the
Sheridan College School of Design, Oakville, Ontario and
took courses at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. She
has been a full time musician shine 1980. Jude is one of
Canada’s finest vocalists and jazz singers and performers
for both adults and children. She has sung back up to
artists such as Raffi and Stan Rogers as well she has
released multiple albums and CDs. In 1985 she was the
founder and director of the MAD Creative Arts School and has
helped over 9,000 children explore their creativity through
music, art and drama. She has participated in MAD camp for
over 30 years. In 1992 she received the Canada 125 Medal and
was named Hamilton’s Woman of the year in Arts. 1993 she was
given the Hamilton Arts Award. In 2009 she was inducted into
the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction and in 2011 she received
the Hamilton Arts Award for Arts Education. |
Ranee Lee
Black Jazz Singer, Author, and
Educator |
Born October 26, 1942, New York City, New
York, U.S.A. In 1970 Ranee relocated to Montreal. She played
drums and jazz saxophone and toured North America in the
1970's. As an actor she appeared in in Lady Day playing the
title role as Billie Haliday and won a Dora Mavor Moore Award
. She began to appear in a solo career and completed her 1st
album in 1984. She wrote and starred in Dark Divas, The
Musical, a tribute to the lives and careers of seven of
the most popular female jazz singers of the 20th century.
She also wrote a children's book, Nana, What did you
say?.
On television she was the host of The Performers. In
1988 she received the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement
Award. In 2006 Ranee became a Member of the Order of Canada.
She has been twice the winner of the International Association of
Jazz Educators Award in 2004 and again in 2008. In 2010 she
album, Ranee Lee - Lives Upstairs won a Juno Award.
(2022) |
Vocalists - Singers - Opera Return
to categories |
Pierrette Alaire |
Born November
9, 1921, Montreal, Quebec. Died July 10, 2011, Victoria,
British Columbia . A famous soprano singer born in Montreal
she was Winner of the Prix de Musique Calixa-Lavallée among
many awards. She married Leopold Simoneau (d 2006) and the
couple had two daughters. She was inducted as an Officer of
the Order of Canada in 1967 and became a Companion of the
Order of Canada in 1995.She
founded with her husband the Canada Opera Piccola in
Victoria, British Columbia in 1982.
In 1997 she became a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.
She not only and at the famous Metropolitan Opera, New York
City, New York U.S.A. but performed at opera houses across
North America and Europe..After
retiring from singing, Alarie became active as a teacher,
she taught 1st at the Ecole Vincent d'Indy in
Montréal and later at the
Banff Centre
in Alberta. In 2003 she received a Governor General's
Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. |
Dame Emma Albani
Marie-Louise-Cecile-Emma Lajeunesse |
(Marie-Louise-Cecile-Emma Lajeunesse). Born
November 1, 1847, Chambly, Canada East (now Quebec). Died April
3, 1930, Kensington, England. Dame Emma became a world famous soprano
opera singer performing on stages across Europe and
throughout North America. In 1852 the family moved to
Plattsburgh, New York. U.S.A. where she gained musical
instruction. On August 24 1860 she was a soloist in the
world premiere of Charles Wugk Sabatier's Cantata in
Montréal, to honour the visit of the Prince of Wales. She
became a popular singer at her home in Albany New York by
1865. By 1868 she travelled to Paris to continued her
musical studies. In Italy she took the name Emma Albani and
on March 30, 1870 she made her operatic debut. She rise to
stardom was swift and she was soon performing in England as
well. By 1874 she was touring the U.S.A. She married Ernest
Gye (died 1925) on August 6, 1878. The couple would have one
son. By 1880 she was once again touring in Europe and
England. She made her Canadian Operatic debut on
February 13, 1883. Her final season of tours was in
1896. By the 1920's the couple were financial strapped and
Dame Emma gave musical lessons to earn an income.
She became the 1st Canadian
born artist to distinguish herself in the international
world of opera and concert singing.
Note: Some authors place her birth in
1848 or 1850.
|
Rosa Anthony |
Rosa received her musical training at the Royal Conservatory
of Music. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from York
University, Toronto and a diploma in Operatic Performance
from the University of Toronto. She also holds a diploma in
Contemporary Music Theatre Performance from the Banff Centre
School of Fine Arts in Alberta. In addition Rosa holds a
Bachelor of Education degree from the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education. With certification in
Intermediate/Senior Music and drama and Primary Education
and Montessori F C E training. She has performed with various
groups including the Canadian Opera Company and Tapestry
Music Theatre in Toronto. While raising her family she has
taught voice to adults and youth in Orangeville, Ontario.
She has formed her own Community Opera Theatre group called
Opera Plus producing several shows. Her shows have supported
Theatre Orangeville, the Salvation Army Food Bank, Hillside
House/Family Transition Place and the Orangeville Concert
Association. In 1996 she wrote and performed her own one
woman play League of Notions about the life of Dr.
Minerva Ellen Reid (1872-1957), the 1st woman in North
America to be a Chief of Surgery. She has returned to
University to earn her master in Theological Studies at
Tyndale University, Toronto and is involved in the Lay
Chaplaincy program at Headwaters Health Care Centre.
Source: Orangeville and District Music
Festival. Online (accessed February 2014) |
Rhoda Pendleton
Baxter |
Born 1928, Calais, Maine, U.S.A. Died November 30, 2012,
Ottawa, Ontario. She attended Mount Allison University,
Sackville, New Brunswick and went on to study at the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario. She married Start
Baxter in 1959, and settled in 1969 to Kingston, Ontario
and finally settling in 1972 back in Ottawa. The couple had
two children. She has a career as a prominent Canadian
soprano performing throughout North America. She also
performed on CBC. She performed well into her 70’s at
various Ottawa churches with the Choral Society and the
Cantata Singers of Ottawa.
Source: “Rhoda Pendleton Baxter.
Powerful gift beyond the norm”. by Tony Lafaro, the Ottawa
Citizen, January 20, 2013.
Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.
|
Camille Bernard |
Born February 25, 1898, Joliette, Quebec. Died July 16, 1984,
Montreal, Quebec.
She was a regular performer in her home province of Quebec
when in 1924 she was invited to study in Paris, France. She
completed her training under renowned Canadian sing Pauline
Donalda (1882-1970) and Yvette Guyilbert (1865-1944). In
1929 she founded the Théâtre des petits, a children's school
of diction. She founded another school for children with
language difficulties and two institutions merged to form
the Institut Camille-Bernard. In 1973 she appeared in her
only major acting role in Kamouraska where she son
the Canadian Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1981
she was inducted into the Order of Canada. |
Donna Brown |
Born February 15, 1955, Renfrew, Ontario. She
studied near home in Ottawa and then at McGill University in
Montreal before heading for in depth voice study in France,
Austria and Italy. She made her European debut on the
professional opera stage in 1982 and toured extensively in
Europe. She moved back to Canada in 1997. She is in
international demand, performing an extensive repertoire of
opera, recital and oratorio works covering music from the
baroque to 20th century works. She has graced the opera and
concert stages of London. Paris, Tokyo, Geneva, Berlin,
Vienna, Rome, Sao Paulo, Caracas, Tel Aviv, Toronto,
Vancouver, San Francisco, and Los Angeles!! Many of her
opera and concert performances have been recorded for
television broadcast in North America, Europe and Asia. |
Measha Bruggergosman
Black Singer |
née Gosman. Born June 28, 1977, Fredericton, Nova Scotia.
As a child she sang in her Baptist Church choir. From the
age of 7 she would study voice and piano. As a teen summer
holiday time found her studying on scholarships at the
Boston Conservatory in the U.S.A. She obtained a Bachelor of
Music at the University of Toronto and then off she went to
Germany for a 5 years Masters degree program at the Robert
Schumann Hochschuls in Dusseldorf. In 1998 at 20 years of
age, she premiered in the title role of a new opera
Beatrice Chancy and her career was launched into orbit.
In 1999 she married her high school beau who was an exchange
student. Measha and Mark Brugger combined their
surnames to form their family name. She has performed around
the Globe. She has been across her native Canada, been on
CBC TV and earned an Gemini Award nomination. In 1998 she
won the Canada Council for the Arts Award. In 2000 she
debuted at Carnegie Hall in New York City before moving on
to Japan, Switzerland, German, and other U.S.A.
destinations. The Grand Prize of Jeunesse Musicales Montreal
Internationale Musical Completion was won by Measha.
In 2007 she found time between performances to serve as the
Goodwill Ambassador for the African Medical and Research
Foundation working for better health in Africa. A Juno Award
was hers in 2008 for her classical Album of the year. She
has taken international awards in London, England, New York
City, U.S.A., Oslo, Norway and Munich, Germany just to name
a few countries. In June 2009 she was forced to take time
off to have open heart surgery. Never one to be kept down
she returned to perform again in September 2009 at
the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2010 she wan a
Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year. In 2015
she appeared in the television documentary series Songs of
Freedom. |
Fernande Chiocchio |
Born May 29, 1929, Montréal, Québec. Died
September 2021, Quebec. A
talented mezzo-soprano she studied music with Canada's top
teachers such as Pauline Donalda and made her debut with the
Opera Guild in 1952. After a dozen major roles in opera she
joined a vocal quartet and made a 50 concert tour in France
in 1958. In 1960 she was performing on radio and television
and was featured at EXPO 67. She has the reputation as one
of Canada's top musical interpreters of her generation (
Montreal, La Presse, December 11, 1963) She enjoys
teaching voice privately to select talented students. |
Tracy Elizabeth Dahl
|
Born November 13, 1961, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She enjoyed music
as a child and studied music and theatre at the Banff School
of Fine Art and after making her opera debut in 1982
transferred to the school's opera program. She launched her
career at the San Francisco Opera in California, U.S.A. She
had her European debut in 1987 in France and appeared at the
Metropolitan Opera of New York City, U.S.A. in 1991. She has
made several recordings. Tracy is married and is the mother
of two children. She teaches voice at the University of
Manitoba in Winnipeg and conducts workshops throughout North
America. In 2009 she was the recipient of the Ruby Baton
Award by Opera Canada for her outstanding achievements on
stage. In 2010 the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra presented her
with a Goden Baton Award. |
Pauline Donalda |
née
Lightstone. Born March 5, 1882, Montreal, Quebec.
Died October 22, 1970. Pauline was educate at Royal Victoria
College, McGill University, Montreal. In 1902 she went to
study at the Conservatoire de Paris, France on a grant from
Donald Smith (1820-1914), Lord Strathcona. It was here that
she adopted the stage name Donalda in honour of her patron.
In 1904 she made her singing debut in Nice, France. In
November 1906, Returning to Montreal with her husband Paul
Seveilhac, to make her North American debut. In December
1906 she began a season with Oscar Hammerstein's Manhattan
Opera House in New York City, U.S.A. By 1907 she was once
again singing in Europe. She remained in North America
during World War l returning to Paris in 1917 to marry her
second husband, Mischa Leon in 1918. 1n 1922 she opened a
teaching studio in Paris, France returning to Montreal only
in 1937 to open her studio there. She founded the Montreal
Opera Guild in 1942 where she served as president and
artistic director until 1969. In 1967 she became an Officer
in the Order of Canada. |
Mary Louise 'Mary Lou' Fallis
|
Born April 22, 1948, Toronto, Ontario. She was educated in
singing by her grandmother Jennie Bouck. She studied at the
Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and made her operatic
debut when she was just 15 years old on CBC
television. She also sang with the St George’s Youth Choir
and the Festival Singers of Canada. She graduated in music
from the University of Toronto. In 1972 she married musician
Peter Madgett. In 1973 she won the CBC Talent Festival and
the following year won the Metropolitan Opera Regional
Auditions. She performed at the famous Stratford Festival
and at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. While she
performed internationally in dramatic opera and as a
classical singer she is perhaps best known for her comedic
theatre. She developed the character in Primadonna, a
satirical one-woman concert in 1982 which earned her an
ACTRA Award was a huge success. She performed at Expo ’86 in
Vancouver and at the Roy Thomson Hall and even at the
federal penitentiary for women in Kingston, Ontario. In 1989
she presented her shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in
Scotland. In 1990 she did a three month tour of Great
Britain. In 1991 she celebrated the bicentennial of Mozart’s
death with the character Ms. Mozart, again a one-woman show
which was followed by the show Primadonna on a Moose.
Several additional tours of Primadonna shows followed. She
has taught at York University, the Royal Hamilton College of
Music, Queen’s University and the University of Western
Ontario. In 2006 she was a judge on the reality TV
series Bathroom Divas: So you want to be an Opera Star? In
2011 she was awarded the Order of Canada for her
contributions in making classical music more accessible for
Canadians.
(2019) |
Sarah Eugéne 'Nini'
Fischer |
Born February 23, 1896, Paris,
France. Died May 3, 1975. Her family came to Canada when she
was 12 and it was not until after World War I that she would
train her soprano singing voice in London. She was made an
honorary member of the Royal College of Music in London. In
1941 she opened a studio in Montreal helping many young
Canadian artists to make their debuts. |
Maureen Forrester |
Born July 25,
1930, Montreal, Quebec 1930. Died
June 16, 2010, Toronto, Ontario.
An internationally famous soprano, Maureen has sung all over the world in
such sites as the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Whenever
she was performing a series of songs she would always
include a song by a Canadian artist. In 1957 she married
Eugene Kash (1912-2014) and the couple had five
children. In 1967 she became a Companion of the Order of
Canada.
In 1979 she received the Loyola Medal from Concordia
University, Montreal and the following year she received the
Diplôme d'honneur from the
Canadian Conference of the Arts. In 1983 she received the
Sanford Medal from Yale University,
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. From 1986 through 1990
Maureen served as Chancellor for Wilfrid Laurier University,
Waterloo, Ontario and the recital hall was named in her
honour. In 1990 she was inducted into the Canadian Music
Hall of Fame followed in 1995 with the Governor General's
Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000 she earned a star on
Canada's Walk of Fame, Toronto. She was inducted an Officer
in the National Order of Quebec in 2003 and in 2004 she
became a MasterWorks honouree of the Audio Visual
Preservation Trust of Canada.
(2018) |
Claire Gagnier |
Born March 28, 1924, Montreal, Quebec. In 1944 she won the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) program Singing
Stars of Tomorrow. She studied at the Julliard School in New
York City, U.S.A. and in 1945 appeared at the Metropolitan
Opera. She has appeared regularly on CBC radio and
television .In the 1950’s she performed in the television
series Folio
and in the 1960’s in the series Festival. In 1972
she received the Calixa Lavallée Award from the Saint-Jean
Baptiste Society. She earned the nickname as ‘The Canadian
Nightingale.’. In 1990 she was inducted into the Order of
Canada and in 1966 she was included into the Canadian Opera
Hall of Fame.
(2017)
|
Sarah 'Sallie' Holman - Dalton |
Born June 24, 1849, Lynn, Massauchetts,
U.S.A. Died June 7, 1988, London, Ontario. Sallie was the
oldest daughter in the family and the main singer and
performer in the Holman Opera Company which toured the
Easter United States and Canada from the 1850's until the
1880's. In 1867 her father George took over the
management of the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Toronto where the
family performed until 1872 The company relocated to
Montreal when George took over management of the Theatre
Royal. The following year in 1873 George had purchased the
Music Hall in London Ontario and renamed it the Holman Opera
House. The troupe also continued to tour. In 1879 Sallie
married James T. Dalton, a fellow performer. The opera
company faded out after her death and that of her father in
July 1888. Source: D C B (accessed
2001) |
Edith Doreen Hume |
Born July 14, 1926, Sault Ste
Marie, Ontario. An operatic soprano, she started performing
on CBC radio in the late 1940’s. In 1954 she moved to
England to become principal soprano soloist in the BBC’s
light Music Department for 15 years. She made 12 albums of
light classical music and musical comedy before returning to
Toronto in 1970.In 1965 she represented Canada at a special
liberation anniversary concert in the Netherlands in May
1965. In 1990 she returned to Sault Ste. Marie and was
appointed to Algoma University and became a voice teacher at
the Algoma Conservatory of Music. In 2009 she was inducted
into the Sault Ste. Marie Walk of Fame.
(2018) |
Claire Gagnier |
Born March 28, 1924, Montreal, Quebec. Died December 2022,
Laval, Quebec. In 1944 she won the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) program Singing
Stars of Tomorrow. She studied at the Julliard School in New
York City, U.S.A. and in 1945 appeared at the Metropolitan
Opera. She has appeared regularly on CBC radio and
television .In the 1950’s she performed in the television
series Folio
and in the 1960’s in the series Festival. In 1972
she received the Calixa Lavallée Award from the Saint-Jean
Baptiste Society. She earned the nickname as ‘The Canadian
Nightingale.’. In 1990 she was inducted into the Order of
Canada and in 1966 she was included into the Canadian Opera
Hall of Fame.
(2017) |
Gillian Keith |
Born Toronto, Ontario. A
talented soprano, her first training was in piano at McGill
University in Montreal. She did her post graduate studies at
the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. As a chamber
music musician she has performed throughout the United
Kingdom. She is also in demand as an opera, recitalist and
oratorio concert singer. She is particularly know for her
interpretations of Baroque music for which she has received
several awards. She has performed in the United Kingdom and
across Europe, North America, Turkey and Israel. |
Maria Knapik |
Born Pradnik, Poland. Maria has loved and been
surrounded by music all her life. At 7 she was playing the
violin and at 13 the guitar, piano and trumpet. At 16 she
began voice lessons. She performed with her 7 sisters in
some 4000 concerts in Poland and the rest of Europe and
United Kingdom as a youth. She attended the Karol Szymanowski Academy of vocal and acting Arts. While at
university she met her future husband, Richard Sztramko of
Hamilton, Ontario. The couple are married and in 2009 were
the proud parents to a son. Maria founded in 2006 and is
artistic director of the Ottawa Classical Choir and the
group with Maria as soprano soloist have produced their own
CD’s. She performs not only throughout North America but
also in Europe. She also gives her talent for concerts to
raise funds for charities, especially those involved with
helping children. She has received the Gold Cross of Merit
from her homeland, Poland, in recognition not only of her
professional efforts but also for her continued dedication
for the Canadian –Polish cultural association. In 2005 she
won the award for International Rising Star from the
American Institute of Polish Culture. As well as the
organization’s 2011 Gold Medal.
Source: Power of her voice by June Coxon, Ottawa Family
Living, March 2012. |
Marie Anne
Béatrice LaPalme- Issaurel |
Born July 27, 1878, Beloeil, Quebec. Died January 18, 1921,
Montreal, Quebec. In 1881 her family relocated to Montreal.
She enjoyed learning music from her mother and the nuns who
taught at her convent school. She studied violin and gave
her 1st concert on March 5, 1844. She was the 1st recipient
of the Strathcona Scholarship to attend the Royal College of
Music in England for five years. In 1900 Béatrice was the
1st French Canadian woman to be made a corresponding member
of the Royal College of Music. On advice of the famous
Canadian opera singer, Mme Emma Albani, Béatrice devoted
herself exclusively to singing. She presented a vocal
recital in Montreal on October 17, 1902 and began her
international career the following year in the Royal Opera
House in London, England. She met her future husband,
Salvador Issaurel, also an opera singer, while performing in
Paris, France in 1905. The couple was married on October 14,
1908 and they settled in Montreal in 1911 where she joined
the Montreal Opera Company. The company went bankrupt in
1913 and Béatrice tried singing in the New York City but
with the clouds of world war l gathering she returned to
Montreal she returned to Montreal. The couple taught in
their studios and she gave her last performance in Montreal
on November 14, 1919. Salvador continued to teach as their
studio in Montreal until his death in 1944.
Source:
Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre, “LA PALME, BÉATRICE (Issaurel),” in
Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15,
University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, (accessed
July 27, 2014). |
May Lawson |
Born March 29, 1901, West Calder, Scotland. Died April 28,
1965, Winnipeg, Manitoba. May emigrated to
Canada in 1914 with her parents. A musical child she singing
in Winnipeg Thomas, and in Toronto as well she was
coached in voice in New York City. May was soloist at
various churches in Winnipeg as well as soloist with the
Winnipeg Philharmonic Chorus, the Winnipeg Symphony
Orchestra and the Choristers. She appeared in productions by
the Winnipeg Light Opera and was a frequent guest on CBC
Radio. She retired from public performance in the late
1940s. She gave private lessons throughout her career and
from 1958 through 1965 she taught at the Canadian Mennonite
Bible College, Winnipeg.
Source: Canadian
Encyclopedia Online (accessed February 2014) |
Anna Malenfant |
Born October 16, 1905, sometimes reported as1902, Shédiac,
New Brunswick. Died June 15, 1988, Montreal, Quebec. Anna
became one of the most famous Acadian performers. Growing up
in a musical family, she enjoyed a musical childhood
studying both piano and voice. At age 15, Anna gave her 1st
public performance before an English audience. She then went
to Paris and worked with some of the finest instructors of
the time developing her talent for opera. In 1930 she sang
for a Boston radio station for a year under the name of
Louise Malmont. Returning to Canada she sang in stage and
radio productions. Anna also composed many songs depicting
her Acadian heritage under the pen name of Marie Lebrun. In
her later years, she opened a music school in Montreal.
There are two schools named for her in her home province as
well as a street in Dieppe, New Brunswick. In 2001 Telefilm
Canada produced a documentary film on her life and works. Source: New Brunswick Advisory Council
on the Status of Women, Celebrating Achievers; Behind
Every Successful Woman Are All the Women Who Came Before
Her., September 2002. Online (accessed January 2016)
|
Nora McLellan |
Born October 29, 1954. This actor and singer made her
stage debut at age 9 in
La Bohème
produced by the Vancouver Opera Association. She has
appeared in more than 50 roles on stages in Vancouver,
Ottawa, Toronto, London, Victoria, Saskatoon and Seattle.
Her TV appearances have included such hit shows as
X-Files. In 1987 she was co-founder, with Michael
Dobbin, of the Aids-Relief Fundraising for the Actors' Fund
of Canada. |
Lois Catherine
Marshall |
Born
January 29,1924, Toronto, Ontario. Died February 17, 1997.
Though she suffered from Polio as a child it did not stop
this opera singer. Her career too her all over the world to
sing in the world’s greatest operatic productions and for
solo appearances. She received many acknowledgements
for her contributions to Canadian society including the
Molson Prize and being a companion in the Order of Canada. |
Ruby Mercer - Por |
Born July 26, 1906, Athens, Ohio, U.S.A. Died
January 26, 1999, Toronto, Ontario. Ruby attended Ohio
University and the Cincinnati Conservatory, Ohio, U.S.A.
graduating in 1930. In 1934 she earned the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation Award that encourages young classical
musicians in North America. She also studied at the famous
Juilliard School of Music in New York, U.S.A. making her
debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1937. In the
1940's she appeared on Broadway and later in Vancouver,
British Columbia at Theatre Under the Stars. She toured
North America in opera, operetta, and musical comedy for
several years. In 1958 she married a Canadian businessman,
Geza Por (d1965) and the couple settled in Toronto, Ontario.
In 1960 she founded the magazine Opera Canada which
she edited until 1990. In 1968 she co-founded the Canadian
Children's Opera Chorus serving as the 1st President. She
hosted various radio programs including Opera Time,
Opera in Stereo and Saturday Night at the
Opera .In 1976 she published a biography of Edward
Johnson a famous Canadian tenor. She also wrote articles for
established music magazines and journals. In 1983 she
was presented with the Canadian Music Council Medal. In 1988
she received the Toronto Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ruby proved scholarships at Ohio University, Cincinnati
Conservatory, the Banff Centre, Alberta, and at the
University of Toronto. In 1990 she published the story of
Louis, Gino and Lina Quilicos. In 1995 she was inducted as a
Member of the Order of Canada. In 1997 she donated her
personal papers to the National Library of Canada (Now
Library and Archives Canada)
(2019) |
Jean
Gowans Moore r 01 |
née Brown. Born Died May 4,
2006. In 1942, on a challenge from a friend, Jean auditioned
at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Immediately she
had a career with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the
Royal Conservatory Opera School of Toronto. She was a
founding member of the Canadian Opera Company. Jean Married
Ronald Moore and the couple had four children. She ended her
music career in the late 1960's. She worked as a
microbiological photographer at the Banting Institute and
the Ontario Research Foundation. Source
Obituary Globe and Mail May 20, 2006. (2023) |
Clara Morris
r 03 |
née LaMontagne.
Born March 17, 1848? Toronto, Ontario. Died November
20, 1925, New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S.A. When she was
just three her mother found out her father was a bigamist
and took Clara to Cleveland, Ohio where they took the
grandmother's name, Morrison. She took ballet at the
Cleveland Academy of Music and took the name Morris. In 1869
she had the lead role in the theatre. She went to
Halifax, Nova Scotia for a summer and then moved on to
Louisville, Kentucky and finally by 1870 she was in New York
City where she was on stage for 20 years. The actor was
called Queen of the Melodrama because she could move an
audience to tears. In 1874 she married Frederick C. Harriott
a fellow actor. She was also an author who penned
several novels and her autobiography. Retiring from the
stage because of ill health she wrote articles on acting for
various magazines and wrote a daily newspaper column for ten
years. By 1910 blind and living in poverty she moved to
Whitestone, Long Island. There is a plaque on the grounds of
the Cleveland Ohio Public Library marking the location of
her her home. The Clara Morris School was named in her
honour but was demolished in 1968. (2023)
|
Mary Louise
Morrison |
Born November 9, 1926,
Winnipeg, Manitoba. She studied voice in Winnipeg, Vancouver
and Toronto. In the mid 1940's she was acclaimed the
talented sweetheart of Winnipeg. She appeared at festivals
and on radio. By the end of the 1940's she was appearing
with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She moved to perform
for C B C Opera and the Canadian Opera Company. Her personal
Canadian Centennial project in 1967 was the role of Sara
Riel in the opera Louis Riel. She has toured throughout
North America and Europe as an advocate of 20th century
music. Married to composer Harry Freedman, her voice as
graced his works in several movies. She has held positions
on numerous boards and committees for the Canada Council,
the Sir Ernest Macmillan memorial Foundation, the Toronto
Arts Council and has taught at McMaster University in
Hamilton and the University of Toronto. She became an
Officer in the Order of Canada in 1983. |
Anna Maria Pellegrini
|
Born July 15, 1943, Pretoro, Italy. Maria arrived in Canada
in 1958 with her family. Two years later she was attending
the Royal Conservatory of Music (R M C) studying voice for 4
years. She also studied in London, England. She made her
profession debut in 1963 with the Canadian Opera Company.
She debuted in London, England with the Royal Opera in 1965.
In 1977 she appeared in Madame Butterfly on CBC television
and is considered by some critics as the best Madame
Butterfly of her generation. Her life partner is Antonio
Barone de Pinna and the couple have one son. In 1980 she was
performing at the Ottawa Opera, and across Canada. In 1982
she was in New York City and earned leading roles in other
American companies. Internationally her voice is well known
in Italy, Santo Domingo, as well as Scotland and Wales. Her
life partner is Antonio Barone de Pinna and the couple have
one son. She has received numerous awards including
the Carvella D’oro from Italy, the Puccini Madallion from
Italy, the Friend of Rome Citation and Ambassiatrice Della
Cultura Italiana. She has received the Award of Merit from
the City of Ottawa and in 1995 she was woman of the Year
with the Canadian Ethnic Press Council. In 2004 a one hour
documentary: Canada’s Butterfly: Maria Pellegrini was
produced. In addition to private voice coaching and master
classes at McGill University and University of Ottawa,
Maria, in 2004, founded Pellegrini Opera, was the Artistic
Director until 2013, and continues now as the recognized
Founder and Executive Consultant in all areas of the
company. |
Patricia Irene
Ridout-Rosenberg |
March 16, 1931, Saint John, New Brunswick.
Died September 8, 2006, Cambridge, Ontario. Patricia studied
piano in the early 1940's and then voice from 1946 through
1948. She also enjoyed performing in theatricals in Saint
John. In 1949 she earned a scholarship to the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto and went on to the Royal
Conservatory Opera School at the University of Toronto from
in 52 to 1955. In 1950 she performed as a singer and dancer
at the Red Barn Theatre at Jackson's Point, Ontario. In 1954
she taught at University Settlement, Toronto and appeared as
soloist in opera at the Banff School of Fine Arts, Alberta.
first important operatic role was Madame Flora in a 1955
Royal Conservatory Opera School production of Menotti's
The Medium at Hart House, University of Toronto. That
same year she has a role in an Opera Festival Association
(now Canadian Opera Company, C O C). As well as her career
stage work which took her throughout North America and
Europe she was popular with opera fans on CBC-TV throughout
the decades. In the 1980's she taught voice at Queen's
University, Kingston, Ontario and the late 1980's at the
University of Toronto.
(2019) |
Catherine Robbin |
Born September 28,1950, Toronto, Ontario. This mezzo-soprano
studied in Toronto, Vancouver, London, Paris and New York
City. She made her debut as a singer in 1972 in Messiah with
the St Catharines Niagara Symphony in Ontario. She won the
Caplet Award in 1978 at the Concours international de chant
in Paris, France and won a silver medal that same year at
the Geneva Concours International in Switzerland. The
following year she took the Gold Award at the Benson &
Hedges International Competition for Concert Singers. Her
rich voice is in demand throughout North America and Europe.
She has made several classical recordings that have brought
her acclaim. It was in 1978 that she began to perform in a
trio with John Dodington, bass and Jane Coop on piano. In
March 1981 she made her New York recital debut. In 1982 she
was performing in the Stratford Festival production of
Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, in Stratford, Ontario. She
has appeared in recital with major Canadian Orchestras and
has sung with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo
Philharmonic, the Nation Symphony Orchestra and the Saint
Louis Symphony Orchestra in the U.S.A. She has been heard on
the BBC, the CBC and Radio France and has produced many
recordings. Upon retirement in May 11, 2003 she dedicated
her time to teaching privately and most especially as
Director of Vocal Studies at York University. She is
President of the Canadian
Aldeburgh Foundation, an organization that supports young
Canadian Artists studying and performing in the
Britten-
Pears Young Artists programme in the UK. She
holds the Order of Canada.
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed 2006)
|
Henriette Schellenberg |
Born August 9, 1947,
Backnang, Germany. She immigrated to Canada as a child with
her family. She studied voice and music first in Winnipeg,
Manitoba and then in Europe. This young soprano made her
debut in 1979 in Canada and in 1988 she made her debut in
the U.S.A. Since then she as performed with leading
orchestras across North America , Europe and Israel. |
Georgina Ann Stirling |
Born April 3, 1866, Twillingate, Newfoundland. Died April
23, 1935, Twillingate, Newfoundland. Georgina’s father,
William, believed that all 10 of his children should have a
well-rounded education which included music. At 15 Georgina
began playing the organ at church as well as playing and
singing at local concerts. Leaving home in 1873 she spent 2
years at the Toronto’s Ladies College before returning home.
In 1888 she was in Paris, France for Voice training and
began training at Marchesi’s School of Music. In 1890 she
was invited to join the Milan Opera Company in Italy. Back
in Newfoundland in 1892 she sang at church concerts before
returning to Europe for additional studies and appearances
at the Paris Grand Opera. In 1896 after an extended visit
home and doing local appearances she was at the New Imperial
Opera Company of New York, U.S.A. for a year prior to
touring in the United States. While making appearances in
Italy between 1898 and 1901 Georgina damaged her vocal cords
and was prescribed total rest. Unfortunately she never
recovered enough to do extensive foreign tours again. She
would give a rare concert appearances in Newfoundland but
she was hampered by depression and bouts of alcoholism. In
1904 she went to England to recover from her alcoholism.
Back in Newfoundland in 1925 she helped organize charity
events and rarely performed at some of the conferences.
Source: Bert Riggs, Nightingale of the North,
The Gazette, November 16, 1998.
Suggestion
submitted by Nora Phillips.
|
Teresa Stratas |
née
Anastasia Stratakis. Born May 26, 1938, Oshawa, Ontario. As
she entered her teens Teresa was performing Greek songs on
the radio. She attended the Royal Conservatory of Music,
Toronto and made her professional opera debut in
La bohème
at the Toronto Opera Festival when she was 20. In 1959 she
was the co-winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Auditions and appeared that year at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City, New York, U.S.A. In 1961 she was appearing
at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in England. Teresa
began her singing career by singing Greek pop songs.
Her beautiful soprano voice has been heard all over the
world and she is considered
one of the foremost singing actors of the 20th century. In
1972 She was inducted into the Order of Canada.
The Canadian Music
Council named her artist of the year in 1980.
She won Grammy Awards for Best Opera Recording and for
Best Classical Album in 1981 and again in 1984. In 1987 she
was given the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress. In
2000 she earned the Governor General's Performing Arts
Award. In 2001 she was given a Star on Canada's Walk of Fame
in Toronto.
(2018) |
Pauline Vaillancourt
|
Born February 2,
1945, Arvida [Jonquière] Quebec.
Pauline made her debut as a soprano soloist in 1970. Pauline
earned her Masters in Music from the University of Montreal
in 1976.
Pauline is active in classical as well as contemporary
music. She has performed in Europe and throughout North
America. She founded and is artistic director of the lyric
company “Chants Libres” she has been artistic director since
1990.
In her
career she has won the Prix d’excellence Victor-Martyn-Lynch-Staunton
from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Prix
d’interprète de musique contemporaine Flandres-Québec.
She has been a member-researcher at Hexagram, since 2006. In
2009 she was named an ambassador of the Canadian Music
Centre for her contribution to new music in Canada. In 2015,
she was awarded the Opera America Service Award for her 25
years as Artistic and General Director of Chants Libres.
(2017) |
Vocalists - Singers - Popular & Contemporary Music Return
to categories |
Jann Arden |
Born
March 27, 1962, Calgary, Alberta. Her full name is Jann Arden
Richards. As a youth she wanted to be a teacher but
preferred life as a musician. She would fight off alcoholism
at age 26 and use her talents to release her first album in
1993. She has been recognized with 19 Juno Award nomination
and received 8 including Songwriter of the Year in 1995 and 2002, and Female Artist
of the Year in 1995 and 2001.
In 2006 she received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in
Toronto. November that year she received the National Achievement Award from the
Society of Composers, Authors, and
Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) for having six
singles reach the 100,000 airplay mark on Canadian radio. In
November 2007, Arden was inducted into the
Canadian Association of Broadcasters
Hall of Fame, and was the winner of the International
Achievement Award at the 2007
Western Canadian Music Awards.
December 29, 2017 she became a Member of the Order of Canada
not only for her music but also in recognition of her
extensive charitable works. She has published her memoirs
several times in 2002, 2004, 2011 and 2017. |
Susan Aglukark
Inuit Entertainer |
Born January
27, 1967, Churchill, Manitoba. Her Inuit name is Uuliniq. She is one of six children. She actually worked as
a civil servant at the Department of Indian and Northern
Affairs in Ottawa for awhile but gave it up to be able to
sing. She had produced three albums and two hit singles by
1999. The music video for Searching won best cinematography
honors at the 1991 Canadian Music Video Awards. She is a
committed family person and does motivational talks to youth
advising that "staying in school is cool ." She Received the
order of Canada in 2005. |
Edith Butler |
Born July 27,
1942, Paquetville, New Brunswick. Learning music in her home
town of Caroquet, New Brunswick, she applauds the Acadian
culture wherever she entertains. She has a strong singing
voice and is a well rounded entertainer combining humor with
her own music. She has toured Europe and Japan. She
won the award of the Académie Charles-Cros, in Paris.
She was made a member of the Order du Mérite de la culture
française by the Canadian Senate and is an Officer of the
Order of Canada. She has recorded some 20 albums of
Acadian music. |
Carmen Champagne
Singer of Children's Songs |
Born September 8. 1959, Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan. Died July
4, 2018. In the 1970’s Carmen formed a musical group with
her brothers and sisters called Folle Avoine and later known
as Hart-Rouge. When the group originally broke us Carmen
became a teacher but soon yearned to return to music. She
began performing for children. She soon earned the nickname
Diva des Petits. Her French language works have won the
Prix Felix and a Juno Award for best children’s album in
1989. She has performed throughout North America and Europe.
In 2014 she was inducted into the Order of Canada for her
contribution to French language music for children.
|
Renée Claude |
née Bélanger. Born July 3,1939,
Montreal, Quebec. As a youth Renée
studied piano at Ecole de musique Vincent-d'Indy. She also
studied dramatic arts and voice. In 1955, while still just a
teen she made her debut on CKVL in Verdun, Quebec. She has
performed in the US, France, Belgium, Poland, USSR, Japan
just to name a few countries. In 1963 she produced her 1st
album and each successive year she produced albums 2,3,& 4.
In 1965 she earned the
Stéphane Venne
et
François Dompierre
prix de la meilleure chanson de l'année
(best song of the year). In 1967
she signed a contract with Columbia records but switched to
Barclay in 1969 until 1974. By 1976 she had produced 14
successful albums. In 1980 she made her stage debut in
a production of songs, monologues and poems in homage to her
friend
Clémence Desrochers.
1986 saw yet another album. In 1990
she was appearing on television and two years later she
was back to the stage and doing films.
|
Dorothy Collins |
née Marjorie
Chandler. Born November 18, 1926, Windsor,
Ontario.
Died July 21, 1994, Watervliet, New York, U.S.A. This singer
had the nick name of "Lucky Strike Girl" after the cigarette
sponsor of a TV show on which she sang. She appeared on the
Canadian television show Your Hit Parade (1950-1957).
In 1957 she became a regular on the Steve Allen Show. She
also had her own record label in the 1950's. She worked on
setting up gags on the show Candid Camera. In 1952
she married musician and band leader, Raymond Scott and the
couple toured throughout the U.S. until a divorce happened
in 1965. In 1966 she married Ron Holgate and the marriage
lasted eleven years. In 1971 she appeared in a Broadway
musical and continued her singing by presenting jazz in
nightclubs. In 1980 she was forced into retirement by asthma
and volunteered with the Muscular Dystrophy Association as
vice-president from 1988 until her death.
(2019) |
Helen Maude Dallas |
Born April 12, 1898, Hastings, England. Died May 26, 1993,
Winnipeg, Manitoba. She arrived in Winnipeg, Manitoba in
1919. She studied music at
Wesley
College
and began musical career that spanned six decades. In 1920
she married Joseph Dallas and the couple had 2 children. She
performed regularly with various choirs and on local stages
ranging from the
Walker
Theatre
to Rainbow Stage. During the depression of the 1930’s she
often sang for causes to help the homeless and unemployed.
In the 1940s she hosted a radio show on CKY. During world
War ll she regularly performed for troops and continued
doing weekly recitals at
Deer Lodge
Hospital
well into her eighties. Later in life she became a green
space activist in her Omand’s Creek neighbourhood.
Source:
Manitoba Lives: Helen Dallas, West End Dumplings,
Online Blog of Christian Cassidy (accessed February 2014) |
Rosemonde Desjardins
|
Born 1885, Hull, Quebec. Died June 1940.
Rosemonde and her sister Rose-Alba Desjardins (1878-
) were talented singers who were in demand in the regions to
perform at important concerts. Rosemonde studied at the
Conservatory of Music at McGill University and under the
patronage of Lord and Lady Strathcona she was sent to
London, England to study at the Royal College of Music. Here
she would study voice and piano. She would travel and
perform in France, Italy and Germany. Sadly she was killed
during a bombardment during the War while she was in France. |
Céline Dion |
Born March 30, 1968,
Charlemagne, Quebec.
Céline is an
internationally known recording artist and superstar. She
began performing with her family when she was only five
years old! Her first song composed when she was 12 caught
the eye of manager René Angelil who financed the recording.
Her career advanced with the Gold Medal at the Yamaha World
Song Festival in 1982. There was no looking back. She became
the first Canadian singer to receive a Gold Record in
France. She recorded the sound track for Disney's Beauty and
the Beast which would win and Academy Award and a Grammy.
Other movie hit songs have been in Sleepless in Seattle and
Titanic. She married her manager and has chosen to slow her
career to have private time devoted to her family. She is a
member of the Order of Canada. In 2023 she made her acting
debut in the movie Love Again. |
Diane Dufresne |
Born September 30, 1944, Montreal, Quebec. Diane studied
voice in Paris, France from 1965-1967. In 1987 she was
awarded the Felix Award for best pop show. She is the 1st
female singer to perform rock songs in French. She show are
popular for her music and her eccentric costumes. In 2001
she earned the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award
which is Canada’s highest award in the performing arts. In
2002 she was made a Knight in the National Order of Quebec.
She was presented with the Felix Hommage for her lifetime
achievements in 2006. In 2008 she was presented with the
Legion of Honour from France. In 2015 she was appointed as a
member of the Order of Canada for advancing the widespread
distribution of the music of Quebec at home and abroad. She
also enjoys painting and her works of art have been
exhibited in Canada and abroad. |
Lucille Dumont
3447 |
Born January 20, 1919, Montreal, Quebec. Died
July 29, 2016, Montreal, Quebec. Lucille was encouraged from
a young age by her mother to sing. She she first performed
she used the name Micheline Lalonde to hide her identity due
to the stigmas around being a performer. In 1935 at 16 she
made her professional debut on the Sweet Caporal Radio Show.
She began hosting radio shows and was hired by Radio Canada
to perform or host shows in French. In the spring of 1945
she sang at a War Loan Drive and she was invited to tour in
France but she turned down the offer to ma marry Jean
Maurice Bailly a CBC sports commentator. In 1947 she was
elected as Miss Radio, the first singer to be thus honoured.
She placed first at the Concours de la chanson canadienne in
1957 and second in 1962 at the Chansons sur mesure
competition. By 1950 she was known as the Grande Dame de
Chanson. In 1965 she hosed the Lucille Dumont television
show and recorded her second album. In 1968 she began giving
lessons in performance establishing the Atelier de la
chanson, a music school.
In 2001 she became an Officer in the Ordre nationale du Québec.
In 2001 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada
In 2006 she was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall
of Fame and le Prix du patrimoine du Panthéon des auteurs et
compositeurs canadiens.
Source: Hommage à 56 femmes d'exception qui ont changé le
Québec.
Editions spéciale 7jours. 2021 |
Susan Elizabeth
Jacks |
née Pesklevits. Born
August 19, 1948, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Died April 25, 2022, Surry, British Columbia.
Susan and her husband Terry Jacks formed
singing group called “The Poppy
Family”. Together they produced several albums of music.
In 1969 their career soared with the hit son Which Way
You Goin' Billy? which earned four Juno Awards. They began
single careers in 1973 and ended their marriage. Susan would
go on to have a single performer career in the 1980's. In
1983 she married Ted Dushinski of the Canadian Football
League and that same year she relocated to Nashville,
Tennessee, U.S.A. releasing her new album Tall Dark
Stranger which earned another Juno nomination. She and
Ted have one son. After her new music label floundered she
concentrated on songwriting rather than singing. She began a
management position at a music publishing business and rose
to be an executive Vice President of a successful
telecommunications firm in Nashville. In 2005 the couple
returned to Canada where Ted died of cancer in 2005. In 2010
she was the recipient of a Kidney transplant donated by her
brother Billy. June 27 2010 she was inducted into the
British Columbia Entertainment Hall of Fame. In 2011 she
performed as a Kidney Foundation of Canada benefit concert.
After complications from kidney failure the recovered
entertainer returned to performing and recorded a new album
in 2018. She died while on the waiting list for a new
organ.
(2019) |
Pauline Julien |
Born May 23 1920, Trois Riviéres, Quebec. Died October 1,
1998, Montreal, Quebec. She pursued a career in acting in
Quebec City. From 1950 through 1961 she was married to actor
Jacques Galipeau. The couple had two children. In 1952 she
was in Paris, France where she began singing on French radio
and television. In 1961 she recorded her 1st two albums. In
1969 she represented the CBC at an international song
festival in Poland where she placed 2nd. Back in Canada she
appeared regularly on stage and worked sporadically in
Europe. In 1965 she hosted the CBC television show, Mon
pays, mes chansons. She toured the USSR, Cuba, France,
Nepal and Rwanda prior to marring Gérald Goden, a Member of
the Quebec legislature and cabinet minister in the Parti
Québec. In the decade from 1965-1975 she was featured in six
movies. In 1994 she was presented with the Chevalier des
arts et des letters from France. In 1997 she was invested
as a Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Québec. The Montreal
Centre des arts de la scène Pauline Julien is named in her
honour.
Source:
The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed 2010).
|
Avril Lavigne |
Born September 27, 1984, Belleville, Ontario. At the age of two she
showed that she could sing when she began to sing church
songs with her mother. In 1998 she won a competition to sing
with fellow Canadian Shania Twain on tour. At 16 she signed
with Artista Records. She was tagged the Best New Artist in
2002 and 2003 she won 4 Juno Awards and was nominated for 8
Grammy Awards. Her first album Let go, releases June 4, 2002
sold 18 million copies and was 6 x Platinum in the U.S.A.
She has at least ½ dozen number 1 songs worldwide. Her music
has been described as modern rock, pop punk, pop rock, power
pop, alternative rock or pos grunge. She married Deryck
Whibley July 15, 2006 and continued to rise in her career.
In December 2007 she ranked #7 in the Forbes Top 20 Earners
under 25 years of age, earning 12,000,000.00. Also in
December 2007 her third album, The Best Darn Thing
had sold 6.1 million copies. Her movie debut came with the
DreamWorks animated feature Over The Hedge and she
recorded the Theme song or the Sponge Bob Squarepants
Movie. She works with various charities on health issues
such as AIDS/HIV, UNICEF and is involved with environmental
concerns. In 2013 Avril married musician and producer Chad
Kroeger but the marriage only lasted two years. In 2014
after a time of tours with numerous visits to doctors Avril
was diagnosed with Lyme Disease. In 2015 she was on the
cover of People Magazine to tell her story. She
managed to slowly recover strength over a couple of years
and recorded the single Head Above Water. By 2019 she
had earned eight Juno Awards. She his in the Top Ten of
BillBoard's Best of the 2000,s. She is in the Guinness Book
of World Records as the youngest female solo artist to tope
the United Kingdom Chart and she has made history with
Girlfriend which became the 1st music video to reach 100
million views on YouTube!
Through her foundation set up in 2010 she has
donated to Easter Seals, Global Lyme Alliance, LymeLight
Foundation, Make-A-Wish Foundation, UCLA Mattel Children's
Hospital, Race to Erase MS, Special Olympics, Toronto Sick
Kids Hospital and UNICEF. The foundation also supports
people with Lyme Disease, serious illness or disabilities
through programs and grants funding education. (Avril R
suggested that Avril Lavigne be included on this site.)
(2019) |
Monique Leyrac |
née
Tremblay.
Born February 26, 1928, Montreal,
Quebec. Died December 15, 2019, Cowansville, Quebec. Monique was just 13 when she first acted on radio.
Monique would go on to become the 1st great international
star from French Canada. Using her natural gifts of music
and drama she started her acting career on radio in 1943.In
1950 she was appearing in French language movies. In 1952
Monique married French actor Jean Dalmain (1915-2010) and
briefly work in theatre in Paris. In 1965 she won the
grand prizes at the international festival of Song in Sopot,
Poland and at the Festival de la Chanson at Ostende,
Belgium. She would also tour in France, Russia. and North
America. She appeared in numerous TV shows in both French
and English networks. In the 1980's she began to write and
stage one-woman shows where she sang and acted. She was
named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967. In 1972 she
appeared on stage in Threepenny Opera at the
Stratford Festival. She received the 1979 Prix de
musique Calixa-Lavallée. In 1988 she was inducted as a
Knight in the National Order of Quebec. In 1997 she earned
the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. Monique
married French actor Jean Dalmain (1915-2010) |
Lois Ada Goldberg
Lilienstein
Children's entertainer & singer
|
Born July 10, 1936, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. Died April 22
2015. Music was part of her system. She learned to play
piano at 5 and she loved singing and dancing. She earned a
Bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Michigan,
U.S.A. in 1958. In 1966 she moved with her husband Ernest
and son to Toronto, Ontario. She brought music to schools
children and participated in the program ‘Music For
Children, working with public libraries. In 1978 she joined
friends Sharon Hampson and Bram Morrison to record an album
‘One Elephant, Deux Elephants’. It became the fastest
selling collection of children’s songs ever produced in
Canada. The album launched a thriving career for the trio
who have since done 16 albums some of which are gold and
platinum. They also made a children’s TV series .
Beginning in 1988 she became Canadian Ambassadors for UNICEF
and were active in campaigns to end child hunger around the
world.
(2018) |
Beatrice 'Bea' Gladys
Lillie
|
Born May 29, 1894, Toronto, Ontario. Died
January 20, 1989, Henley-on-Thames, England. Bea began
entertaining in Ontario towns on stage with her mother, Lucy
and sister, Muriel (1893-1973). In 1914 she made her
London, England, West End debut and soon gained notice.
January 20, 1920 she married Sir Robert Peel (1898-1937) and
became Lady Peel. The couple had one child. The family's
Baronet title brought no money with it and the family lived
on Bea's earnings. She made her New York City, U.S.A. debut
in 1924 and within two years she had starred in her first
film. She had a sweet voice and when singing she would
add jokes between her songs until she was better known for
the jokes than her music.
She would become known as the “Funniest woman in the world.”
During World War ll (1939-1945) she was a welcomed
entertainer for the troops. Sadly her only child, 6th
Baronet was killed in action in 1942. In 1948 she met John
Philip Huck who became a friend and companion. She won a Tony in 1953
for her revue An Evening with Beatrice Lillie. She
made her last Broadway appearance in 1964 in High Spirits
and her last of her seven films, Thoroughly Modern
Millie in 1967. Her companion Philip Huck died the next
day of a heart attack and the two were buried together.
Source:
Canadian Encyclopedia, online (accessed June 2003) |
LUBA |
Born 1958, Lubomir Kowalchyk. Montreal, Quebec. She was performing
on stage at 13 and recording since she was 15 years old. She
studied at Concordia University, Montreal. She formed a band
called Luba in 1978, but agencies only wanted her as a solo
artist. In 1983 after the death of her father she wrote
Every time I See Your Picture and sang it with pure
emotion. It has become her signature song. She hold 5 Juno
awards as female vocalist of the year, three of which were
1985,1986 and 1987. She has also won 3 Felix Awards, and a
Casby. In 1991 she was the featured artist for the half time
show at the Grey Cup football game. In 1989 she put her
career on hold as she went through a divorce, death of close
family members and caring for her ill Sister. As a solo
artist she has made 6 albums. In 2000 she made a comeback
album From The Bitter To The Sweet. She wrote all 11
songs and c0nsiders this album her most honest. She is nor
doubt one of Canada’s most successful artists and yet she
has never charted in the U.S.A. She now lives in Anguilla. |
Gisele Mackenzie |
Born January 10,1927, Winnipeg,
Manitoba. Died December 5, 2003. Marie Marguerite Louise
Gisele La Fleche began showing her musical talent by playing
the piano at age 2!. As she grew into her music she
preferred the violin and she performed her first public
appearance at 12. During World War ll she entertained the
troops where she met he future husband. After her violin was
stolen she began to concentrate on her singing career where
she would earn the informal title of Canada's first lady of
song. She had her own radio show on CBC and was 'discovered'
in the early 1950's and was on her way to Hollywood where
she changed her name to Mackenzie. She appeared on numerous
TV shows and toured with comedian and violinist Jack Benny.
She also recorded for Capital Records. Her song Hard to Get
was on the 1955 hit parade for 16 weeks! She starred in
musicals, TV shows and the movies. She is a member of the
Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame. |
Lorraine McAllister |
Born April 15, 1922, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Died. April
27, 1984, Vancouver, British Columbia. She was a singing
star of radio and TV in 1950s, headlining CBC Toronto's
Holiday Ranch and Vancouver's Burn's Chuckwagon,
Some of Those Days and
Meet Lorraine. She was also a headline performer for
Theatre Under the Stars. Performed in Johnny Holmes'
orchestra, as well as singing from 1950-1965 with her
bandleader Dal Richards at the Panorama Roof of the Hotel
Vancouver.
Source:
The Vancouver Hall of Fame online (Accessed November
2012) |
Kate McGarrigle |
Born February 6, 1946,
St-Sauveur-des-Monts, Quebec. Along with her sister
and partner, Anna, she began singing in coffee houses in
Montreal in the 1960’s. In 1976 they produced a record
album together. After a brief solo experience in New York,
Kate rejoined her sister and more albums followed including
a French language collection in 1982. The McGarrigles were
named to the Order of Canada in 1994. |
Catherine McKinnon |
Born May 14,1944,
Saint John, New Brunswick. This singer and actress began her
career on radio at age eight. By age 12 she had appeared on
TV. After studies at Mount St. Vincent College, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, she appeared on the CBC TV series
Sing-along Jubilee, Don Messer's Jubilee, and Music Hop.
Her 1st and biggest selling album was entitled Voice of
an Angel, was a collection for folk songs. She would
also have her own radio show on the CBC called That
McKinnon Girl. On stage she excelled in musical
productions. March 12, 1969 she married actor and comedian
Don Harron becoming step mother to two children. Catherine
often appeared with her husband, until they divorced in
2003. Catherine continued to record and make albums until
2007. |
Sarah Ann
McLachlan |
Born
January 28, 1968, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Sarah was adopted by
the McLachlan family. At the age of four she was playing the
ukulele and she went on to study classical guitar, classical
piano and voice at the Maritime Conservatory of Music. At
high school she was the lead for a rock band called The
October Game. She was offered a recording contract but
her parents insisted she
finish high school and complete one year of studies at the
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design before moving to
Vancouver and embarking on a new life as a recording artist
As a teen she was a member of a new wave band. In 1994 she
was the victim of a stalker who killed himself before a
trial. Since releasing TOUCH in 1988 she has explored
her own unique musical interests being indifferent to
current trends and fads. Her songs convey a passionate
honesty rarely found in today’s music. Her song Building
a Mystery was included in the 100 Greatest Songs of the
90's. She married Ashwin Sood in 1997 and the couple had two
daughters prior to divorce in 2008. in 1998 she received the
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Visionary Award for advancing the
careers of women in music. Sarah holds both the Order of
British Columbia and the Order of Canada. Sarah is the
founder of the Lilith Fair tour which showcased female
musicians on an unprecedented scale from 1997 through 1999
resuming again in the summer of 2010. She has performed in
numerous TV shows in both Canada and the US. February 12,
2010 she performed her son Ordinary Miracle at the opening
ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. In 2012
she earned a star on Canada's Walk o Fame, Toronto. In
2013 she received the Kiwanis International World Service
Medal in recognition of the founding of the Sarah McLachlan
Scholl of Music in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2015 she
earned a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for
lifetime Artistic Achievement. In 2019 she was the Host of
the Juno Awards and in 2017 she was inducted into the
Canadian Music Hall of Fame. She herself has bee nominated
for 26 Juno Awards and has won nine Junos. She has also won
three Grammy Awards.
(2019) |
Amanda
Meta
Marshall
|
Born August 29, 1972, Toronto, Ontario
Amanda began performing when she was just 16 years
old. Her
powerful voice landed her a contract with Columbia Records
in New York City but it was Sony Music Canada that released
her first album in 1995. Her song “This could take all
night” was part of the sound track of the movie Tin Cup.
She has also had a strong endorsement from Elton
John. |
Denise
Katrina
Matthews
Vanity |
Born January 4, 1959, Niagara Falls, Ontario. Died February
15, 2016, Fremont, California, U.S.A. Denise was
abandoned by her mother and abused by her father but she
rose from these circumstances as a youth model becoming Miss
Niagara Hospitality in 1977 and competing for the Miss
Canada title the following year. She headed for New York,
U.S.A. to
further her career and did several TV commercials. She
hooked up with the entertainer PRINCE (1958-2016) who renamed her
'Vanity'
and placed her in a singing group of three girls called
Vanity 6 (the number of breasts the girls had in total). The
girls always performed wearing lingerie. The group had a couple of
albums. She also appeared in several B rate movies in the
1980’s through the mid 1990’s. She posed for Playboy
magazine in 1995 and again in 1998. She was not only
reportedly linked with PRINCE but also Billy Idol and Adam
Ant while becoming the sex idle of the 1980’s. She was a
drug addict and this life style cased severe health
problems. She was married for a year in 1994/1995 to Adam
Smith but soon divorced when her health continued to
deteriorate. In 1997 she survived a kidney transplant and
after a religious re birth she has renounced all connections
of her former life and established her own evangelical
ministry. In 2010 she wrote and published her autobiography
entitled Blame it on Vanity. (2023) |
Constance Sylvia Gladys Munston |
SEE - Beatrice Lilly |
Alannah Myles |
née
Byles
Born December 25, 1958. When she was just nine years
old she began writing her own songs. This rock singer began
playing the guitar at age 11. At 19 she changed her name to
Myles while appearing in TV commercials. She was
unable to gain the attention of Canadian companies for her
music so she released her records through a New York company
in the United States By the time she was in her mid
20's she had produced her debut album. She appeared in guest
spots on Canadian television and film productions. She won a
Grammy for her first album. An album in 1995 was simply
called Alannah. In August 2007 she released a solo album
which was a tribute to Elvis on itunes to commemorate the
30th anniversary of his death. April 2008 she released her
5th studio album Black Velvet. August 2013 for her
25th anniversary her Black Velvet album was
retiled 85bpm and repackaged with new images. |
Joni Mitchell |
(real name
Roberta Joan Anderson).
Born November 7, 1943, Fort Macleod, Alberta. Joni began her
singing career in small nightclubs in her hometown of
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and then moved east to busking on
the streets of Toronto, Ontario. By 1965 she was living in
the U.S.A. and began touring and introducing some of her own
songs. Her songs were covered by folk singers and she cut
her debut album in 1968. Moving to Southern California
her works such as Big Yellow Taxi
and Woodstock helped define an era of folk music.
Her 1971 album Blue made the list of 500 Greatest
Albums of All Time produced by Rolling Stone
magazine. A pop singer who is famous for her folk songs of
the 1960’s with The Circle Game an Both Sides Now.
She switched to jazz and in 1969 when her album Clouds
won a Grammy Award.
She retired from touring and released her 17th album of
original songs in 2007. During her career she earned eight
competitive and one honorary Grammy Awards, receiving the
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
She became a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in
1981. and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1997. In 1996 she was presented with Canada's
highest honour in the performing arts, The Governor
General's Performing Arts Award. In 2000 Joni received a
Star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, Ontario followed
in 2002 she was inducted as a Companion of the Order of
Canada. By 2007 she had been inducted into the Canadian
Songwriters Hall of Fame and in June of that year Canada
Post featured her on a postage stamp. In 2008 Rolling
Stone once again listed her this time as one of the 100
greatest singers.
To celebrate Mitchell's 70th
birthday, the 2013
Luminato
Festival in Toronto held a set of tribute concerts entitled
Joni: A Portrait in Song – A Birthday Happening Live at
Massey Hall in Toronto, Ontario on June 18
and 19 2013. In 2015 she was the recipient of the San
Francisco Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award and at the same
time Rolling Stone listed her as one of the 100
Greatest Songwriters of all time! |
Alanis Nadine Morissette
|
Born June 1, 1974, Ottawa, Ontario. Alanis
is 12 minutes younger than her twin brother Wade. As a child
in Ottawa she liked to sing, dance, and act. The family
moved around to follow her parents jobs and from 1977 to
1980 they lived in Lahr, Germany. She took dance lessons at
seven, began writing songs at nine, and played in a TV
series on Canadian TV in the popular You Can’t Do That on
Television.
At 11. Her 1st album was titled simply Alanis was
released in 1991. She produced the album Jagged Little
Pill in 1995 which sold more than 33 million albums
internationally, before moving to Brentwood California.
Rolling Stone magazine has labeled her Queen of all
rock Angst. In 1999 she had the role of God in the comedy
film Dogma and the same role in
Jay and the Silent Bob Strike Back. For the next while
she appeared in productions of Sex in the City and in
the play The Vagina Monologues. In 2003 she
appeared in an Off-Broadway production.
In June 2005 on the 10th anniversary of Jagged Little
Pill she released Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
followed that same year with Greatest Hits Album Alanis
Morissette: the Collection.
That same year she was a guest on the hit TV show
Degrassi: The Next Generation. She continues to play
guest roles on various TV shows, stage, and movies. In 2007
her engagement to actor Ryan Reynolds was announced but the
couple broke up before a marriage. In 2009, she ran a marathon promoting awareness for the
National Eating Disorders Association.
In 2018 Jagged
Little Pill, a musical played at the American Repertory
Theatre. In 2010 she married rapper Mario 'Souleye' Treadway
and the couple have a son and a daughter.
(2019) |
Anne Murray |
Born
June 20, 1945, Springhill, Nova Scotia.
She has sung her way into the hearts of fans all over the
world.
She was the 1st Canadian female solo
singer to reach number 1 on the music charts in the U.S.A.
and the 1st woman to earn a Gold record for her song,
Snowbird in 1970.
She
is also the 1st woman and 1st Canadian to win the
Album of the Year Award from the Country Music Association
Awards in 1984.
In 1975 she married music producer Bill Langstroth
(died 2013) and the couple have two children. She has record
sales of over $25,000,000. She has won 4 Grammies and 32
Juno Awards. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. and on Canada's Walk of
Fame, Toronto, Ontario. All of these things make her the
most successful female recording artist in the history of
Canadian entertainment.
She has been inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame, the
Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Canadian Broadcast
Hall of fame as well as the Country Music Hall of Fame
Walkway of Stars, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. Companion of
the Order of Canada. In May
2007 Golf for Women magazine named Anne the world's best
female celebrity golfer. June 29, 2007 Canada Post issued a
Commutative Anne Murray stamp. In 2008 she retired from
singing saying that she only sings for her grandchildren
now. In 2008 she appeared as a mentor for the TV programme
Canadian Idol. In 2009 she published her biography, All
of Me.
In 2010 she was one of the eight notable Canadians to carry the Olympic
Flag as the opening ceremonies and was
inducted into the
Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
In 2011 Billboard listed Anne as number 10 on
their list of the 50 biggest adult contemporary artists. The
Anne Murray Centre, Springhill, Nova Scotia which opened
July 28, 1989, houses her memorabilia collection. Revenue
generated from the Centre is used to provide local
employment. She is the Honorary National Chairperson for the
Canadian Save the Children Fund. In 2009 Colon Cancer Canada
launched the Anne Murray Charity Gold Classic. She has also
been a public supporter for the environment and David
Suzuki's Nature Challenge. (2023) |
Ginette Reno |
née Raynault. Born April 28, 1946,
Montreal, Quebec. Ginette loved to sing even as a
child. This chanteuse puts warmth and passion into her
renditions of sentimental ballads that have won her an
adoring fan base not only in her home province of Quebec,
but from across Canada and abroad. Her first recording
appeared in 1961. She has earned several Juno Awards
in 1969 and the 1970's and was presented with the A D I S Q lifetime achievement award in 1995. She was
invested as an officer of the Order of Canada October 20,
1982. In 2012 the Canada Post Office honoured her with a
feature postage stamp. |
Alice Robitaille
Alys Robi |
Alice Robitaille. Born February 3, 1923, Quebec
City, Quebec. Died May 28, 2011, Montreal, Quebec.
Alice/Alys always knew she could sing and act. ant by the
age of seven she was performing on stage at the Capitol
Theatre and on the local radio station in Quebec City. By 13
she was being tutored at the Theatre National in Montreal.
During World War ll she was the host of a French radio shoe:
Tambour Battant. She also toured performing at Canadian
military bases and started recording
for records. She became know for her Latin titles which she
translated into French. While traveling in England she
appeared on a regular British Broadcasting television
programme. In 1948 she was injured in an auto accident while
on her way to Hollywood in California, U.S.A. Depression
became a real battle and she suffered a mental breakdown
after a failed romance. She recovered in a Quebec City
asylum where she was subjected to a lobotomy which was a
rare success. She returned to the stage in 1952 but she
never regained her former popularity. It was not until the
early 1990's that she gained major success with the song
Laissez-moi encore chanter (Let me sing again). She became
the subject of books, plays, and a television series. In
December 2004 a movie Alys Robi: Ma Vie en Cinemascope
/Bittersweet Memories was released. She would publish two
autobiographies
Ma Carriére, ma vie /My Career, my
life and Un long cri dans la nuit. Cinq années
a l'asile/ A Long cry in the night; five years in the asylum |
Jane Siberry |
née Stewart.
Born October 12, 1955, Toronto,
Ontario. As a child Jane
learned how to play piano. During her college
years, studying microbiology at the University of Guelph,
she began performing at local coffee houses and also worked
at times as a waitress to pay for her studies.
She used her tip
money to fund her 1st album in 1981. She has not looked
back. By 1996 she had formed her own record label “Sheeba”
to produce her records. In 2005 she was awarded the Victory
Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award in music by the Canadian Council
for the Arts. In 2006 she sold most of her possessions
and changed her name to Issa (the feminine of Isaiah) and
continued to produced albums of her music. By 2009 she felt
the name Issa had run its course and her album
With What Shall I Keep Warn sported both names. Her
'Last formal record' Ulysses' Purse
was released in 2016. (2019) |
Amy Sky |
Born
September 24, 1960.
She is a graduate in music theory from the University
of Toronto. She expanded her skills while living in Nashville
and Los Angeles, where she wrote for artists such as Diana
Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Sheena Easton and Canadian performers
such as Anne Murray and Roch Voisine. She has returned to
Toronto where she now centers her own performing artist
career. She is a wife and mother of two who has found a
working balance suited to her. Her first CD was Cool Rain
which was followed closely by Burnt in the Sun
(1998), Phenomenal Woman
(2001) and With a Kiss (2003). Her music is a
mainstay on Canadian radio and has earned Juno nominations,
SOCAN Awards and Canadian Independent Music Award
nominations. She is also known for her numerous
contributions and support for charitable causes. This
mini profile was nominated by
Nikki Harris. |
Juliette
Augustina
Sysak
|
Born August
27, 1927, St Vital, Manitoba.
née Sysak. Born August 27, 1926, St Vital, Manitoba
Died October 26, 2017 Vancouver, British Columbia. As a
youngster in Winnipeg Juliette sang at the Ukrainian Hall
and at amateur talent shows. When she was just a teenager
her family relocated to Vancouver. At 13 she was singing at
the Hotel Vancouver making more money than her father earned
at his job as a cook for the Canadian Pacific Railway.
She was appearing on CBC radio at 15 and was headed to
Toronto to appear on TV’s Holiday Ranch.
Known
as Juliette, this singer and entertainer used only her first
name on stage. She married manager Tony Cavazzi. She had
regular appearances on the Billy O’Connor CBC TV late show.
By 1956 she had her own national TV program where she was
known as “Our pet, Juliette”. The show was third in the
popularity rating only behind Hockey Night in Canada and CBC
National News! Two of her favourite guests were Tony Bennett
and Jack Jones. From 1969 through 1971 she hosted a day show
called ‘After Noon’ and from 1973 through 1975 she hosted
‘Juliette and Friends’. She also had a successful recording
career which included 5 LP 9Long Playing records) albums. In
1975 she was appointed a member of the Order of Canada. In
1999 she was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 1994
She became a member of the British Columbia Entertainment
Hall of Fame. She was often criticized for her choice of
music, she hair style and the clothing she wore. However she
is hailed as a trailblazer for female entertainers who wish
to control their own image and Career.
Sources: John Einarson. ‘Juliette’ in
Manitoba Music Museum . (accessed August 2014 :
The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed August 2014) |
Margo Timmins |
Born January 27, 1961, Montreal, Quebec. In
1977 the family relocated to Etobicoke on the edge of
Toronto. Margo remembers music as always being part of
her life. She even sang as a child when washing dishes!
(Source: Paolo Car(?) ‘Ultimo
Buscadero, no. 207 November 1999) She
studied social work at university and then she joined
her two brother and some friends helping to form a rock
group that produced their first album in their garage. In
1985 her brother Michael convinced his shy but talented
sister to sing to the group. Margo became a welcome working
member of the group. The Cowboy Junkies have not
looked back and have since produced many more million
selling albums such as Pale Sun, Crescent Moon
(1993), 200 more miles (1995) and Lay it down
(1996) as well as In the time before llamas (2003)
and One soul now (2004) , At the end of paths
taken. They have a very active tour schedule playing
across the country. Margo married Graham Henderson, an
entertainment lawyer in 1988 and they have one son. When not
on the road with the group she enjoys being home with her
family and their pets, doing whatever she wants to
relax like reading a good book and some slithery. The town
of Timmins Ontario was founded by her Grandfather. |
Marie / Mary-Rose-Anne Travers-Bulduc
La
Bulduc |
Born June 4,
1894, Newport, Gaspésie, Quebec. Died February 20, 1941,
Montreal, Quebec. She
is best known as Madame Bulduc or LA BULDUC in
the 1930's.
She would become Canada's premier chansonère
(singer), and as the Queen of Canadian Folk Singers,
composing and singing songs of ordinary daily life of
Quebec.
La Bulduc is
often considered to be Quebec's 1st female
singer/songwriter.
She combined the traditional folk music of Ireland and
Quebec the two acquired music genres of her parents. By
1908, when she was just 13, She was giving public
performances playing the according at the logging camp where
her father worked as a cook. That same year she went to live
in Montreal with family where she worked as a maid for
$15.00 a month plus room and board. A few years later she
was working in a textile mill. 60 hours a week. On August
17, 1914 she married a plumber, Edward Bolduc. Mary had
twelve pregnancies but only four children reached adulthood.
In 1921 the family moved to Springfield Massachusetts,
U.S.A. to look for work but a year later they were back in
Montreal. Mary it seems always entertained family and
friends and sometimes performed with the Veillees du
bon vieux temps at the Monument-National. The small payment
from her entertaining was useful for the family and by 1928
she was performing regularly. She was signed up with the
Compo company on Star records and earned $25.00 per side of
a record. She made her 1st recording April 1929. and her
second recording for Christmas of that same year. The second
record more than 12,000 copies! Much of her music were
comedic songs. She went on to become a French language
singing legend in her home province. By the end of
1930 she had recorded more than 30 songs and had
collaborated with 56 recordings of other artists. ! In March
1931she was headlining a burlesque company at Theatre
Arlequin de Quebec. She began touring in 1932. giving 50
shows from August through December. She went on to tour in
New England in the U.S.A. in 1934 and the French speaking
areas of Northern Ontario in 1935. By 1936 she had produced
33 records and the family could afford a nanny to take care
of their children. In June 1937 she was injured in an
automobile accident and while in hospital it was discovered
that she had cancer. Her insurance would not pay for
treatments of the cancer. She could not write songs due to a
concussion that cause memory loss. In 1938 she was again on
tour but only in Montreal. She did do radio broadcasts and
and made two new recordings in 1931. About 100 recordings
survive but she also wrote songs for special occasions that
were not recorded. Canada Post issued a stamp in her honour
on August 12, 1994. There is a museum exhibit in her home
town of Newport. In April 2018 a biographical film, La
Bulduc was released. |
Shania Twain |
née Eileen Regina Edwards.
Born August 28, 1965, Windsor, Ontario. She took the name of
her step father and went through school as Eileen Twain in
Timmons, Ontario. She enjoyed music and her family
recognized her talent when she was young. So did the CBC who
had her appear at 13 on the popular Tommy Hunter Show. When
she was 21 her parents were killed in an auto accident and
she took on the responsibility for her brothers and sisters
by working in a lodge in Huntsville, Ontario where she had a
chance to perform as part of her work. In 1990 when
she signed her first recording contract with Mercury
Nashville Records she changed her first name to Shania,
which is from the aboriginal Ojibwa language , meaning 'I'm
on my way'. She was indeed! Her 1995 album, The Woman
in me sold 12 million copies and her 1998 release Come on
over produced 8 world wide single hits. Her singing
and her original writings of songs have won Grammy Awards,
Juno Awards, Canadian and American Country Music Awards and
World Music Awards. In 2001 she took time from her busy
career to give birth to a son and in 2003 returned to
touring and performing to her adoring fans. In 2004 she and
her husband purchased a ranch in New Zealand as a get away
from their home in Europe. . She has been honoured in her
home town of Timmins with museum dedicated to her life and
career. |
Vanity |
SEE - Denise Katrina Matthews |
Adele Wilson
|
Died September 7, 2018, Ajax, Ontario. She had
two children Adele was well known in the Kirkland Lake,
Ontario region where in the 1960's and 1970's she was the
singer in the band called The Cavalleros. She also had a
morning TV programme on the local K F L station. She hosed
during the annual winter carnival the annual Mini King /
mini Queen competitions. She briefly relocated to Perth,
Ontario but was soon back in Kirkland Lake where she started
a bookkeeping/counseling business.
(2019) |
Vocalists - singers - Rock
Return to categories |
Sarah 'Sass' Jordan |
Born December
23, 1962, Birmingham, England. When she immigrated as a child
to Canada the family settled in Montreal. She left home at
14 when her parents broke up. She originally worked as a
backup singer for the Montreal Pop group, The Box. She
earned a Juno for her debut album; Tell Somebody
in 1988. In 1989 she won a Juno Award for Most Promising
Female Vocalist of the Year. In 19900 she moved to Los
Angeles California, U.S.A. In 1992 she was names Album
Rock’s Top Female Artist of the Year by Billboard
Magazine. She stared in the TV series Sisters and
the Canadian hit comedy Corner Gas. She played Janis
Joplin in the off Broadway hit Love Janis in 2001.
Sass married musician Derek Sharp, a lead singer with the
Guess Who. From 2003 to 2008 she served as a judge on the
CTV TV show Canadian Idol. In 2012 until 2016 she was
the honorary colonel of 417 Combat Support Squadron.
(2017) |
Vocalists - Singers - Rhythm & Blues
Return to categories |
Deborah Cox |
Born July 13, 1974, Toronto, Ontario. She began
singing on TV Commercials when she was only 12 and her
mother helped her enter various talent shows. As a teenager
she performed in nightclubs and began to write music. In the
1990’s she performed as backup for Celine Dion. In 1994 she
relocated to Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. with her
producer and songwriting partner, Lascelles Stephens. The
couple would marry and have 3 children. The following year
she released her 1st album. In 1996 she won a Juno Award for
Best R&B soul recording. She sang for the soundtrack for
the 1997 movie
Money Talks and a dance mix of the song topped U.S.
dance charts. In 1998 she produced a second album One
Wish which included the single
Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here which was #1 on the Hot R&B
charts for 14 weeks. That year she won a Juno Award for Best
R&B/Soul Recording and won the Soul Train Award for best
R&B/Soul Single. In 1999 there was another Juno Award.
Her 3rd album was released in 2002. While she has done a
number of movie soundtracks she has also acted in movies
since 2000. In 2006 she released her 4th album as a tribute
to jazz singer Dinah Washington. Her 5th album was released
in 2008. That same year she received a star on the Canadian
Walk of Fame. On September 7, 2012 she debuted in a musical,
Jekyll and Hyde and debuted on Broadway April 5, 2013. In
2014 she was 1 of the performers at the opening ceremonies
of World Pride in Toronto. |
Jackie Shane |
Born May 15,1940, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.
Died February 21, 2019, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. Born a
boy Jackie, with the support of her mother, self identified
as a female from the time she was 13 years old. She played
drums and sang with rhythm and blues groups in Nashville.
Along the way she met and performed with or for Jackie
Wilson, Jimi Hendricks, and Little Richard. It was the time
of Jim Crow Laws in the southern U.S.A. were state and local
laws enforced racial segregation and Jackie left to perform
in the eastern U.S.A., Montreal, and Toronto. She fell in
love with Toronto and the city fell in love with her
singing. She packed night clubs in the city all through the
1960's performing to audiences that were 50% white. She was
known to have said "one cannot choose where one is born but
you can choose your home. I choose Toronto...I love
Canadaian people'. In 1971 she left Canada to live with her
recently widowed mother in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. When her
mother died she returned to Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. where she lived as a
recluse. The CBC produced a documentary about Jackie in 2010
that brought about a renewed interest in the
septuagenarian's music and her career. Her former recording
studio, Numero Group, tracked her down and she agreed to a
new release of all her single and live hits. In 2017 the
album Any Other Way was released and was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best Historical Album. Jackie is featured
on a 20 story mural of dedication to the Toronto musical
greats.
 |
Miscellaneous
Return
to categories |
Anne
Adamson Campbell
Choir Conductor |
née
Cowie. Born January 16, 1912, Sutherland, Saskatchewan.
Died April 13, 2011, Cochrane, Alberta. She studied
voice at the Banff School of Fine Arts. She was an
Associate of the Toronto Conservatory of Music (ATCM)
for piano in 1930 and for voice in 1934. In 1953 she
formed the Southminster Junior Girls Choir in
Lethbridge, Alberta. Ten years later she form the Teen
Clefs and it was this choir that won the George M.
Mathieson Trophy in 1968. The Anne Campbell Singers
would with the Mathieson Trophy in 1970. Her choir
performed at Expo in Canada's Centennial year and again
at Expo 70. The choir also toured Europe winning two
international competitions. Anne produced
recording with all three choirs. In 1976 she became a
Member of the Order of Canada.
(2020)
|
Carmen
Elizabeth
Clarke
Song Writer
|
Born
1911, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died July 1960, Vancouver,
British Columbia. As a child Carmen enjoyed music but it
was not to be her career. She studied to become a nurse
and worked with Children at the Vancouver Hospital for
Children. In 1947 she wrote a poem “There’s a
Bluebird on Your Windowsill' for one of her small
patients and later added music to her lyrics. She
was encouraged by friends and colleagues to perform the
son on the local radio. The song would published by
Empire Music and it was performed locally in British
Columbia by the Rhythm Tones and nationally by Don
Murphy. American singers Doris Day and Tex
Williams made the song a hit in
1949. Elizabeth became
the first woman to write a son that sold over 1,000,000
copies! She donated all royalties to Canadian hospitals
for sick children. In 2010 the song was inducted into
the Canadian Song Writers Hall of Fame.
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia online (Accessed
January 2013) ; The History of Metropolitan Vancouver
Online Accessed December 2012) (2020) |
Marie
May
Demers |
When Marie was just a toddler she was
unable to walk and actually learned to walk on her hands
beforE using her feet. She became a contortionist known
as Miss Twisto, the human Pretzel performing in Toronto,
Montreal,
and Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.
Dedicating her life to teaching gymnastics to
children. She was involved with performances at Expo 67
in Montreal during Canada's Centennial in 1967. She also
was involved with performances for International Day of
the Child. in Toronto. In 1954 she entertained the
troops in Korea. In 1957 she was a member of the
Canadian delegation to the World Youth Festival in the
Soviet Union. Unknown at the time Marie had
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which is a group of inherited
disorders that affect you connective tissues giving her
overly flexible joined and stretchy, fragile skin.
|
Jo-Anna Downey
3838
Stand-up
Comedienne |
Born February 1, 1967,
Montreal, Quebec. Died December 1, 2016, Toronto,
Ontario. Jo-Anna graduated from Concordia University,
Montreal with a degree in history. In 1991 she moved
with her parents to Toronto. It seems that Jo-Anna was
always a funny person and when invited to an open mic
night by a musician friend she ended up on stage and the
laughter of the audience was addictive. In the 1990's
Toronto she hosted weekly open mic nights at the Spirits
Bar and Grill and at Eton House. In 2012 she
earned the Phil Hartman Award from at the Canadian
Comedy Awards which recognizing her outstanding lifetime
contribution to her profession. She seemed to always
have time to encourage new comics, especially new female
comics which earned her the nickname 'Mamma'. She never
told the same joke in the same way and she could be
welcoming and insulting in one breath. . She was one of
the best hosts and producers of comedy. Humber College,
Toronto offers the Jo-Anna Downey Comedy Scholarship.
Source: Lives Lived, The Globe and Mail February
3, 2017 online (accessed 2022) |
Marguerite Helen 'Margo'
Fournier
3718
Choirmaster & Director |
née
Leblond. Born August 16,
1919, Rosthern, Saskatchewan. Died July 22, 2000,
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Margo grew up loving music.
She was an accomplished singer and dancer who, during
the Second World War (1939-1945) enlisted with the Royal
Canadaian Air Force as an entertainer. She toured
military bases in Canada. Britain and, Europe. On May 5,
1945 she married Canadian L. J. 'Pluke' Fournier in
Scotland. The couple would have seven children. She
worked at being a music teacher and choir master. She
conducted choirs of bys and girls, student nurses,
church, and even an inmates prison choir. She was a
founder of the local Music Festival Association in
1960's Prince Albert She helped organize and served as
president of the local Jeunesses Musicales group. In the
early fall of 1965 she was appointed to the Saskatchewan
Youth Review Committee. She was also the founder and
director of the Prince Albert Boy's Choir which earned
not only local accolades but was recognized
provincially, nationally and internationally. Margo also
enjoyed sports and with her husband, Pluke, taught and
coached swimming and diving. The Prince Albert
multi-purpose recreation centre was named in her honour.
In 1983 she was inducted into the Order of Canada.
Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
online (accessed 2022) |
Nadine Gagne
Métis Drummer
|
Born Vancouver, British Columbia. Nadine is from the Métis
Nation (Cree/French Iroquois/English ancestry) She works
as an Infant Development Consultant and Early Childhood
Education for kla-how-eya Aboriginal Centre. While she
holds a diploma in Early childhood Education from the
University of British Columbia, she is also a composer
and performer using traditional drumming in contemporary
children’s music. Her spiritual name is
Metoni-Apihtaw-Achkos. In 2003 she was honoured with her
first Eagle Feather. In 2005 she earned the Aboriginal
Childcare Award from the British Columbia Ministry of
Children and Families. She also receive a Métis sash
from the Métis Family Services and was declared a
National Aboriginal Role Model for Canada. In 2006 she
was one of twelve National Aboriginal Youth Role Models
for the Aboriginal Health Organization for her Lead your
Way Program. In 2007 she was an Aboriginal Leading Lady
on the Calendar by Samaya Photography. In 2008 she
produced a music album, My Moccasins for Children.
Nadine has one daughter.
Source: Herstory: A Canadian Women’s Calendar 2008 (Coteau
Books, 2007) (2020) |
Dona Massin
r 18 |
Born February 18, 1917,
Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died May 26, 2001, Malibou,
California, U.S.A. When she was just eight years old the
family relocated to live in Los Angeles, California.
While still a child she was singing on stage and seemed
to be a natural when it came to dancing. While in
her early teens she began working with MGM Studios and
appeared in many musicals. She moved over to other
studios, 20th Century Fox, Universal , Warner Brothers,
and Columbia Pictures and continued to appear in
musicals. When she was just 21 she worked as a
choreographer on the film The Wizard of Oz. She
also had a small role in the famous film. Dona married
Don Carn and the couple had one daughter. When she was
30 she retired from show business trading it for the
life of a wife and mother. She was a welcome visitor for
yeas at festivals celebrating The Wizard of Oz.
In 2001 she taped Memories of Oz and that same
year she was on the TV special Last Days of Judy
Garland and the E! True Hollywood Story.
(2023) |
Ann Meekitjuk Hanson
Inuit Film Maker |
Born
May 22,1946, Nunavut Her official name was
Annie E 7 – 121. Her Christian name was Annie. The E
stood for Eastern Arctic, '7' denoted her birth community
and 121 was the number assigned by the federal registry.
Her peoples still lived on the land when she was born.
After the death of her parents she moved to Toronto to
live with an aunt. She too the name of her new family
becoming Ann Cotterill to attend high School. She was
never officially adopted so she took her father’s name
Meekitjuk as a legal surnamed before she started working
for the Federal Government in Ottawa and later in
Iqualuit when it was still known as Frobisher Bay,
Northwest Territories. She had an additional name change
when she married Robert Hanson. The couple had four
children. She worked for CBC Radio providing Inuit
programming. Her shows actually provided oral histories,
legends, songs, food facts, and other cultural aspects
of far North life and they helped preserve these aspects
of life. In 1973 she was in Hollywood to be part of a
movie The White Dawn and she became intrigued with the
process of filming. She has daringly produced a film on
spousal abuse in the North and after the premier of the
film the first women’s shelter opened in her community.
She enjoys doing films on the life around her in the
North and as such is continuing the tradition of the
women who have for generations told stories and sung
songs of the culture of the people. She has served as
Deputy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories and she
has been inducted into the Order of Canada.
Source. Herstory: A Canadian Women’s Calendar 2006,
Coteau Books, 2005. (2020) |
Christina Jennings
Producer
|
Her
original career path was in urban planning then she
bought a travel agency and branched out with a family
restaurant all before she was 30! In 1987 she was the
founder, CEO and chair of Shaftsbury Films. They started
out in Toronto and eventually opened a second office in
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Her company is well
known for its production of such television series as
Murdoch Mysteries and Frankie Drake Mysteries. In 2005
she won an International Emmy for Best Children's and
Young People Program and in 2008 they earned a second
International Emmy Award for Outstanding Interactive
Program ReGenesis. @009 garnered the company a Gemini
Award for Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program for
Life of Derek. In 2010 Christina earned Playbacks,
Producer of the Decade. 2016 brought the Female Eye
Moverick Award, Academy Achievement Award from the
Academy Cinema, and Television and the Canadian Woman
Entrepreneur Award. That same year there was also the
Innovative Producer Award at the Banff World Television
Festival. By 2017 Christina had earned a Lifetime
Achievement Award followed the next year with a CFC
Award for Creative Excellence. It is no wonder that
Christina is considered by MacLean's magazine list as
one of Canada's most powerful top 50 in business.
(2020) |
Roberta Kennedy
Kwii-Ga-Li-Ones
Kung Jaadee
Indigenous Entertainer |
Roberta, also known as Kwii-Ga-Li-Ones (a name that
according to Haida tradition has been passed on to her
daughter) and Kung Jaadee (woman in the moon) is a Haida
singer, drummer and storyteller who has performed across
Canada since 1992. She teaches Deer Culture and the
Dogrib languages to primary students. Often when she is
performing she wears a striking red and black button
blanket made by her great grandmother.
(2020) |
Judith
Anne Lawrence
Puppeteer |
Born
Barnsdale, Victoria, Australia. Judith leaned how to
make puppets after writing to a children's show. Finding
that some internationally experience would be an asset
to a career as a puppeteer. Judith went to Canada where
she taught kindergarten in Deep River, Ontario. In 1960
she co-founded the Voice of Women. She began working for
the CBC and created puppets for the Butter Square Show
in 1964. By 1967 she was creating puppets for Ernie
Coombs (1927-2001) and the Mr. Dressup TV Show. Her two
puppets Casey and Finnegan were an integral part of the
show. Judith and Ernie Coombs often adlibbed much of the
show. Casey was androgynous so that both boys and girls
could consider him one of them. Judith also wrote
numerous books for the publisher Thomas Nelson in the
series Young Canada Reads. In the 1970's she
served on the 1st National Action Committee on the
Status of Women. In 1989 she retired to Hornby Island in
British Columbia taking her beloved puppets with her.
Mr. Dressup explained to his TV fans that Finnegan and
Casey were now in Kindergarten to explain that they were
no longer part of the show. In 2001 she inducted
into the Order of Canada honouring both her work for
children and as an activist. In 2001 she was presented
with the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal. That same
year she participated in a documentary film, Tales from
the Tickle Trunk: the Life and Times of Ernie Coombs and
a second documentary honouring Mr. Dressup, The Friendly
Giant and other children's shows. In 2012 she
received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal.
While Casey and Finnegan live with Judith for the moment
they will eventually be housed in the CBC Museum. Judith
brings out the puppets for special visitors and once in
awhile for a special appearance a local senior events.
(2020) |
Ray/Rae Levinsky |
SEE -
Ray / Rae Lewis |
Ray/Rae Lewis
Performer, Poet,
Scriptwriter, & Editor |
née Rae
Levinsky. Born March 14, 1893, Toronto, Ontario. Died
July 5, 1954. By 1907 she was an established vaudeville
performer as part of the Palmer and Lewis Duo who sang
and dances. In the mid 1910's she had produced 2 volumes
of poetry. By 1914 she was performing and writing
dramatic plays. It was that same year she was invited to
be the wardrobe consultant for Connesstill Company in
Toronto, Ontario. The following year she had moved to
Long Island, New York, U.S.A. probably working as a
script writer. From there it was off to Los Angeles,
California where in 1917 one of her scripts became a
film. In 1916 she was back in Toronto editing the
Canadian Moving Picture Digest, Canada's 1st film trade
journal. She often hid behind male sounding pen names
Ray L. Levinsky, Mrs. Joshua Smith, to promote her own
opinions. During a stay in England in 1919-1920 she met
Joshua Smith a pointer.
(2020) |
Mary Livingstone |
Born June 23, 1904, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Died June 30, 1983, Hollywood, California, U.S.A. .Her
birth name was Sadie Marks/Marx. Sadie was
raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and as a teen she first met her
future husband Benny Kubelsky, better known as the
famous comedian Jack Benny (1894-1974) at a Passover
Seder at her family's home in 1922. They met again in
1926 when she worked at The May Company Department store in Los Angeles. The couple were married 1927 and
the couple adopted a daughter, Joan. Taking the stage
name of Mary Livingstone she played as Jack wisecracking
partner for 21 years on his radio show and later on his
TV. show. The character proved to be so popular with
fans that she took the name Mary Livingstone legally.
She was awarded a star on the walk of fame for her role
but the name was misspelled with no “e’ at the end. Mary
was somewhat insecure and developed severe stage fright
appearing less and less and finally retiring from
performing in 1958.
Sources: The Vancouver Hall of Fame online :
Find-a-Grave. online; IMDB (accessed November 2012)
(2020) |
Gweneth Lloyd
Choreographer |
Born
September 15, 1901, Eccles, England. Died January 1,
1993, Kelowna, British Columbia. Gweneth originally
trained in England as a physical education teacher
before she became interested in dance. She opened a
dance studio in Leeds, England in 1927. In 1938 she
immigrated to Canada with one of her students , Betty
Farrally. The two women settled in Winnipeg where in
1939 they opened the Winnipeg Ballet Club. In 1941 it
was renamed Winnipeg Ballet and by 1953 they had
received royal patronage and became the Royal Winnipeg
Ballet. Gweneth would produce 35 original ballets before
she retired from the R W B in 1955. Unfortunately in 1954
a fire destroyed the building housing the Ballet and
sets, costumes and archives were all destroyed including
Gwyneth’s works. In 1950 she relocated to Toronto for a
short time and finally settled in Kelowna, British
Columbia with Betty Farrally. From 1946 through 1965 she
directed the Banff School of Fine Arts (Banff Centre)
summer school of Dance. In 1962 she and Betty founded
the Canadian School of Ballet branch in Kelowna. In 1968
she was inducted into the Order of Canada followed in
1970 with the Manitoba Centennial Medal. In 1984 she
received the Dance in Canada Award. In 1992 she was
presented with the Governor’s General Performing Arts
Award.
Sources: Memorable Manitobans Online (Accessed April
2014) ; The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (Accessed April
2014). Book: The Royal Winnipeg Ballet: the first forty
years (1979). (2020) |
Mary MacLane |
SEE -
Writers - Authors |
Stella Meghie
Black Director
|
Born
Toronto, Ontario. Stella began her working career as a
Public relations agent for the fashion industry in New
York City. Stella left this field to pursue her dream
and she studied for her degree in screenwriting. She
wrote, directed and produced her 1st film, Jean of the
Jones in 2016 and earned two Canadian Screen Awards for
her work. Her fourth film, Photograph was released
on Valentine's Day 2020.
(2020) |
Dorothea Mitchell
Amateur Filmmaker,
Screenwriter, & Author
|
Born
June 1, 1877, England. Died February 2, 1976, Victoria,
British Columbia. Dorothea was brought up in India where
her British father was a railway engineer. Family
fortuned wained and Dorothea and her sister worked as
governesses in 1897 after their father's death. Soon
Dorothea left England for Canada arriving in 1904.
Living at first in Toronto and Montreal she took jo as a
companion in Silver Mountain, near Fort William/Port
Arthur (now Thunder Bay) in Northern Ontario. Here she
became a post master and railway stationmaster. In 1911
she petitioned the Ontario Provincial government for
some crown land and she became the 1st single woman in
Ontario to be granted a homestead. She ran a sawmill and
lumber company on her newly acquired land. She earned
respect of the lumber barons for her fairness and
treatment of immigrants and became known as 'Lady
Lumberjack'. She retired to Port Arthur (now Thunder
Bay) in 1921. It was at this time that she began her
connections to theater setting up the Port Arthur
Amateur Cinema Society. She wrote a script based on her
lumbering career: A Race for Ties which went on to
become the 1st feature length amateur film in Canada
premiering May 31, 1929 in Port Arthur. In 1930 her
script entitled Fatal Flower, a crime story was produced
by the Port Arthur Amateur Film Society. It was one of
the last silent films to be made. Sadly the Great
Depression interrupted the finishing of the film. During
World War ll she worked with the Canadian Red Cross but
at 63 she was deemed to old to go oversees which was her
initial desire. She relocated to British Columbia for a
better health and she became involved in the Victoria
Branch of the Canadian Author's Association where she
served as secretary for the 1960's. While in Victoria
she published several short stories. In 1967 she
published Lady Lumberjack when she was 90 years old.
(2020) |
Bessie 'Betty' Mitchell
4271 |
Born May 4, 1896, Sandusky,
Ohio, U.S.A. Died September 10, 1976, Calgary Alberta.
Betty came to Alberta with her family when she was a
teenager. After completing high school by
correspondence she went on to normal school (teacher's
college) in Calgary and taught in rural schools in the
province. She went on to study botany at the
University of Alberta where she had her first role in a
university drama production. After graduation she
taught school in Calgary for a decade. While teaching
she helped set up a number of theatre groups such as The
Green Room Club in 1930, the Side Door Playhouse in
1932, and Workshop 14 in 1944. Workshop 14 morphed
into Theatre Calgary, a professional theatre group in
1966. From 1936 to 1961 she was director of drama at
Western Canada High School and also a director at the
Studio Theatre of the University of Alberta. From
1955-1960 she was a judge with the Dominion Drama
Festival. Recommended for the Rockefeller Foundation
Fellowship and she earned a Master's Degree in theatre
at the State University of Iowa in the U.S.A. A National
Research Fellowship from the Cleveland Play House,
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. provided her opportunity to
visit and study theatre groups in the United States.
The Betty Mitchell Awards were established in 1998 to
recognize the best in Calgary Theatre. The Allied
Arts Centre , Calgary, and the Betty Mitchell Theatre at
the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium are named in her
honour. Source: A
Grand dame of theatre by Charles Enman, Globe and
Mail April 4, 2005. (2023) |
Nancy
Helena Columbia Palmer
Nancy Columbia |
Born January 16, 1893, Chicago,
Illinois. Died 1959, Santa Monica, California,
U.S.A. Nancy was born just prior to the World's
Columbian Exhibition better remembered as Chicago
World's Fair to an unwed Labrador Inuit mother. She took
the name Palmer from Mrs. Bertha Palmer, president of
the
World's Fair Board of Lady Managers who took an interest
in the child and was her godmother. Nancy would return
with her grandparents to Labrador when she was a
toddler. By 1892 she was touring the world as part
of ethnographic shows.
Nancy would travail with her family and other Inuit as
they visited Africa, Europe, and North America.
The participants in the show were paid
a small sum for their time traveling and performing. The
also received a Winchester rifle and 200 cartridges for
each man, Women received a small financial payment and
30 yards of calico and four woolen blankets. She and
other family members appeared in silent films playing
roles of indigenous peoples. She wrote, directed, and
stared in the silent film, Way of the Eskimo, which
debuted July 17, 1911, making her the 1st Inuit
screenwriter in the world. The filming was done on the
shores of Lake Michigan and The film was even screened
in Australia and New Zealand. Nancy was the main star of
her film billed as Columbia Enutseak. Sadly this movie
and another Lost in the Artic were made on a single reel
and the reels have been lost. Only promotional material
survives as proof of her work. In total Nancy and her
family members would appear in 19 movies. Her last
movie appearance seems to have been in the Last of the
Mohicans made in 1920. She lived the rest of her life in
quiet animosity. (2020) |
Pat
Muriel Welsh
Patterson
Broadcaster, Children's
Entertainer, & Composer |
Born
December 4, 1921, Victoria, British Columbia. Died
December 15, 2005.She studied
violin, voice and piano in Victoria. In 1946 she
relocated to Toronto, Ontario where she became a radio
program writer for two years and then the host for Pat’s
Music Room from 1948 through 1964. And for the
Children’s show Musical Playroom in 1951. With the
introduction of children’s television programs Pat
became involved in the 1950’s with CBC children’s
programs. From 1962 through 1969 she hosted and then
co-hosted with Helen Hutcheson for CBC radio’s
Trans-Canada Matinee. In 1972 she composed the music and
co-wrote the lyrics for the theme of TV Ontario's The
Polka Dot Door which was in use 1971 to 1993. She also
wrote for the TV program Fred Penner’s Place, a TV
musical program for pre-school children. She
collaborated with Dodi Robb (1920-2012) to write several
children’s works and composing music for CBC Radio. She
has also written several documentary films and radio
plays and published three children’s books. In 1986 she
received the John Drainie Award for distinguished
broadcasting.
(2020) |
Belle Shenkman
Arts Promoter &
Fund Raiser |
née Gubler. Born June 24, 1928, Kiev, Ukraine. Died
March 11, London, England. When she was just three month
old Bell's parents immigrated to Canada. The family
settled in Ottawa, Ontario. At twenty she married Harold
Shenkman and the couple had two children before their
divorce. In the 1950's Belle was vice Chair and then
chairman of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra Committee. In
1962 belle relocated to London, England. During the 1967
Canada Centennial celebrations Belle organized a Canada
Centennial Ball which funded a scholarship for Canadian
students in the United Kingdom. In London she also
promoted Canadian Inuit artists, an exhibition of modern
Canadian tapestries. In 1979 she was inducted into the
Order of Canada. That Same year she married Desmond
Smith In 1982 she helped the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
raise funds that enabled them to perform in London,
England. She gained a reputation for her tirelessly
organization galas to benefit the arts.
(2020) |
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