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- Producer
- Writer
- Director
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; by all indications, though, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Living Dead" films was born February 4, 1940 ,in New York City to Ann (Dvorsky) and Jorge Romero. His father was born in Spain and raised in Cuba, and his mother was Lithuanian. He grew up in New York until attending the renowned Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
After graduation he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and his friends formed Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly $10,000 apiece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time: Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black-and-white on a budget of just over $100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and his "Image" co-founder John A. Russo (along with what was then considered an excess of gore), enabled the film to earn back far more than what it cost; it became a cult classic by the early 1970s and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key but less successful, including The Affair (1971), The Crazies (1973), Season of the Witch (1972) (where he met future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as "Night of the Living Dead" or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues--usually horror-related--at the microscopic level. Like almost all of his films, they were shot in, or around, Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh.
In 1978 he returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of "Night of the Living Dead"--Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original and allowed the film to enter into public domain, with the result that Romero and his original investors were not entitled to any profits from the film's video releases. Shot in the Monroeville (PA) Mall during late-night hours, the film told the tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own, and a biker gang's, greed. Made on a budget of just $1.5 million, the film earned over $40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2003. It also marked Romero's first work with brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. The success of "Dawn of the Dead" led to bigger budgets and better casts for the filmmaker. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first--but not the last--time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and big-studio distribution, it was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero.
The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely-released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Derided by critics, it did not take in much at the box office, either. His latest two efforts were The Dark Half (1993) (another Stephen King adaptation) and Bruiser (2000). Even the Romero-penned/Tom Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990), was a box-office failure. Pigeon-holed solely as a horror director and with his latest films no longer achieving the success of his earlier "Dead" films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. In 2005, 19 years after "Day of the Dead", with major-studio distribution he returned to his most famous series and horror sub-genre it created with Land of the Dead (2005), a further exploration of the destruction of modern society by the undead, that received generally positive reviews. He directed two more "Dead" films, Diary of the Dead (2007) and Survival of the Dead (2009).
George died on July 16, 2017, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was 77.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Alberta Watson, well known to television audiences for her Gemini award-nominated role as Madeline on La Femme Nikita (1997), enjoys a long and diverse career in television and film.
A native of Toronto, Watson began performing with a local theater group as a teenager. She received a Genie nomination for Best Supporting Actress for one of her first movie roles, Mitzi in George Kaczender's In Praise of Older Women (1978). Just a year later, she took home the Best Actress award at the Yorkton Film Festival for the short film "Exposure". Watson then headed to the United States, where she studied with Gene Lasko, made several films (including Michael Mann's stylish horror classic The Keep (1983), with Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen and Gabriel Byrne) and the TV movie Women of Valor (1986), with Susan Sarandon.
After returning to the East Coast, Watson took a chance on a low-budget independent film with then-novice director David O. Russell: the black comedy Spanking the Monkey (1994), which received the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and multiple Independent Spirit Awards. Watson won rave critical acclaim for her memorable performance as a depressed, deeply-disturbed mother who has an incestuous relationship with her son, played by Jeremy Davies.
The next year Watson went on to play the far more stable mother to a teenage computer genius in the box-office smash Hackers (1995), along with Angelina Jolie, and then the wife of mobster John Gotti in the Emmy-nominated Gotti (1996). She returned to Toronto and continued to seek out interesting roles in independent film, which led her to star in Shoemaker (1996), directed by Colleen Murphy. While the film was not widely released in the United States, Watson's performance did not go unnoticed -she received a second Genie nomination, this time in the Lead Actress category.
The following year she won critical praise for another independent film, Atom Egoyan's haunting The Sweet Hereafter (1997), in which she delivered a nuanced performance of an adulterous wife and mourning mother. For this film, she shared the award for Best Acting by an Ensemble (National Board of Review) with Ian Holm, Sarah Polley and the other members of an exceptional cast. The film received the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to earn both Academy Award and Genie nominations.
Meanwhile, Watson had begun filming the TV series La Femme Nikita (1997), which ran for four years, where she played a character that has become iconic, the tough anti-terrorist strategist Madeline. The cult series earned her a 1998 Gemini nomination and marked the start of an ever-growing fan base, with its main online presence at an unofficial site dedicated to her.
Although she has appeared in numerous major commercial releases and hit television shows, during the last ten years Watson has preferred independent (and especially Canadian) productions.
She added another prize-winning movie to her credits with the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, where she played Hedwig's twisted mom. The film won the Audience Award and Best Director Award at Sundance.
Watson starred later in The Wild Dogs (2002) with director Thom Fitzgerald, which took home top honors at the Atlantic Film Festival. She also appeared as Dr. Fischer in Sarah Polley's feature film directorial debut, the prize-winning Away from Her (2006), with Julie Christie. In addition, she starred opposite Colm Meaney in the feature film A Lobster Tale (2006), a quiet, low-key story which also won several awards.
Meanwhile, in television, Watson scored a second Gemini Award nomination for her performance in After the Harvest (2001), co-starring Sam Shepard. The second installment of Chasing Cain II: Face (2002), garnered her another Gemini nomination as Best Actress in a Leading Role (2003). After that, Watson filmed Choice: The Henry Morgentaler Story (2005), the story of controversial Canadian physician Dr. Henry Morgentaler, for which she was nominated for yet another Gemini Award in 2005.
While she had recurring roles in numerous television shows (The Newsroom (1996), Show Me Yours (2004), At the Hotel (2006), Angela's Eyes (2006)), she reached again more international TV audiences when she starred in the fourth season (2004-2005) of the hit Fox series 24 (2001), opposite Kiefer Sutherland and William Devane, playing the role of Erin Driscoll, the head of a counter-terrorist unit. She had the chance to play a different boss-woman (a Minister, and recovering alcoholic) when she joined the cast of other popular prime-time drama, CBC's The Border (2008), as a recurring guest star.
Most recently Watson was cast as the voice of 350-pound Mary Rutherford in the animated film The Spine (2009) (produced and directed by Academy Award-winning animator Chris Landreth), which took home the Best Film Award at the 2009 Melbourne International Animation Festival. In 2008, Alberta Watson received a Career Achievement Award from the Boston-based Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film.
Watson died on March 21, 2015 due to complications from cancer at Kensington Hospice in Toronto; she was 60 years old.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Wayne Robson was born on 29 April 1946 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was an actor, known for Cube (1997), Wrong Turn (2003) and The Red Green Show (1991). He was married to Lynn Woodman. He died on 4 April 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Although she was presented in 1969 the first Film Star of Tomorrow by The Motion Picture Exhibitors of Canada, the status of Sharon Acker as a star never materialized. Not that she was inactive, quite the opposite, but she worked almost only for TV and appeared only in a few undistinguished movies. She will, nevertheless, remain remembered for her role as Lee Marvin's ex-wife in John Boorman's classic Point Blank (1967). The victim of Marvin's rough manners, Acker as Lynne left a deep impact on male brains. Born in 1935, the Canadian-born actress started her film career in England when the play she was in, "Lucky Jim", Kingsley Amis' classic, was made into a movie. But she was not seen in many movies, except during the sixties, either in Canada or in the U.S. Meanwhile, she was very active on TV, first in Canada from the age of 19, then in the U.S. in made-for-TV movies or series like Star Trek (1966), Mission: Impossible (1966), Gunsmoke (1955), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969), Barnaby Jones (1973), etc. She was a regular in the series The Bold Ones: The Senator (1970) for one year and played "Della Street" in the short-lived The New Perry Mason (1973). A talented actress seen too little in movie theaters.- Actor
- Additional Crew
When John Neville was in his early sixties, Terry Gilliam cast him in the title role of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). Although the film was a financial failure, Neville's starring role in this major production, as well as his fine performance, led to an explosion in his career. He afterward received numerous roles in feature films and television. A new generation came to know him from his recurring role in the hit television series The X-Files (1993) and later feature film The X Files (1998), in which he played a mysterious character known only as "The Well-Manicured Man".
He emigrated to Canada in 1972, and took up Canadian citizenship. He was artistic director of the Stratford Festival (Ontario, Canada) from 1984 to 1989.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
The award-winning Canadian-American character actor Maury Chaykin was born on July 27, 1949 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Professor Irving J. Chaykin and his wife Clarice. Irving Chaykin, an American citizen, taught accountancy at the City College of New York. The former Clarice Bloomfield, his mother, was born in Winnipeg, raised in Montreal, and educated at the Beth Israel Hospital nursing school in Newark, New Jersey. Because of his parents, Maury held dual Canadian and American citizenship.
He was raised in New York City but moved to Toronto after graduating from the State University of New York, Buffalo, where he studied drama. His uncle, George Bloomfield, made his name in Canada as a movie and television writer, director and producer. Maury would later star in two theatrical movies, one TV movie and 14 TV episodes directed by his uncle.
Maury made his debut in the 1975 Canadian film Me (1975). In his 35-year-long career, he appeared in over 150 parts in films and TV series shot in Canada and the U.S. He was best known for his eccentric role as Kevin Costner's commanding officer in the Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves (1990), three films of Atom Egoyan, including The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and his role as Nero Wolfe on cable TV. (His uncle George Bloomfield directed some of the Nero Wolfe episodes.)
He won a Genie Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Oscar, as Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a has-been rock star in Whale Music (1994) and two Gemini Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy. Recently, he had a semi-recurring role as a movie producer based on Harvey Weinstein in the cable-TV series Entourage (2004) and a regular role on the Canadian TV series Less Than Kind (2008).
Chaykin was suffering from kidney disease in the last years of his life. He died on his 61st birthday, July 27, 2010, at Toronto General Hospital, surrounded by members of his family. He was married to the Canadian actress Susannah Hoffmann, by whom he had a daughter, Rose.- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Colicos was born on 10 December 1928 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for The Changeling (1980), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) and Battlestar Galactica (1978). He was married to Mona McHenry. He died on 6 March 2000 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Joe Flaherty was born on 21 June 1941 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Happy Gilmore (1996), Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Detroit Rock City (1999). He was married to Judith Ann Dagley. He died on 1 April 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Shirley Douglas was born on 2 April 1934 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada. She was an actress, known for Dead Ringers (1988), Wind at My Back (1996) and Lolita (1962). She was married to Donald Sutherland and Timothy Emil Alan Sick. She died on 5 April 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Gordon Edward Pinsent was born on July 12, 1930 in Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to Florence (Cooper) and Stephen Arthur Pinsent. Gordon was known as "Porky" as a child, and dreamed of performing as early as he can remember. He served with the Royal Canadian Regiment from 1948-51. Gordon received an L.L.D. from the University P.E.I. in 1975, an Honorary doctorate from Queen's University in 1988, as well as from the Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Prince Edward Island.
Gordon left Newfoundland at the age of 17 and began his career on stage. His first theatrical experiences were in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While there, he was involved in the first live radio drama out of Winnipeg. He eventually moved east, working in Toronto and Stratford, Ontario. He has since won numerous credits and awards, and is one of Canada's most well-respected artists.
In addition to acting, he directs and produces, and has written a number of novels and screenplays, as well as plays for the stage, including 'Corner Green' for the Newfoundland amateur drama festival. The play was staged in St. John's, Newfoundland in April of 1997, and was was based upon life his hometown of Grand Falls, Newfoundland.
He is a member of the Honorary Advisory Board for the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Orchestra, and is very active in various charities. His humorous and poignant autobiography, "By the Way", was published.
His wife until her death was actress Charmion King, whom he met during his early theater days. He has a daughter, actress Leah Pinsent, from that union, as well as a son and daughter from an earlier marriage (Barry and Beverly Kennedy). He has two brothers, Harry and Haig, and three sisters: Nita, Hazel, and Lil, who passed away in 1998.- Denis Akiyama was born on 28 May 1952 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Pixels (2015), Repo Men (2010) and Johnny Mnemonic (1995). He was married to Danielle O'Connor Akiyama. He died on 28 June 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Aron Tager was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1934, where he went to school and became an artist and sculptor. He moved to Canada, where he appeared in various Canadian theatre productions. For a quarter century he took a hiatus from acting in favor of art, sculpting and poetry. In 1991, he and his wife, Ann Page, began film and theatre work. He was later known as Aron Tager. He first appeared in Requiem for a Handsome Bastard (1992), and in several episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990) which lasted until 1994, when he moved on to such Canadian feature films as Canvas (1992), Blind Faith (1998), Warriors (1994), Fancy Dancing (2002), You Kill Me (2007), Sweet Killing (1993), Serendipity (2001), and as the villainous Lars Lujak in Protection (2001). He also appeared in Canadian television series The Busy World of Richard Scarry (1993), Silver Surfer (1998), Blazing Dragons (1996), The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police (1997), Stickin' Around (1996), Blaster's Universe (1999), Donkey Kong Country (1997), A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001), Billable Hours (2006), My 90-Year-Old Roommate (2016), You Got Trumped: The First 100 Days (2016), and Jane and the Dragon (2005), and feature films Murder at 1600 (1997) and Trilogy of Terror II (1996).- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
A man who has many irons in the entertainment fire, hirsutely handsome Canadian actor, vocalist and jazz musician Don Francks (also known as "Iron Buffalo") was born Donald Harvey Francks on February 28, 1932, in Vancouver, British Columbia. One can, with confidence, add drummer, poet, motorcyclist, author and peace activist to his many lists of accomplishments. He grew up quite adept at athletics (soccer, lacrosse and rugby) and performed in vaudeville and in summer stock shows before relocating to Toronto. On stage from age 11, he landed an early job singing on the radio, then moved into television in 1954. While acting in both variety shows and dramas, he was also a writer and penned several documentaries and public affairs specials in both Toronto and Montreal. On the nightclub scene, Don was featured as a jazz vocalist, a DJ, a trombonist in a country western band and a member of a barbershop quartet called "Model-T Four".
In the mid-1960s, he focused on small screen acting and racked up a number of rugged, adventurous guest-star turns on TV episodes of The Wild Wild West (1965), Mannix (1967), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and Mission: Impossible (1966). A promising lead that could have led to stardom in the NBC series, Jericho (1966), was cut short when the show was bowled over by its ABC competition -- Batman (1966) -- and quickly canceled. He also appeared on- and off-Broadway, which included a stint with the musical, "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever".
Don contributed one strapping co-starring turn in a big-budgeted musical film during his less-than-a-decade stay in Hollywood. As the robust "Woody Mahoney", he dallied with the likes of beguiling Petula Clark, who played his lady love in Finian's Rainbow (1968). Their enchanting and sensuous duet on "That Old Devil Moon" is only one of the film's highlights. The film was not successful, however, in launching Don's movie career.
Afterwards, he moved his family to the Red Pheasant Indian Reserve, near North Battleford, Saskatchewan, and is an honorary Cree and named "Iron Buffalo". Since 1974, he has been living in Toronto with his wife, Lili Francks (Red Eagle), a member of the Plains Cree First Nation and also a dancer. Their children are voice artist and actress Cree Summer, best-known for her regular role on the TV sitcom, A Different World (1987), and actor/songwriter Rainbow Sun Francks.
In later years, Don gained some attention after being cast as "Walter", an arms expert, on the hit TV series, La Femme Nikita (1997). More recently, he traveled to Montreal for a part in the film, I'm Not There (2007), filmmaker Todd Haynes' meditative take on the famous singer-songwriter, Bob Dylan.
Don continued to perform in Canada in both films (He Never Died (2015) and The Second Time Around (2016)) and as a recurring presence of series TV (Hemlock Grove (2013) and Gangland Undercover (2015)) until the end. He passed away at age 84 on April 3, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Jackie Burroughs was born on Thursday 2 February 1939 in Lancashire, England, United Kingdom She acted in live theatre at Ontario's Stratford Festival before she made her film debut appearance in The Ernie Game (1967), then went on to act in several other very popular films which include The Grey Fox (1982) a performance which earned her a Genie Award, and The Dead Zone (1983). Jackie's television credits include the roles of Mrs. Amelia Evans in Anne of Green Gables (1985) and Hetty King in Avonlea (1990), a role which earned her three Gemini Awards. With several film and television performances under her belt, we should acknowledge her work in a A Winter Tan (1987) a film in which Jackie produced, directed, co-wrote, and starred in, for her work in the film she earned her third Genie Award, and we must not forget her spellbinding and emotional gripping performance in Lost and Delirious (2001). Jackie died in Toronto at home, as a result of gastric cancer, with close friends and family beside her on the afternoon of Wednesday 22 September 2010. She was survived by her daughter Zoe Yanovsky ( with her former husband the late Zalman Yanovsky (1944-2002) of " The Lovin' Spoonful " rock band) and her partner Greg Ball; two grandsons Max the Pearl and Henry Zalman; their babba Anna; her brother Gary, his wife Sarah and daughters Josie and Alex along with their children and her goddaughter Maggie.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Robert Cormier was born on June 14, 1989 in Toronto, Ontario to Lisa, lab technician and Rob Cormier, a small business owner. Robert is the first actor/artist to come out of his family. Prior to graduating film school in 2014, Robert graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Fire and Engineering Extension Services, and left a year prior to graduating from York University in Toronto for a World Economics degree to follow his dreams of becoming an actor.
He is known for his portrayal of Kit Jennings in the Netflix Original Series, Slasher Solstice (2019) and for his supporting roles as Shane in Firecracker, which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, Al in The Intersection (2019) and Otto in Pyrenees (2018)
He also has guest star appearances in Ransom (2019 an Designated Survivor (2016)- Actor
- Producer
Keith Knight was born on 20 January 1956 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor and producer, known for My Bloody Valentine (1981), Meatballs (1979) and The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland (1987). He was married to Jennifer McCullough. He died on 22 August 2007 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Ron White was born on 9 June 1953 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. He was an actor, known for Screamers (1995), Unforgiven (1992) and Defendor (2009). He was married to Lisa Robertson. He died on 4 April 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Actress
- Producer
- Stunts
Maria Rohm was one of the rare gems in the movie business - acting, and in particular theatre and movies was truly her life's work. She started acting on-stage at the famous Vienna Burgtheatre as a child actor from ages 4 through 13. Having performed in such classics as William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", Lev Tolstoy's autobiography "Und das Licht scheint in der Finsternis", Ferdinand Raimund's "Der Bauer als Millionär" etc. She worked with many of the great German stage actors such as Attila Hörbiger, Paula Wessely, Curd Jürgens, Annemarie Düringer, Heinrich Schweiger, Judith Holzmeister to name a few.
The young Ms. Rohm continued her theatrical work until she auditioned for Harry Alan Towers at age 18, it was then that her movie career took off. Towers, smitten with the blonde beauty cast her as a lead in a number of his feature films - Maria's extraordinary acting abilities took over from there. Both stunning and immensely talented she soon became highly sought after as a leading lady all across Europe. Her movie roles took her to more than a dozen countries where she shared the screen with such greats as Frankie Avalon, Klaus Kinski, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Jack Palance .
Extensive traveling eventually took it's toll, and having 30 on-camera movie credits to her name combined with 4 decades experience as an actress, Rohm made the decision to join Towers, her now husband as a producer. Her considerable experience in the industry revealed an astute business woman, and Mr. & Mrs. Towers became power a couple in the independent feature market. The duo worked happily together until Harry Tower's death July 31st, 2009.
The last 10 years or her life, Ms. Rohm although largely retired from the business, continued to consult periodically in the industry and share her expertise of the business that she fondly remembers as bringing her together with the love of her life.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Jan Rubes was born in Volyne, Czechoslovakia, to Ruzena (Kellnerová) and Jan Rubes. After graduating in 1945 from the Conservatory of Music in Prague, he went on to join the Prague Opera House as their youngest basso singer. He also performed at the Pilsen Opera House in leading roles in his early years. By 1948, he was chosen to represent Czechoslovakia at the International Music Festival held in Geneva and won first prize in his category. He emigrated to Canada on New Year's Eve 1948 with hopes of creating a greater musical career. As a member of the Canadian Opera Company, he achieved recognition for his roles, as Boris in "Boris Godunov", Schigolch in "Lulu" and as Mephisto in "Faust". He also served as the company's director of touring and program development. Branching out into radio and, eventually, TV, he wrote and hosted from 1975-83 TVOntario's "Guess What?" and acted in many TV dramas, later receiving the Earle Grey Award for lifetime work in Canadian television. Most moviegoers would recognize Jan Rubes in Witness (1985) (a Harrison Ford film), where he portrayed an Amish patriarch. He lived in Toronto with his wife, actor/director Susan Douglas Rubes. They had three children.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Samantha Gail Weinstein was born on March 20, 1995 in Toronto, Canada. An actor since the age of six, she was best known for her roles as Heather in MGM's remake of Carrie (2013), Audrey in Jesus Henry Christ (2011), and Josephine in the TIFF award winning short film, Big Girl (2005). Big Girl also won Samantha the 2006 ACTRA award for Best Performance-Female. Having won the award at age ten, she was the youngest recipient to date.
Other notable film roles include Brooke in the independent feature, Reign (2015), Violet in The Rocker (2008), and young Hagar in Margaret Atwood's The Stone Angel (2007). Some of Samantha's television credits include guest roles on Being Erica, Less Than Kind, Copper, and Darknet. Darknet marked Samantha's second project with Canadian director Vincenzo Natali, the first being the independent feature, Haunter (2013). She was also an avid voice performer and had voiced numerous animated characters during her career.
As lead singer/songwriter and lead guitarist, Samantha founded the Toronto based, garage rock band, Killer Virgins, in April of 2016. On May 14th, 2023 Samantha died from ovarian cancer after bravely fighting for two and a half years. She died at Toronto's Princess Margaret Hospital surrounded by her loved ones.- Actor
- Composer
Danny Wells was born on 7 April 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He was an actor and composer, known for Magnolia (1999), The Last Kiss (2006) and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989). He died on 28 November 2013 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey (March 25, 1966 - March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues and rock singer and guitarist who obtained large notoriety in America also. He lost his sight as a child due to a rare form of eye cancer. That never seemed to affect his music career as Jeff scored a top 5 hit on the U.S. with "Angel Eyes." He is also remembered for playing Cody, in "Road House". He passed away on March 2nd 2008. He was married to Christie Hall; they had 2 children.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Harvey Atkin was born on 18 December 1942 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Meatballs (1979), Barney's Version (2010) and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989). He was married to Celia Tessler. He died on 17 July 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.- Sean McCann appeared in more than 150 feature films, cable television movies, television series and miniseries. McCann always had a craving for diversity. He began his adult life with a singular devoutness uncommon to actors of his peer group, studying at St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario to prepare himself for the priesthood. A student of history, politics and poetry, he had a library of well over 800 volumes of literature and letters devoted to both the high arts and popular culture. McCann indulged his not-so-secret love of baseball as an Associate Scout for the Toronto Blue Jays, spoke often about baseball to professional organizations, and was named to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
McCann was seen with Sarah Polley and Diane Ladd (The Law of Enclosures (2000)), Nick Nolte (Affliction (1997)), and Chris Farley (Tommy Boy (1995)). He shared screen time with Miranda Richardson and Brenda Fricker (Swann (1996), for which McCann received Genie nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role), Nicolas Cage (Trapped in Paradise (1994)), Kevin Bacon (The Air Up There (1994)), and Peter Weller and Judy Davis (Naked Lunch (1991), which garnered the actor a National Film Critics Society Award). In 1999, he won a Gemini Award for Best Guest Actor in a Series for Power Play. In a testament to his chameleon acting talents, McCann was twice nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Pre-School Series, for his role as "Noah" in Noddy (1998).
McCann was singled out at the 1987 Gemini Awards with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his recurring role in Night Heat (1985). He starred in Robert Lepage's Genie Award-winning Possible Worlds (2000), and appeared in the Golden Globe-nominated Small Sacrifices (1989) (starring Farrah Fawcett). In 1988, he took on the role of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in The King Chronicle (1988); the miniseries was a 6-hour CBC and NFB co-production which aired to popular and critical acclaim. One year later, he won the Earl Grey Award for his performance.
McCann had a unique civic-mindedness as well. He ran against one of the most recognizable figures on the Canadian political landscape, Progressive Conservative Roy McMurtry, in Ontario's 1979 provincial election. His showing in that race, which he lost, confirmed that acting was his primary métier, but did nothing to dampen his conviction that politicians and political institutions are accountable to the masses. - Excellent, prolific, and versatile character actor Leslie Carlson was born on February 24, 1933 in Mitchell, South Dakota. Leslie earned both a BFA and an MA from the University of South Dakota, which he attended in the 1950s. Carlson began his acting career performing in several stage plays in both America and England. He immigrated to Canada in the late 1960s and began popping up in a slew of films and TV shows n the early 1970s. His most memorable movie roles were helpful police officer Graham in the chilling seasonal slasher shocker Black Christmas (1974), stuffy newspaper reporter Tom Sims in the creepy Deranged (1974), security expert Jim in Shoot (1976), bumbling drunk Bud in High-Ballin' (1978), and a pushy Christmas tree salesman in the delightful A Christmas Story (1983). Leslie appeared in four pictures for noted director David Cronenberg. He was splendidly slimy as sinister white collar corporate sleazeball Barry Convex in Videodrome (1983) (for which he was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role), The Dead Zone (1983), The Fly (1986), and the offbeat short Camera (2000). Among the many TV shows Carlson did guest spots on are Avonlea (1990), The X-Files (1993), Highlander (1992), Friday the 13th: The Series (1987), 21 Jump Street (1987), MacGyver (1985), The Twilight Zone (1985), and The New Avengers (1976). In addition to his film and TV credits, Leslie also acted throughout the decades in stage productions of such plays as "Homecoming," "Our Town," "A Lie of the Mind" (Carlson was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Award in 1989 for his sterling work in this particular play), "A Walk in the Woods," "Candida," "Glengarry Glen Ross," "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde," "Hamlet," "Joggers," "All My Sons," and "Death and the Maiden." Carlson died of cancer on May 3, 2014 at the age of 81.