Gordon Edward Pinsent,
CCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
,
FRSCThe Royal Society of Canada , now known as the RSC: Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
(born July 12, 1930) is a
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television, theatre and film actor.
Pinsent, the youngest of six children, was born in
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and LabradorGrand Falls-Windsor is a town of 13,558 people located in the central region of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is the largest in the central region, the fifth largest in the province, and is home to the annual Exploits Valley Salmon Festival...
, the son of Flossie (née Cooper) and Stephen Arthur Pinsent, a papermill worker and cobbler. His mother was "quiet spoken" and a religious Anglican; the family was descended from immigrants from
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
and
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was an "awkward child" who suffered from
ricketsRickets is a softening of bones in children potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries. The predominant cause is a vitamin D deficiency, but lack of adequate calcium in the diet may also lead to rickets...
.
Pinsent began acting on stage in the 1940s at the age of 17.
Gordon Edward Pinsent,
CCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
,
FRSCThe Royal Society of Canada , now known as the RSC: Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
(born July 12, 1930) is a
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
television, theatre and film actor.
Early life
Pinsent, the youngest of six children, was born in
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and LabradorGrand Falls-Windsor is a town of 13,558 people located in the central region of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is the largest in the central region, the fifth largest in the province, and is home to the annual Exploits Valley Salmon Festival...
, the son of Flossie (née Cooper) and Stephen Arthur Pinsent, a papermill worker and cobbler. His mother was "quiet spoken" and a religious Anglican; the family was descended from immigrants from
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
and
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was an "awkward child" who suffered from
ricketsRickets is a softening of bones in children potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries. The predominant cause is a vitamin D deficiency, but lack of adequate calcium in the diet may also lead to rickets...
.
Pinsent began acting on stage in the 1940s at the age of 17. He soon took on roles in radio drama on the
CBCThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation , a Canadian crown corporation, is the country’s national public radio and television broadcaster. In French, it is called la Société Radio-Canada...
, and later moved into television and film as well. In the early 1950s, he took a break from acting and joined the Canadian Army, serving for approximately four years as a Private in
The Royal Canadian RegimentThe Royal Canadian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Forces. The RCR is the senior infantry regiment in the Regular Force, but its 4th Battalion is ranked 11th in the order of precedence among Reserve Force infantry regiments...
.
Career
During the early years of his career he appeared in
Scarlett HillScarlett Hill was a Canadian soap opera first broadcast on the CBC in October 1962. This was the first daytime soap opera produced for Canadian television, although it was based upon an American radio drama created by Robert Lindsay....
but was best known for co-starring in the CBC children's series
The Forest RangersThe Forest Rangers was a Canadian television series that ran from 1963 to 1965. It was a co-production between CBC Television and ITC Entertainment and was Canada's first television show produced in colour...
in the early 1960s. Later television roles have included the series
Quentin Durgens, M.P.Quentin Durgens, M.P. was a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1965 to 1969.Set in Ottawa and the fictional community of Moose Falls, the series starred Gordon Pinsent as Quentin Durgens, an idealistic rookie Member of Parliament learning to deal with the...
,
A Gift to LastA Gift to Last was a CBC Television Christmas special broadcast in 1976, and a subsequent family drama series from 1978-1979.In both the special and series, Gordon Pinsent portrayed North West Mounted Police officer Sgt Edgar Sturgess....
(which he created),
The Red Green ShowThe Red Green Show was a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on PBS stations in the United States, from 1991 until the series finale April 7, 2006 on CBC, making it the longest running live-action scripted comedy in the...
,
Due SouthDue South is a Canadian television police comedy-drama from the 1990s. It was created by Paul Haggis and produced by Alliance Communications. The show first aired in 1994, and ran until 1999. It followed the adventures of fictional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Constable Benton Fraser and...
,
Wind at My BackWind at My Back is a television series which aired in Canada on CBC Television between 1996 and 2001. It was created and produced by Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea...
and
Power Play. The pilot episode of
A Gift to LastA Gift to Last was a CBC Television Christmas special broadcast in 1976, and a subsequent family drama series from 1978-1979.In both the special and series, Gordon Pinsent portrayed North West Mounted Police officer Sgt Edgar Sturgess....
was adapted for the stage by
Walter LearningWalter John Learning is a Canadian theatre director, actor, and founder of Theatre New Brunswick.-Biography:Walter Learning was born in 1938 in the small village of Quidi Vidi in Newfoundland. Learning attended Bishop Feild College in St. John's and the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton,...
and
Alden NowlanAlden Albert Nowlan was a Canadian poet, novelist, playwright, and journalist.Born in Stanley, Nova Scotia, Nowlan eventually settled in New Brunswick, where he earned his living primarily through journalism...
and has become a perennial Canadian Christmas favourite in regional theatres across the country.
Pinsent's movie roles have included
Lydia,
The RowdymanThe Rowdyman is a comedy with moralistic overtones, set in a small town in Newfoundland. It was written by and starred Gordon Pinsent, a native Newfoundlander...
,
Who Has Seen the Wind, "Blacula",
John and the MissusJohn and the Missus is a 1986 Canadian drama film based on a short story. The film was directed by Gordon Pinsent who wrote the screenplay and the short story.- Plot :...
,
The Shipping NewsThe Shipping News is a drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx.It stars Kevin Spacey as the protagonist Quoyle, Judi Dench as Agnes Hamm and Julianne Moore as Wavey Prowse...
and
Away from HerAway from Her is a 2006 Canadian film which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and also played in the Premier category at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
. He wrote the screenplays for
The Rowdyman and
John and the Missus. Perhaps his best known early film role was that of the President of the United States in the 1970 science fiction cult classic
Colossus: The Forbin ProjectColossus: The Forbin Project is a science fiction film based upon the novel Colossus, by Dennis Feltham Jones, about a massive, eponymous American defense computer becoming sentient and deciding to assume control of the world....
. He starred in a role called
Horse LatitudesHorse latitudes or Subtropical High are subtropic latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both north and south. This region, under a ridge of high pressure called the subtropical high, is an area which receives little precipitation and has variable winds mixed with calm.The term horse latitudes...
based upon
Donald CrowhurstDonald Crowhurst was a British businessman and amateur sailor who died while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race. Crowhurst had entered the race in hopes of winning a cash prize from the Sunday Times to aid his failing business...
, now featured in
Deep WaterDeep Water is a suspense novel by Patricia Highsmith, first published in 1957 by Harper & Row.-Synopsis:In the small town of Little Wesley, intellectual publisher Victor Van Allen decides to discourage his wife Melinda’s many lovers by hinting to them that he may have killed her previous beau,...
In 1979 he was made an officer of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
and was promoted to Companion in 1998. In 2006, he was made a Fellow of the
Royal Society of CanadaThe Royal Society of Canada , now known as the RSC: Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
. On March 6, 2007, it was announced that Pinsent would receive a star on
Canada's Walk of FameCanada's Walk of Fame, located in Toronto, Ontario, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians. It consists of a series of stars imbedded in 13 designated blocks worth of sidewalks in Toronto, located in front of Roy Thomson Hall, The Princess...
.
On March 8, 2007, it was publicly announced in
TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, that Pinsent had accepted the appointment of Honorary Chairman of the "Building for the Future". fundraising campaign for
The Royal Canadian Regiment MuseumThe Royal Canadian Regiment Museum is a military museum located at the military base Wolseley Barracks The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum is a military museum located at the military base Wolseley Barracks The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum is a military museum located at the military base Wolseley...
.
During the 2008 summer period of
CBC Radio OneCBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
, Pinsent presented a
radio documentaryA radio documentary or feature is a radio documentary programme devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures...
series called the
The Late ShowThe Late Show is a radio documentary program that first aired on CBC Radio One in the summer of 2008. Hosted by Gordon Pinsent, The Late Show presents documentaries about the lives of ordinary, but interesting, Canadians who have recently died....
about the lives of notable deceased Canadians whom the producers believed deserved attention.
Personal life
Pinsent married actress
Charmion KingCharmion King was one of Canada's leading actresses.Born in Toronto, Ontario, Charmion King was part of the country's burgeoning theatre and television scene in the decade of the 1950s...
in 1962, and they were married until her death on January 6, 2007 from
emphysemaEmphysema is a lung disease, characterized by an abnormal, permanent enlargement of air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles. The disease is coupled with the destruction of walls, but without obvious fibrosis...
; their daughter,
Leah PinsentLeah Pinsent is a Canadian television and film actress.Her first film role, The Bay Boy, won her a Genie nomination for Best Supporting Actress...
, is an actress. Pinsent also has two children from an earlier marriage.
His autobiography,
By the Way, was published in 1992. He has also written a number of stage plays and television screenplays. In 1997 he won the Earl Grey Award.
Health
On the evening of September 11, 2006, at the
Toronto International Film FestivalThe Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The festival begins the Thursday night after Labour Day and lasts for ten days. Between 300-400 films are screened at approximately 23 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, Pinsent collapsed while attending an after
partyA party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, and recreation. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing as well....
, celebrating the opening of
Away from HerAway from Her is a 2006 Canadian film which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and also played in the Premier category at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
, at
Harry Rosen'sHarry Rosen Inc. is a Canadian retail chain of 15 high-end men's clothing stores. A privately-owned company, Harry Rosen accounts for 40 percent of the Canadian market in high-end menswear...
on
Bloor StreetBloor Street is a major east-west commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto's east-end to the west-end and into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the DVP, Bloor Street becomes Danforth Avenue. The street,...
. He was conscious as he was transferred into an
ambulanceAn ambulance is a vehicle for transporting sick or injured people, to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury. The term ambulance is used to describe a vehicle used to bring medical care to patients outside of the hospital or to transport the patient to hospital for follow-up...
. He was diagnosed as
dehydratedDehydration is defined as excessive loss of body water. It is literally the removal of water from an object. In physiological terms, it entails a relative deficiency of water molecules in relation to other dissolved solutes...
and stayed in the hospital overnight before returning home to rest.
Awards
Pinsent received an LL.D from the
University of Prince Edward IslandThe University of Prince Edward Island is a university in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is the only university in the province.-History:...
in 1975, and Honorary doctorates from Queen's University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Lakehead University (2008).
On September 25th, at a “Newfoundland and Labrador Inspired Evening” at The Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto, the Company Theatre presented Mr. Pinsent with the inaugural Gordon Pinsent Award of Excellence.
Television series
- 1962-1964: Scarlett Hill
Scarlett Hill was a Canadian soap opera first broadcast on the CBC in October 1962. This was the first daytime soap opera produced for Canadian television, although it was based upon an American radio drama created by Robert Lindsay....
- 1963-1965: The Forest Rangers
The Forest Rangers was a Canadian television series that ran from 1963 to 1965. It was a co-production between CBC Television and ITC Entertainment and was Canada's first television show produced in colour...
- 1966-1969: Quentin Durgens, M.P.
Quentin Durgens, M.P. was a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1965 to 1969.Set in Ottawa and the fictional community of Moose Falls, the series starred Gordon Pinsent as Quentin Durgens, an idealistic rookie Member of Parliament learning to deal with the...
- 1969: Adventures in Rainbow Country
Adventures in Rainbow Country was a Canadian television series, which aired on CBC Television in 1970 and 1971.A half hour family drama, the show starred Lois Maxwell as Nancy Williams, a widow raising her children Billy and Hannah in rural Northern Ontario...
- 1974: The Play's The Thing
- 1978-1979: A Gift to Last
A Gift to Last was a CBC Television Christmas special broadcast in 1976, and a subsequent family drama series from 1978-1979.In both the special and series, Gordon Pinsent portrayed North West Mounted Police officer Sgt Edgar Sturgess....
- 1989: Babar
Babar is an animated television series produced in Canada by Nelvana Limited and The Clifford Ross Company. It premiered in 1989 on NTV, and HBO, subsequently was rerun on HBO Family and qubo . The series is based on Jean de Brunhoff's original Babar books, and was Nelvana's first international...
- 1991-2006: The Red Green Show
The Red Green Show was a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on PBS stations in the United States, from 1991 until the series finale April 7, 2006 on CBC, making it the longest running live-action scripted comedy in the...
- 1993 Street Legal
Street legal refers to a vehicle such as an automobile, motorcycle, or light truck that is equipped and licensed for use on public roads. This will require specific configurations of lighting, signal lights, and safety equipment that need not be included in a vehicle used only off-road that is...
- 1994-1997: Due South
Due South is a Canadian television police comedy-drama from the 1990s. It was created by Paul Haggis and produced by Alliance Communications. The show first aired in 1994, and ran until 1999. It followed the adventures of fictional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Constable Benton Fraser and...
- 1996: Wind at My Back
Wind at My Back is a television series which aired in Canada on CBC Television between 1996 and 2001. It was created and produced by Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea...
- 1998: Made In Canada
Made in Canada may also refer to Country of origin.Made in Canada is a Canadian television situation comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. In the United States, France, Australia and Latin America, the show was syndicated as The Industry...
- 1998-2000: Power Play
Television specials and movies
- 1969: Quarantined (TV movie)
- 1972: Incident on a Dark Street
- 1979: The Suicide's Wife
- 1981: Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper
- 1982: The Life and Times of Edwin Alonzo Boyd
- 1984: A Case of Libel
- 1988: Two Men
- 1993: Bonds of Love
- 1993: In the Eyes of the Stranger
- 1995: A Vow to Kill
- 1996: A Holiday for Love
- 1999: Win, Again!
- 2000: Jewel On The Hill (narrator)
- 2001: Blind Terror
Blind Terror is a suspense thriller starring Nastassja Kinski, Stewart Bick and Gordon Pinsent. Written by Douglas Soesbe, Directed by Giles Walker.-Synopsis:...
- 2002: The New Beachcombers
- 2003: Fallen Angel (TV movie)
- 2003: Hemingway vs Callaghan
- 2004: H20: The Last Prime Minister
H2O is a Canadian political drama two-part miniseries that first aired on the CBC Television October 31, 2004 starring Paul Gross and Leslie Hope with Belinda Stronach making a cameo appearance in the film. Written by Paul Gross and John Krizanc and directed by Charles Binamé, it was...
- 2006: Yours, Al
- 2009: Corner Gas
Corner Gas is a Canadian television sitcom series created by Brent Butt. Re-runs still air on CTV and The Comedy Network in Canada, WGN America in the United States, and SBS in Australia....
- 2010: The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the time known as The Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of...
Movies
- 1964: Lydia
- 1968: The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 movie by Norman Jewison starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Song with "Windmills of Your Mind"...
- 1969: Colossus: The Forbin Project
Colossus: The Forbin Project is a science fiction film based upon the novel Colossus, by Dennis Feltham Jones, about a massive, eponymous American defense computer becoming sentient and deciding to assume control of the world....
- 1972: Blacula
Blacula is a 1972 blaxploitation horror film produced for American International Pictures. It was directed by William Crain and stars William Marshall in the title role...
- 1972: Chandler
- 1972: The Rowdyman
The Rowdyman is a comedy with moralistic overtones, set in a small town in Newfoundland. It was written by and starred Gordon Pinsent, a native Newfoundlander...
- 1974: The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
- 1974: Newman's Law
- 1974: Only God Knows
- 1976: Blackwood
Blackwood is a 1976 Canadian short documentary film about Canadian artist David Blackwood, directed by Tony Ianzelo. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.-External links:*...
(narrator)
- 1977: Who Has Seen the Wind
- 1980: Klondike Fever
Klondike Fever is a 1980 Canadian adventure film, based on the writings of Jack London.- Plot :* Jack London's journey from San Francisco to the Canadian Klondike gold fields in 1898.- Awards :...
- 1981: Silence of the North
Silence of the North is a 1981 Canadian film starring Tom Skerritt, Gordon Pinsent, and Ellen Burstyn. The three main actors were nominated for Genie Awards, as was the director, Allan King....
- 1987: John and the Missus
John and the Missus is a 1986 Canadian drama film based on a short story. The film was directed by Gordon Pinsent who wrote the screenplay and the short story.- Plot :...
- 1989: Babar: The Movie
Babar: The Movie is an animated film made by Canada's Nelvana Limited and France's Ellipse Programme, and distributed by New Line Cinema. It is based on the characters of Jean de Brunhoff's eponymous children's books, and was a follow-up to the first season of the HBO TV series. Babar: The Movie...
(voice)
- 1990: Blood Clan
- 1997: Pale Saints
- 1997: Pippi Longstocking (voice)
- 1999: The Old Man and the Sea
The Old Man and the Sea is a 1999 paint-on-glass-animated short film directed by Aleksandr Petrov, based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film won many awards, including the Academy Award for Animated Short Film...
(voice)
- 2001: The Shipping News
The Shipping News is a drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx.It stars Kevin Spacey as the protagonist Quoyle, Judi Dench as Agnes Hamm and Julianne Moore as Wavey Prowse...
- 2002: A Promise
A Promise is a 1986 Japanese drama film directed by Yoshishige Yoshida. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Rentaro Mikuni - Ryosaku Morimoto* Sachiko Murase - Tatus, Ryosaku's wife...
- 2003: Nothing
Nothing is a Canadian film, directed by Vincenzo Natali. It stars David Hewlett and Andrew Miller.-Plot:The film tells the story of two good friends who live together, Andrew , an agoraphobic travel agent who works from his home, and Dave , a loser who works in an office where he is treated with...
- 2003: Snow on the Skeleton Key
- 2004: The Good Shepherd
- 2004: Saint Ralph
Saint Ralph is a 2004 Canadian drama film written and directed by Michael McGowan. Its central character is a teenaged boy who trains for the 1954 Boston Marathon in the hope a victory will be the miracle his mother needs to awaken from a coma....
- 2006: Away from Her
Away from Her is a 2006 Canadian film which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and also played in the Premier category at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
External links