Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Pinsent, Gordon
Acclaimed actor/playwright born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador , in 1930.
Now a popular icon of Canadian television and film, he began his career with John Hirsch 's Theatre 77 (which went on to become one of the companies involved in the Manitoba Theatre Centre ) before going on to perform in Toronto with the Straw Hat Players, New Play Society , and Crest Theatre (1960-69), and at the Stratford Festival .
Since his debut in the theatre,he has played a wide variety of characters, including those he created for himself in his works John and the Missus ( Neptune Theatre , 1976), and The Rowdyman ( Charlottetown Festival , 1976).
His other plays include: Easy Down Easy ( Gryphon Theatre , 1987), Brass Rubbings ( Factory Theatre , 1989).
Gordon Pinsent has performed extensively in Canadian television. He played the title role in the CBC series, Quentin Durgens, M.P. (1966-69), and wrote and acted in A Gift to Last. He also played the ghost of Sgt Fraser, the father of a hero mountie played by Paul Gross in the popular series, Due South. His sensitive portrait of Canadian poet, Al Purdy, Yours, Al, was aired by the CBC in 2006.
He has acted extensively in Canadian film, including his own film, The Rowdyman (1972), in which he played a charming but irresponsible Newfoundlander, and which was adapted as a novel and a musical by the same name, with music by Cliff Jones. He directed and starred in his film John and the Missus (1987), based on his 1974 novel. He has acted in Allan King's Who Has Seen the Wind? (1975), based on the novel by W.O. Mitchell ; Silence of the North (1981); Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper (1980), in which he played Canadian diplomat Ken Taylor; The Shipping News, as a Newfie newspaper editor; and Saint Ralph as a private school's stern headmaster. In 2007 he played the role of a retired professor losing his wife to Alzheimer's in Sarah Polley's film, Away from Her, based on a short story by Alice Munro.
His performances are marked by an easy manner and geniality.
In 1978 he was inducted into the Order of Canada; in 1999 he was elevated to Companion of the Order (the highest level). He has won many other awards including an ACTRA Award for A Gift to Last (1979), a Genie for Best Actor for John and the Missus (1987); and the Dora Mavor Moore Award for his performance in Anne of Green Gables (1991). He has received honorary doctorates from Queen's University in 1988, Memorial University, and the University of Prince Edward Island.
His autobiography, entitled By the Way, was published in 1992. He was married to actor Charmion King for 44 years until her death in 2007, and has three children, a daughter and son by his first marriage, and a daughter, Leah, who is also an actor, with his second wife.
Gaetan Charlesbois and Anne Nothof
Last updated 2010-04-28
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