Inductee Profile
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At a glance
Born: July 12, 1930Where: Grand Falls, NL Big Break:
Pinsent began acting on stage in the 1940s at the age of 17. He soon took on roles in radio drama on the CBC, 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 Regiment.
Interesting Note:Filmography
Television series:
* 1962-1964: Scarlett Hill
* 1963-1965: The Forest Rangers
* 1966-1969: Quentin Durgens, M.P.
* 1969: Adventures in Rainbow Country
* 1974: The Play's The Thing
* 1978-1979: A Gift to Last
* 1989: Babar
* 1991-2006: The Red Green Show
* 1993 Street Legal
* 1994-1999: Due South
* 1996: Wind at My Back
* 1998: Made in Canada
* 1998-2000: Power Play
* 2009: Corner Gas
* 2010: Republic of Doyle (as Maurice Becker)
* 2010: Babar and the Adventures of Badou
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
* 2002: The New Beachcombers
* 2003: Fallen Angel (TV movie)
* 2003: Hemingway vs Callaghan
* 2004: H20: The Last Prime Minister
* 2006: Yours, Al
* 2010: The Pillars of the Earth
Movies:
* 1964: Lydia
* 1968: The Thomas Crown Affair
* 1969: Colossus: The Forbin Project
* 1972: Blacula
* 1972: Chandler
* 1972: The Rowdyman
* 1974: The Heatwave Lasted Four Days
* 1974: Newman's Law
* 1974: Only God Knows
* 1976: Blackwood (narrator)
* 1977: Who Has Seen the Wind
* 1980: Klondike Fever
* 1981: Silence of the North
* 1987: John and the Missus
* 1989: Babar: The Movie (voice)
* 1990: Blood Clan
* 1997: Pale Saints
* 1997: Pippi Longstocking (voice)
* 1999: The Old Man and the Sea (voice)
* 2001: The Shipping News
* 2002: A Promise
* 2003: Nothing
* 2003: Snow on the Skeleton Key
* 2004: The Good Shepherd
* 2004: Saint Ralph
* 2006: Away from Her
* 2006: The Sparky Book (voice)
Pinsent is a Companion of The Order of Canada and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada.
Pinsent received an LL.D from the University of Prince Edward Island in 1975, and Honorary doctorates from Queen's University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Lakehead University (2008).
It was on July 12, 2005, in his hometown of Grand Falls-Windsor, and in honor of his 75th birthday, that the Arts & Culture Centre was renamed The Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts.
On September 25, 2008 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.
GORDON PINSENT
2007 INDUCTEE
View all inductees from 2007 »A forty-year veteran of theatre, film, television and radio as an actor, playwright, author and director, Gordon Pinsent is well known to audiences across Canada and the United States. From his many starring roles in a wide variety of television programs and feature films, we remember the recognizable characters Pinsent has created in popular Canadian culture: the title role of Quentin Durgens MP, the stuffed-shirt Member of Parliament; Will Cole in The Rowdyman, a sort of Tom Jones let loose in Newfoundland; John in John and the Missus; Edgar Sturgess, the scarlet-coated militiaman in the TV series, A Gift to Last, written by Pinsent; Swiftwater, the Cardshark in Klondike Fever; Sgt. Fraser Senior in Due South; and his GEMINI Award winning performance as Duff in Powerplay.
Clearly, Pinsent successfully balances acting and writing. His novels, The Rowdyman and John and the Missus were both turned into feature films, with Pinsent directing the latter. The Rowdyman was made into a musical and presented at the Charlottetown Festival in 1976. He has co-starred with his wife, Charmion King, in two of his plays - Easy Down Easy and Brass Rubbings, and in Love Letters. Pinsent wrote and starred in the CBC Movie of the Week, Win Again, in which he won a GEMINI for his writing. His memoirs, By the Way, were published in 1994. Born in Newfoundland, Pinsent began his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, which led to roles at the Stratford Festival. This was followed by the role of Prospero in the The Tempest at the Vancouver Playhouse, and the leading role of Cyrano at the Stevenville Festival. He returned to the Stratford Festival to star in Trumpets and Drums.
In the U.S., Pinsent starred as the President of the United States in the cult movie: Colossus The Forbin Project, and appeared in such TV series and movies as It Takes A Thief, Silence of the North, Young Prosecutors, Banacek, and the feature film, The Thomas Crown Affair, among others. Gordon Pinsent has received two ACTRA Awards for his television work; three GENIE Awards for achievements in Canadian film; five GEMINI Awards, a DORA Award for the stage, as well as honourary doctorates at Queens, P.E.I. University and Memorial University, Newfoundland. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1979, and promoted to Companion within the Order in 1998. Pinsent also played the long running character of Hap Shaughnessey in the Red Green Show, now in its tenth season, a supporting lead in the feature film, The Shipping News and most recently, Fallen Angel for CBS and Saint Ralph for Alliance Atlantis. Most recently, Pinsent embarked on one of his most memorable projects to date. He wrote, directed and acted in the Movie of the Week Heyday (a period piece set during the end of World War II), in co-ordination with Triptych Media Inc./Pope Productions.
RELATED NEWS
It was an unlikely jam session: Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo and Travis Good of the Sadies were hashing out new tunes on guitar — with Canadian acting legend Gordon Pinsent joining with the lyrics."It wasn't something I expected to ever happen," said Pinsent.
Gordon Pinsent, who just turned 80, continues to land top roles: 'You don't retire in our business'
Question: What do you get when you take an international bestselling novel, a handful of England's best actors (plus a couple of Canada's), a slew of talented producers, and $40 million US?
Answer: The Pillars of the Earth, a stunning eight-part TV series co-produced by Canada and Germany, which premieres on CBC Tuesday. It first aired on Movie Central in the summer of 2010.
Veteran Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent is connecting with today’s youth. The 80-year-old star is reprising his role as the voice of the classic children’s book character, King Babar, in a new television series. Also, last month, he became a YouTube sensation when he read from Justin Bieber’s new memoir on This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Pinsent spoke to the Post about Babar, Bieber and being askedGordon Pinsent: Is this the famous Melissa?
