Murray Westgate obit

‘They treated him like he was a hockey star’: Actor and Hockey Night in Canada fixture Murray Westgate dies at age 100

The ACTRA-winning and Genie-nominated actor died at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre on Monday.

He was not on the list. 

He was Canada’s original television pitchman; a fixture on Hockey Night in Canada for almost two decades where his “Happy Motoring” catch phrase made him as famous as the players on the ice.

Murray Westgate — an actor known for his friendly smile and reassuring baritone — died at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre on Monday. He celebrated his 100th birthday there in April.

From the black-and-white infancy of Canadian television in 1952, Westgate was a Saturday night presence in his shiny brimmed hat and black bow tie, talking about Esso products between periods. With his folksy charm, the Regina native was so trustworthy as a TV auto mechanic, viewers were convinced he was the real deal. They would stop him on the street to seek advice on maintaining their vehicles.

Westgate’s daughter, Linda Ayoung-Chee, said it was quite humorous because “pumping gas was the best you could get from him. Cars were not his forte.”

Although he was a successful, serious actor, Westgate played the Esso station attendant until 1968. He came out of retirement at 72 to reprise the role for commercial spots that ran during the 1991 Stanley Cup playoffs. In the early days he was even part of the hockey conversation, on set introducing the Hot Stove panel, chiming in on occasion.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said at the time of his 100th birthday, noting his fond memories of listening to the Maple Leafs on the radio while living on the Prairies.

“It was amazing to then grow up and be on the Hot Stove. They were great guys. I really enjoyed it.”

Hockey historian and broadcaster Brian McFarlane did appearances with Westgate at the Canadian National Exhibition and remembers the actor as a “genuine down-to-earth guy” at ease meeting the public.

“They treated him like he was a hockey star,” he said.

McFarlane is convinced Westgate could have been a much bigger luminary in the acting world if he’d moved to the United States.

“He could have easily gone to Hollywood and been a success. He was a very good actor,” McFarlane says. “He chose to live in Canada. I think he was happy with the CBC and the hockey connection.”

Westgate and his wife — actress Alice Hill, who died in 1983 — kept Toronto as their base and his acting roles included everything from the prime minister of Canada to the U.S. president to Sir Frederick Banting, one of the discoverers of insulin.

He won an ACTRA award as best supporting actor for playing a farmer in the CBC production Tyler in 1979. Then, in 1988, he was nominated for a Genie as best supporting actor in Blue City Slammers. Westgate, also a talented graphic artist, was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2002.

A serviceman in more ways than one, Westgate was a telegraphist in the Canadian navy during the Second World War despite battling seasickness.

“It would take about five days to cross the Atlantic. I was seasick as hell at the beginning,” he once explained. “You get over it and you can do your work, but you’re always feeling woozy.”

Modest and self-effacing, Westgate once said people in the navy understood his situation. But it was tough when he once took a passenger ship from England to Northern Ireland.

“I was sick as a dog, wearing a uniform sitting with ordinary citizens in a ship — that embarrassed me.”

He spent six years in the navy, three on watch for submarines while escorting supply ships to the front. Twice after he left a ship, it was torpedoed and sunk on its next trip.

Ayoung-Chee said it reached the point where the other sailors didn’t want her father to leave.

“He became the lucky charm,” she said.

In retirement, Westgate spent as much time as he could at his Georgian Bay cottage, most of which he built himself. There he indulged what became his great passion in life — sailing.

 

Actor

Scanners II: The New Order (1991)

Scanners II: The New Order

5.2

George Kellum

1991

 

Age-Old Friends (1989)

Age-Old Friends

7.3

TV Movie

Colonel

1989

 

Glory Enough for All (1988)

Glory Enough for All

8.6

TV Movie

1988

 

Blue City Slammers (1988)

Blue City Slammers

4.9

Bill

1988

 

Friday the 13th: The Series (1987)

Friday the 13th: The Series

7.6

TV Series

Monte

1987

1 episode

 

Ken Pogue, Winston Rekert, Dixie Seatle, and Jonathan Welsh in Adderly (1986)

Adderly

7.7

TV Series

1987

1 episode

 

Louis Del Grande in Seeing Things (1981)

Seeing Things

7.9

TV Series

Max

Max Perkins

1981–1987

23 episodes

 

The Edison Twins (1982)

The Edison Twins

7.0

TV Series

Noah Sedgwick

1985

1 episode

 

Heavenly Bodies (1984)

Heavenly Bodies

5.2

Coach Hudson

1984

 

Countdown to Looking Glass (1984)

Countdown to Looking Glass

6.9

TV Movie

The President of the U.S

1984

 

The Littlest Hobo (1979)

The Littlest Hobo

7.7

TV Series

Sheriff

Janitor

1981–1984

2 episodes

 

A Matter of Sex (1984)

A Matter of Sex

6.7

TV Movie

Union Man #1

1984

 

David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider (1982)

Knight Rider

6.9

TV Series

Technician

1983

1 episode

 

William Conrad in Shocktrauma (1982)

Shocktrauma

7.7

TV Movie

Police Superintendent Grier

1982

 

Honeyboy (1982)

Honeyboy

6.4

TV Movie

Doctor

1982

 

Silence of the North (1981)

Silence of the North

6.4

Dr. Miller

1981

 

Threshold (1981)

Threshold

6.0

Lecture Host

1981

 

Happy Birthday to Me (1981)

Happy Birthday to Me

6.0

Gatekeeper

1981

 

The Kidnapping of the President (1980)

The Kidnapping of the President

5.4

Archie Standler

1980

 

Jason Robards in F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980)

F.D.R.: The Last Year

7.2

TV Movie

1980

 

Last of the Red-Hot Dragons (1980)

Last of the Red-Hot Dragons

8.2

TV Movie

Elephant (voice)

1980

 

The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog (1980)

The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog

4.7

TV Movie

Mac

1980

 

Fish Hawk (1979)

Fish Hawk

6.2

Billie Firman

1979

 

Au revoir à lundi (1979)

Au revoir à lundi

5.7

Monsieur Leblanc - le père de Lucie

1979

 

Kim Cattrall in Crossbar (1979)

Crossbar

6.1

TV Movie

Carver

1979

 

Michael Douglas in Running (1979)

Running

5.8

Mr. Finlay

1979

 

George Peppard, Lee Remick, and Joseph Bologna in Torn Between Two Lovers (1979)

Torn Between Two Lovers

5.8

TV Movie

Jack DeWitt

1979

 

The Great Detective (1979)

The Great Detective

7.5

TV Series

Locke

1979

1 episode

 

Tyler (1978)

Tyler

Archie

1978

 

Two Solitudes (1978)

Two Solitudes

6.0

Prime Minister

1978

 

Tell Me My Name (1977)

Tell Me My Name

4.3

TV Movie

Thurmond

1977

 

Rituals (1977)

Rituals

6.2

Pilot

1977

 

King of the Beasts (1977)

King of the Beasts

8.6

TV Movie

Male Elephant (voice)

1977

 

Noah's Animals (1976)

Noah's Animals

7.7

TV Movie

Elephant (voice)

1976

 

Sunday in the Country (1974)

Sunday in the Country

6.2

Conway

1974

 

Salty (1974)

Salty

6.9

TV Series

Trumbull

1974

1 episode

 

House of Pride

TV Series

1974

1 episode

 

To Kill the King (1974)

To Kill the King

5.6

Vincent O'Connell

1974

 

The ABC Afternoon Playbreak (1972)

The ABC Afternoon Playbreak

7.5

TV Series

Rev. Hiram Fletcher

1974

1 episode

 

The Borrowers (1973)

The Borrowers

5.4

TV Movie

Ernie

1973

 

Telly Savalas and Mike Farrell in She Cried Murder (1973)

She Cried Murder

5.3

TV Movie

Sergeant Withers

1973

 

Class of '44 (1973)

Class of '44

5.4

Principal

1973

 

Tom Sawyer (1973)

Tom Sawyer

6.0

TV Movie

Coroner

1973

 

The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972)

The House Without a Christmas Tree

8.0

TV Movie

Mr. Brady, the druggist

1972

 

To See Ourselves

TV Series

1971–1972

2 episodes

 

Sam Groom in Police Surgeon (1971)

Police Surgeon

6.5

TV Series

Druggist

Josh

Abel Marsh

1971–1972

3 episodes

 

The Rowdyman (1972)

The Rowdyman

7.0

Mr. Lowe

1972

 

Homer (1970)

Homer

7.2

Mr. Cochran

1970

 

Adventures in Rainbow Country (1969)

Adventures in Rainbow Country

7.0

TV Series

Joe Bourke

1969

1 episode

 

McQueen

TV Series

1969

1 episode

 

Raymond St. Jacques in Change of Mind (1969)

Change of Mind

6.1

Judge Stanton

1969

 

The First Time (1969)

The First Time

4.9

Customs Officer (uncredited)

1969

 

Gordon Pinsent in Quentin Durgens, M.P. (1966)

Quentin Durgens, M.P.

7.8

TV Series

Walter Burke

1968

1 episode

 

Gordon Pinsent, Austin Willis, and Stephen Young in Seaway (1965)

Seaway

8.1

TV Series

Harbourmaster

Harlan

1965–1966

4 episodes

 

Festival (1960)

Festival

9.0

TV Series

United States Ambassador Vanhatten

1962–1965

2 episodes

 

The Serial

TV Series

1965

5 episodes

 

The Forest Rangers (1963)

The Forest Rangers

7.8

TV Series

Elmer Gallagher

1963

1 episode

 

Scarlett Hill

TV Series

Nobe Parker

1962

1 episode

 

Playdate

7.1

TV Series

Captain

1962

2 episodes

 

Jake and the Kid

TV Series

Jake

1961

 

First Person (1960)

First Person

TV Series

Davie (adult)

Jake

1960

3 episodes

 

The Hill

TV Movie

Harry

1960

 

Gilles Pelletier in R.C.M.P. (1959)

R.C.M.P.

8.2

TV Series

Matthew Standing

Dr. McLean

1959–1960

3 episodes

 

William Shatner in Encounter (1952)

Encounter

7.2

TV Series

Mr. Wright

Mccleod

Dr. Frederick Banting ...

1953–1960

24 episodes

 

A Cool Sound from Hell (1959)

A Cool Sound from Hell

6.8

Police Officer

1959

 

Cannonball (1958)

Cannonball

8.4

TV Series

Joe

1959

1 episode

 

Paddy Croft and Jonathan Erland in The Unforeseen (1958)

The Unforeseen

6.4

TV Series

1958

1 episode

 

First Performance

8.0

TV Series

Neil MacFayden

Dr. Frederick Banting

Neil MacFadyen

1956–1958

4 episodes

 

Anne Fielding in Folio (1955)

Folio

7.7

TV Series

Father Morton

Red

1956–1958

4 episodes

 

On Camera

6.6

TV Series

Bandit

Jack Tenner

Ranger

1955–1957

4 episodes

 

A Dangerous Age (1957)

A Dangerous Age

5.9

Police Officer

1957

 

The Hill

TV Movie

1956

 

CBC Summer Theatre

TV Series

1955

1 episode

 

Playbill (1953)

Playbill

TV Series

First officer

1954–1955

3 episodes

 

Hidden Pages

TV Series

The Ox

1954

1 episode

 

Hockey Night in Canada (1952)

Hockey Night in Canada

9.4

TV Series

Imperial Oil commercial pitchman (1952-1960s) (uncredited)

1952