David Fox obit

Stage and screen actor David Fox remembered as champion of Canadian theatre

He was not on the list.

Stage and screen actor David Fox, revered for his commitment to bringing Canadian stories to life in the theatre, has died.

Stage and screen actor David Fox, revered for his commitment to bringing Canadian stories to life in the theatre, has died.

The artistic director of the Blyth Festival says Fox died at age 80 in a Toronto hospice late last week after a long battle with cancer.

Fox, a former high school teacher, emerged as a foundational figure in Canada's alternative theatre scene in the early 1970s.

He rose to prominence for his naturalistic performances in the early days of Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille, originating roles in such seminal productions as "The Farm Show," and "1837: The Farmer's Revolt."

He went on to perform at major venues across the country, including the Stratford Festival and Mirvish's Royal Alexandra Theatre.

He also landed numerous roles on film and television, playing a recurring character on the CBC series "Road to Avonlea."

In his later years, Fox won acclaim for his star turn in Watershed Shakespeare Festival Collective's 2015 production of "King Lear." In 2017, he produced a one-man recitation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" at Toronto's Red Sandcastle Theatre

His honours included a 1999 Dora Mavor Award for his performance in Theatre Passe Muraille's "The Drawer Boy," and a Sterling Award for his role in 1989's "The Invention of Poetry" at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre.

Fox was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2018 for his contributions as a champion of Canadian theatre.

News of Fox's death sparked an outpouring of tributes on social media, with Blyth artistic director Gil Garratt remembering him as a "titan" of the Canadian stage.

"With his imposing stature, his incisive mind, and blown glass heart, Fox was possessed of the kind of power onstage that pulled all of us deeper into the dream," Garratt wrote on Facebook.

"Fox had an inexhaustible ability to go deeper and richer than any actor I’d met, and the gift of struggling to keep up with him is one I will forever cherish."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2021.

 

Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press

Filmography

 

Film

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1980            Parallels           Robert Dane   

1981    Silence of the North            Lea Goodwin         

1984    Mrs. Soffel   McNeil

1985    Samuel Lount   David Willson

1985    Cages            Jack Simpson            Short

1988            Smokescreen  Bob     

1989    The Top of His Head    Uncle Hugo   

1993            Ordinary Magic            Father / Warren

1994    The Circle Game            Carl     

1995    When Night Is Falling            Rev. DeBoer           

1996    Virus            George Skanz  

1998    Jungle Boy      Geller  

1998    The Fence   Everest

1998            Conquest          Carl Gallagher         

1999    Grey Owl      Jim Wood 

2000            Washed Up    Mort   

2001    A Man's Life            Bart Habschied            Short

2003    The Saddest Music in the World            Fyodor Kent    

2004    The Human Kazoo            Elderly Anthony            Short

2005    Dry Whiskey            Stan            Short

2006    Snow Cake    Dirk Freeman          

2006            Population 436 Dr. Harold James Greaver            Video

2006    That Beautiful Somewhere            Prof. French 

2007    Fugitive Pieces  Mr. Taylor 

2007    Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer            Howard         

2008            Spoliation            Grandad Hoodwink            Short

2009    A Hindu's Indictment of Heaven St. Peter    Short

2011    The Evening News            James            Short

2011    The Rink     Pete            Short

2012    Bunny            Kyle            Short

2013    Mama            Burnsie

2013    Pacific Rim      Old Man on Beach 

2013    We Are Not Here            Narrator (voice)            Short

 

Television

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1967            Accidental Family            Brian            "Halloween's on Us"

1974    Police Surgeon            Tom Thorpe "Cry Murder"

1976    Ada            Dr. Bloomfield            TV series

1979    The Great Detective            Dr. Dorland            "Nightwalker of the Wards"

1981    The Littlest Hobo            Dr. Janssen "The Secret of Red Hill"

1982    Joey            Greg Power / Various            TV film

1985    The Suicide Murders            Chester Yates   TV film

1987    Anne of Avonlea            John Blythe   TV miniseries

1988    Alfred Hitchcock Presents            Lt. Paul Hutchinson            "The Hunted: Part 2"

1989    The Campbells            Alistair MacDonald            "Tales of the Canadas", "Sins of the Fathers"

1991–92            The Adventures of Tintin    Captain Haddock (voice)  Regular role

1992    E.N.G.            Det. Halliday            "Public Enemy"

1992    The Women of Windsor            Major Ronald Ferguson            TV film

1992    Street Legal    Mr. McAndrew            "Breach of Trust", "November", "After the Fall"

1992    The Women of Windsor            Major Ferguson            TV film

1992            Counterstrike   Arno            "Cyborg"

1992    Beyond Reality  Colonel Franklin            "Final Flight"

1992    By Way of the Stars    Mr. Passlinger            TV miniseries

1992–95            X-Men: The Animated Series            Sentinels / Master Mold (voice)            Recurring role

1993–94            Cadillacs and Dinosaurs            Kirgo (voice)  Main role

1993–96            Road to Avonlea            Clive Pettibone            Main role

1994    Side Effects  Dr. Eddleston            "Superman"

1995    Black Fox: Good Men and Bad            Carl Glenn   TV film

1996            Dangerous Offender: The Marlene Moore Story            Supt. Kerr     TV film

1997    Traders            Clifford Beal     "Family Legacy"

1997            Poltergeist: The Legacy Dr. Praetorius            "Dark Angel"

1997    Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal            Hamilton Darwell            "The Warrior"

1997            Promise the Moon            Sir Robert Butler            TV film

1998    My Own Country            Mr. Vines    TV film

1999    Murder in a Small Town   Walter Godlin  TV film

1999    Little Men     Lucius Potter   "Blame"

1999    Due South   Rev. Albert Barrow            "Say Amen"

2001    For Love of Olivia            Jack Martin  TV film

2001    Prince Charming            King Pius      TV film

2001    A Taste of Shakespeare            Lear            "King Lear"

2002            Puppets Who Kill            Skip-Along Pete            "The Island of Skip-Along Pete"

2002    Mutant X         Gerald Gilbert            "Crossroads of the Soul"

2002    The Eleventh Hour            Norton Gordon            "Tree Hugger"

2003    The Pentagon Papers  Judge W. Matthew Byrne   TV film

2003    A Taste of Shakespeare            Banquo / Narrator            "Macbeth"

2004            Reversible Errors            Judge Harlow TV film

2006            Puppets Who Kill            Rev. Clifford Blumquist            "Bill's Wedding"

2006            Northern Town Ivison            TV series

2007    The Altar Boy Gang            Father Brown  TV series

2007    Across the River to Motor City            Benjamin Ford Main role

2008    The Trojan Horse            Jackson          "Part One"

2008    The Border John            "Nothing to Declare"

2009            Heartland        Hank Adams "True Enough"

2009    Cra$h & Burn Mr. Arnold  "God Protect Us"

2009    Being Erica    Frank Galvin            Recurring role

2012            Guidestones     Harold X. Glenndenning            Recurring role

2014            Remedy          Col. Platt            "Testing, Testing"

2014            Murdoch Mysteries            Dr. Lionel Ogden            "Blast of Silence", "The Death of Dr. Ogden"

2015    Orphan Black   Jonah Appleyard            "Newer Elements of Our Defense"

2017            Designated Survivor            Barrett Kovacs            "Sting of the Tail"