Émile Genest (July 27, 1921 – March 19, 2003) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Career

Born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, as a young man Genest served with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. At war's end, he worked for a time in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

in his hometown before accepting a job with CBC radio in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

where he would eventually become a sportscaster, working in both French and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Genest turned to acting and in his early years played a son on the immensely popular French-language radio show, ''

La famille Plouffe ''La famille Plouffe'' was a Canadian television drama, more specifically a téléroman, about a Quebec City family that first aired in the French language on Société Radio-Canada in 1953. The show was created to fill a void in francophone telev ...

'' and on its follow-up television series. In 1961 he had a significant role in the first of several films for

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

. The first was '' Nikki, Wild Dog of the North'' followed by 1962's '' Big Red'' and the following year he was cast in the lead of ''

The Incredible Journey ''The Incredible Journey'' (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford, is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton, which tells the story of three pets as they travel through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved m ...

''. Moving to Hollywood, Émile Genest went on to play character roles in a variety of films including ''

The Cincinnati Kid ''The Cincinnati Kid'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best. This quest leads him to cha ...

'' (1965), '' The King's Pirate'' (1967), '' In Enemy Country'' (1968), ''

The Hell with Heroes ''The Hell with Heroes'' (''A Time for Heroes'' and ''Run Hero Run'') is a 1968 American drama film directed by Joseph Sargent (his first feature directorial effort) set in Africa immediately after World War II. The film stars Rod Taylor, Claudia ...

'' (1968), and '' Don't Just Stand There!'' (1968). His son, Claude, was born in 1963 in Hollywood and too worked as an actor before becoming an

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

activist. In the early 1960s, Genest turned to performing on television, appearing in a large number of guest roles in a variety of series such as '' Mission: Impossible'', '' Route 66'', '' Gunsmoke'', ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American so ...

'', ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one British — who are part of a long-range desert ...

'', ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'', '' The Virginian'', '' Ironside'' and others. Near the end of the 1970s, Genest returned to work in film in Canada. In 1981, he was cast as the head of the family in a four-hour film update of "''The Plouffe Family''" for which he was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2000, at the age of seventy-nine, Émile Genest appeared in his last film, "A Day in a Life" (2000). He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

while vacationing in

Hallandale Beach, Florida Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 20 ...

in 2003. His elder son is Green Party of Canada unelected politician Claude Genest. His second son, Eric Genest, is the Vice President of Group Alta Real Estate, Inc. He is married to Cornelia Huerlimann; they have two children.

Partial filmography

*'' Nikki, Wild Dog of the North'' (1961) - Jacques Lebeau *''Dubois et fils'' (1961) *'' Big Red'' (1962) - Emile Fornet *''

'' (1962, TV Series) - Emile (the barman) / Henri Fouquet *'' Rampage'' (1963) - Schelling *''

'' (1963) - John Longridge *'' The Art of Love'' (1965) - Cesar (uncredited) *''

'' (1965) - Cajun *''

'' (Commando du désert) : Mathias the lighthouse warden *'' The King's Pirate'' (1967) - Captain Mission * '' The Scorpio Letters'' (1967) - Garin *'' Don't Just Stand There!'' (1968) - Henri *'' In Enemy Country'' (1968) - General Grieux *''

'' (1968) - Insp. Bouchard *'' Kamouraska'' (1973) - Aubergiste *'' Us Two'' (1979) - Le chef de police américain *'' The Plouffe Family'' (1981) - Théophile, le pere Plouffe *''Frankenstein and Me'' (1996) - Judge Ewing *''A Day in a Life'' (2000) - George (final film role)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Genest, Emile 1921 births 2003 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian military personnel of World War II French Quebecers Male actors from Quebec City Canadian expatriates in the United States