Abby Hagyard is 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 ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

actress 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 ...

voice artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, and comedian, best known for her appearances on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

's sketch comedy television series ''

You Can't Do That on Television ''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that first aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenage actors in a sketch comedy format similar to that of ...

'', and her voice work on animated adaptations of ''

The Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televisi ...

'' and '' For Better or For Worse''.

Background

Born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and of Norwegian descent, Hagyard's interest in acting began when she was enrolled in a modeling class with her mother. She modeled for two years and then had a secretarial position in the New York offices of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

''. She returned to Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and studied drama at St. Patrick's College (now

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

) for 3 years. She began her work in entertainment as a high-fashion model on Miami Beach and actress. In the early 1980s, she toured the eastern seaboard performing in small venues, and then began hosting the CBC television show '' Scene from Here'', while continuing to perform sketch comedy.

Career

Referred to by the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...

'' as "one of our town's best and busiest actresses", Starring roles in

dinner theater Dinner theater (sometimes called dinner and a show) is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. "Dinner and a show" can also refer to a restaurant meal in combination with live concert music, where pat ...

productions led to a one-woman show and an invitation to host her own entertainment series on CBC. In 1982, Hagyard joined the cast of ''

'' as one of only two adult actors along with Les Lye, and both were mainstays on the program among its rotating juvenile cast until its end in 1990. Between taping sessions, Hagyard provided character voices for the animated cartoon series '' For Better or For Worse'', ''

The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin ''The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin'' is a children's animated television series based on Teddy Ruxpin, an animatronic teddy bear created by Ken Forsse and distributed by toy manufacturer Worlds of Wonder. Produced in 1986–7 for television syndi ...

'', '' Dennis the Menace'' and ''

''. She additionally co-hosted a morning drive radio show. Hagyard also has a boutique publishing service, AH Publisher.

Filmography

;As actor * ''

'' (113 episodes, 1982–1990) ;As voice artist * ''

The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings ''The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings'' is the first animated television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Ottawa's Atkinson Film-Arts studio, it was premiered in syndication on April 22, 1983. The special features the ...

'' (1983) – Friend Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Wish Bear * ''

The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine ''The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine'' is the second animated television special to feature the Care Bears characters. Made by Ottawa's Atkinson Film-Arts studios, it premiered in syndication in April 1984. The special introduces three ne ...

'' (1984) – Friend Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Wish Bear * ''For Better or for Worse: The Bestest Present'' (1985) * ''

'' (7 episodes, 1986-1987) * ''

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...

'' (1 episode, 1988) * '' Dennis the Menace'' (1986) - Additional Voices (Season 2) * ''For Better or for Worse: The Last Camping Trip'' (1992) * ''For Better or for Worse: A Christmas Angel'' (1992) * ''For Better or for Worse: A Valentine from the Heart'' (1993) * ''For Better or for Worse: The Good-for-Nothing'' (1993) * ''For Better or for Worse: The Babe Magnet'' (1994) * ''For Better or for Worse: A Storm in April'' (1997) * '' For Better or for Worse'' (1 episode, 2000)

Recognition

Awards and nominations

* 1983,

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.

for 'Best Female On-Camera Performance' * 1983,

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.

for 'Best Voice-Over/Narration'

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hagyard, Abby Living people Actresses from Edmonton Canadian voice actresses Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian television actresses Writers from Edmonton 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers Year of birth missing (living people)