Dr.Allan Roy Dafoe, OBE (29 May 1883 – 2 June 1943) 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 ...

obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...

, best known for delivering and caring for the

Dionne quintuplets The Dionne quintuplets (; born May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical girls were born just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbeil. All five survived to adulthood. The Di ...

, the first

quintuplets ''Quintuplets'' is an American sitcom that aired 22 episodes on Fox from June 16, 2004 to January 12, 2005. The program starred Andy Richter and Rebecca Creskoff and shared some of their experiences parenting teenage quintuplets. Synopsis The ...

known to survive early infancy., page 373.

Biography

Dafoe was born in Madoc, Ontario, the son of a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. He trained in the same profession and, in early 1909, he went into practice in

Callander, Ontario The Municipality of Callander (formerly the Township of North Himsworth) is a township in central Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast end of Lake Nipissing in the Almaguin Highlands region of the District of Parry Sound. The municipality ...

, where he resided for the rest of his life. On 28 May 1934 he assisted in the multiple births of the Dionne family, that saw the survival of the mother and all the children. This got international press notice. He continued to help care for the children for years, and became something of a

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

in the onslaught of media attention. Allan Roy Dafoe

In response to public interest, a special nursery was built for the children where the curious members of the public viewed them. There was no charge to this, so it did not give the impression to the viewers they were exploiting the children. This was generally approved of at the time, but later generated criticism for the

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten ...

atmosphere it produced. Souvenir stands and other concessions surrounded the area where the quints lived. Once the quints were born, Dafoe became one of their guardians, and he devoted little work to his medical practice, turning it over to others. He became wealthy from his pay as guardian and from multiple commercial endorsements and speaking fees. In ''The Country Doctor'' (1936), a movie starring the quints,

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film '' Heidi'' (1937).Obitu ...

portrayed Dr. John Luke, a character based on Dafoe, and there were two sequels: ''Reunion'' (1936) and ''Five of a Kind'' (1938). When Dafoe blocked the idea of continuing the series, Hersholt created '' Dr. Christian'', which had a long run on radio. Dafoe's induction into the Circus Saints and Sinners Club of New York as "Doctor of Litters" in 1938 drew much criticism from French-Canadian groups who suggested such an honour (howbeit facetious; he arrived in a Rural Free Delivery wagon emblazoned "A. R. Dafoe--Mass Deliveries") was condescending and against the best interests of the quintuplets; such, in fact, eventually being used by the quints' father, Oliva, in his subsequent case to reclaim custody. Dafoe was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his work with the Dionne quintuplets. He died on 2 June 1943 at age 60 from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and complications from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, and is buried at Park Lawn Cemetery in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

.United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada
/ref> Today, his home is the Callander Bay Heritage Museum and Alex Dufresne Gallery in Callander, Ontario. It is located at 107 Lansdowne St. E. and tells the story of the history of Callander with a special focus on himself and the Dionne quintuplets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dafoe, Allan Roy Canadian obstetricians Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1883 births 1943 deaths Dionne quintuplets People from Hastings County People from Parry Sound District Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario