David Emmett Gardner (4 May 1928 — 8 February 2020) was a Canadian actor from the 1940s to 2000s. Gardner began acting with

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

in the mid-1940s. By the late 1950s, some of his theatrical roles were at the

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

and the

West end theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

. As an actor, Gardner received a

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

in 1976 and a Gemini Award in 1997. In the 1960s, Gardner was a theatre director while also working for CBC as a producer. From 1969 to 1971, Gardner was the artistic director with the Vancouver Playhouse. Throughout the 1970s, he worked as a theatre arts officer with the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the fede ...

before becoming an academic. Some institutions Gardner worked for included

Seneca College Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a multiple-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area, and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada regions. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate an ...

and

George Brown College George Brown College is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, GBC was chartered in 1966 by the government of Ontario and ...

. Gardner received the

Earle Grey Award The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team (such as SCTV or Royal Canadian Air Farce) ...

during the

2008 Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 23rd Gemini Awards were held on November 28, 2008, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Jason Priestley, took place at the John Bassett Theatre in Toront ...

Early life and education

Gardner's birth occurred 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 ...

on 4 May 1928. While living with a sibling during his childhood, Gardner was interested in theatre and painting. After receiving a scholarship from

Vincent Massey Charles Vincent Massey (February 20, 1887December 30, 1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada after ...

in 1956, he researched theatre the following year while in France. From the 1950s to 1980s, Gardner attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

Career

Acting and executive career

While in high school, Gardner became a

actor with ''Once Upon a Time'' during the mid-1940s. In 1957, Gardner started his acting career with '' Oedipus Rex''. By the mid-2000s, he had appeared in over forty

television films A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

and more than twenty

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

. Additional films that Gardner starred in during this time period include '' Who Has Seen the Wind'', '' Prom Night'' and ''

Detroit Rock City "Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss, released on their 1976 album ''Destroyer''. The song was written by Paul Stanley and producer Bob Ezrin. The song is one of the band's most popular and is a classic rock staple ...

''. As an executive, he was the director for the 1967 television film ''

The Paper People ''The Paper People'' is a Canadian dramatic television film, directed by David Gardner and released in 1967."The Paper People: pretentious, sickeningly arty-- and boring". ''The Globe and Mail'', December 7, 1967. The first television film ever p ...

''. In 1959, Gardner declined job offers from the National Theatre School of Canada and the

Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by John ...

. That year, Gardner began working with CBC as a producer and continued his position until 1969. In the early 1960s, Gardner was a producer for '' First Person''. For ''

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

'', some plays Gardner adapted include ''

The Apple Cart ''The Apple Cart: A Political Extravaganza'' is a 1928 play by George Bernard Shaw. It is a satirical comedy about several political philosophies which are expounded by the characters, often in lengthy monologues. The plot follows the fictional ...

'' and ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...

''. In the late 1960s, he was a producer and director for ''

Quentin Durgens, M.P. ''Quentin Durgens, M.P.'' is a Canadian dramatic television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1965 to 1969.Home Fires'', '' Street Legal'' and '' RoboCop''.

Theatre

During the late 1940s, some plays Gardner appeared in at

Hart House Theatre Hart House Theatre is a 454-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario located on the campus of the University of Toronto in the Hart House Student Centre. The theatre serves the university and the Toronto community at large. Hart House Theatre opened i ...

were ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' and '' All My Sons''. By the early 1950s, he starred as

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

, Othello and Macbeth at Hart House. Leading up to the late 1950s, Gardner primarily acted in North American plays while also appearing on European stages. Some of the plays he was in were held at the

, Stratford Festival and

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1 ...

. During 1960, Gardner helped create the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants ...

as a member of the Canadian Theatre Centre. As a theatre director, the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

was used for his 1961 version of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

''. For his play, non-Indigenous people were cast as the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

characters. Additional plays that Gardner worked on as a director during the 1960s included ''

The Lady's Not for Burning ''The Lady's Not for Burning'' is a 1948 play by Christopher Fry. A romantic comedy in three acts, in verse, it is set in the Middle Ages ("1400, either more or less or exactly"). It reflects the world's "exhaustion and despair" following Wor ...

'' and '' The Father''. In 1969, the Vancouver Playhouse hired Gardner to become their artistic director. The following year, he planned to join the

. During his tenure as artistic director, Gardner and the

Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company ("The Playhouse") was a regional theatre company, producing plays since 1962. Its first production was '' The Hostage'' by Brendan Behan, which opened on October 2, 1963. The company performed out of the V ...

disagreed about the cost of a proposed play by

George Ryga George Ryga (27 July 1932 – 18 November 1987) was a Canadian playwright, actor and novelist. His writings explored the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada, among other themes. His most famous work is ''The Ecstasy of Rita Joe''. E ...

titled ''Captives of a Faceless Drummer''. Upon joining the Canada Council in 1971, he focused on financial grants as a theatre arts officer. His position was scheduled to end the following year. For his academic career, Gardner worked for

in theatre during the mid-1970s. In 1979, Gardner went to

and remained there by the mid-1990s. Additional institutions Gardner worked at were the University of Toronto and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Awards and honours

With his role in ''

The Insurance Man from Ingersoll ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', Gardner received the Best Supporting Actor award during the 1976 Canadian Film Awards. For '' Traders'', Gardner received the Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role Dramatic Series award at the

11th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 11th Gemini Awards was held on June 6, 1997, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Albert Schultz, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and ...

in 1997. From the Canadian Theatre Critics Association, Gardner received the Herbert Whittaker/CTCA Award for Distinguished Contribution to Canadian Theatre in 2004. As part of the

, Gardner was given the

. In 2014, the University of Toronto began the Dr. David E. Gardner Apprentice Director Program for students who studied theatre at Hart House.

Death and personal life

Gardner died in Toronto on 8 February 2020. He was previously married and had a child before his death from

Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

References

{{reflist 1928 births 2020 deaths Canadian male stage actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male radio actors Canadian television producers Canadian television directors Canadian theatre directors Canadian artistic directors Academics from Ontario Canadian Screen Award winning actors