Gerard Parkes (October 16, 1924 – October 19, 2014) was an Irish-Canadian

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 ...

. He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and moved to

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 ancho ...

in 1956. He is known for playing "Doc" on the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

television series ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...

'' and the bartender in the film ''

The Boondock Saints ''The Boondock Saints'' is a 1999 American vigilante action thriller film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as fraternal twin brothers Connor and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after ...

'' and its sequel '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day''.

Career

His acting career spanned film, radio, television, and the stage. Parkes worked often on CBC radio, beginning in 1959, and shifted into television and film, acting in such diverse series as the 1960s' ecological adventure series '' The Forest Rangers'', children's show ''

The Littlest Hobo ''The Littlest Hobo'' is a Canadian television series (French title: ''Le Vagabond'') based upon a 1958 well-known film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived fo ...

'', and the detective series ''

Cagney and Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...

''. In 1968, Parkes won the first Canadian film award (then called the Etrog and now known as the Gemini) for his portrayal of Uncle Matthew in the movie ''

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

''. He received the Andrew Allan Award in 1983 for Best Radio Actor, and in 1999, he won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role for ''Kilt''. He played the role of Wiff Roach in Mike Newell's 1976 television adaptation of David French's theatrical play ''

Of the Fields, Lately ''Of the Fields, Lately'' is a Canadian theatrical play by David French, first staged by Tarragon Theatre in 1973. It is the second in his Mercer Plays series, following '' Leaving Home'' (1972) and preceding ''Salt-Water Moon'' (1984), '' 1949'' ( ...

''.Blaik Kirby, "Of the Fields moving". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 10, 1976. Parkes played the role of Doc in the North American version of ''

''. When he was cast in ''Fraggle Rock'', Parkes was finishing a regular role as another type of "doc," playing Dr. Arthur Lowe (no relation to the English actor of the same name) on the Canadian TV series '' Home Fires''. After ''Fraggle Rock'', in addition to returning as Doc in ''

A Muppet Family Christmas ''A Muppet Family Christmas'' is a Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, its teleplay was conceived ...

'', he continued to work in children's television, guest starring as alcoholic photographer Phil (opposite ''

Sesame Park ''Sesame Park'' is the Canadian version of ''Sesame Street'' co-produced by Sesame Workshop and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The series originally functioned as a re-edited version of the original American series, and was named ''Sesam ...

'' puppeteer

Nina Keogh Nina Keogh ( ) is a Canadian puppet builder, voice actress and puppeteer. She is a former member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Canadian Actors' Equity Association, UDA, and is an ACTRA member since 1968. She was on the board of ...

) on the

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

puppet series ''

Today's Special ''Today's Special'' is a Canadian children's television program produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario, originally broadcasting 120 episodes from 1981 to 1987. Much of the series was set in a department store, based on Simpson's then-flags ...

'', and appearing regularly on PBS's ''

Shining Time Station ''Shining Time Station'' is an American children's television series jointly created by British television producer Britt Allcroft and American television producer Rick Siggelkow. The series was produced by Quality Family Entertainment (the Ame ...

'' as store owner Barton Winslow. In 1988 he made a cameo appearance in the hit comedy ''

Short Circuit 2 ''Short Circuit 2'' is a 1988 American science fiction comedy film, the sequel to the 1986 film ''Short Circuit''. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson and starred Fisher Stevens as Ben Jahveri, Michael McKean as Fred Ritter, Cynthia Gibb as Sandy ...

'' as a priest, and in 1989 he appeared in '' The Last Winter'' as the protagonist's grandfather. In 1995 he also portrayed the priest at St Bart's in New York in the Olsen Twins movie '' It Takes Two''. In 1996, he portrayed

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

in the HBO Original Film '' Handel's Last Chance''. In 1998, he appeared on an episode of PBS's '' Noddy'', as Wally the Wanderer in "Noah's Leaving". He appeared with

Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...

and

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

in ''

'' (playing a Tourette's syndrome-afflicted bartender, also named "Doc"). He reprised the role for '' The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day''. He appeared in ''

The Adjuster ''The Adjuster'' is a 1991 Canadian drama film directed by Atom Egoyan. It premiered at the New York Film Festival, and was invited to the Director's Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. It is Egoyan's fourth feature film, and the firs ...

'' (1991), premiering at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...

. In 1991, it won the Special Silver St. George at the 17th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1993, the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

ranked the film 10th in the

Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time The Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time is a list compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival ranking what are the considered the best Canadian films. The list has been compiled once roughly every 10 years starting in 1984, typically assembl ...

Death

He died on October 19, 2014, three days after his 90th birthday."Gerard Parkes, Fraggle Rock actor, dead at 90"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, October 20, 2014.

Honors and awards

* In 1968,

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 ...

for Best Actor. * In 1999, Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role for ''Kilt''.

Sources

Greer, Sandy. "Small Screen", ''The Toronto Star'', August 2, 1986

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkes, Gerard 1924 births 2014 deaths Canadian male television actors Canadian male film actors Canadian male voice actors Fraggle Rock Male actors from Dublin (city) Irish emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Best Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners