Gino Emperatore (1925 - 2006), commonly known as Gino Empry, was a Canadian entertainment impresario and promoter, who was a longtime president of his own

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

firm to publicize and promote Canadian entertainment. A native of

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 ...

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 Ca ...

, Empry began his career as an actor in amateur theatre, but worked as an auditor and systems analyst while trying to get his break as an actor; after several years of struggle, he met with a career consultant who suggested that he would likely have more success in the business side of entertainment than as a performer.Ron Psillag, "Gino Empry, agent and publicist, 1925-2006". ''

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 ...

'', October 23, 2006. In 1964, he was hired by Ed Mirvish as booking agent for the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and served in that role until becoming entertainment director of the

Imperial Room The 500-seat Imperial Room is a major events venue at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hall is located on the lobby level of the hotel and has hosted major events, such as addresses to the Empire Club of Canada, but was more ...

in 1970. He held the role with the Imperial Room until its closure in 1989. He continued to have occasional stage acting roles, most notably making brief appearances in the inaugural season of

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

's Toronto company. Empry was also a promoter, agent or manager for Canadian and international celebrities, including Tony Bennett,

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

, William Hutt,

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer, and was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 - 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet training ...

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

, Craig Russell and Roch Voisine, and a promoter for charitable organizations including the Actors Fund of Canada, the

Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society (french: Société canadienne du cancer) is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. History The idea to form the Canadian Cancer Society origin ...

, DareArts, Easter Seals, the Ontario Musical Arts Centre and the Variety Club of Ontario. In 2002 he published a memoir, ''I Belong to the Stars''. In his later career he also returned to occasional acting roles, including a guest appearance as himself in an episode of ''

Made in Canada Made in Canada and Product of Canada (French: Fabriqué au Canada and Produit du Canada) are certification marks designating a claim that Canada is the country of origin of a good. A product label for that good may use these marks, or a qualifi ...

'' and a starring role as a washed-up children's entertainer who has taken up burglary in the short comedy film ''Klepto the Clown''. Empry never married, but he was in a longtime relationship with psychic reader Nikki Pezaro. He was also father to two children from a prior relationship with a woman named Gloria, although both were placed for

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

as he and Gloria were not married to each other at the time.Sharon Dunn, "'I've never told anyone this...'". ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', December 9, 2002. He died on October 14, 2006, a few months after suffering a stroke.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Empry, Gino 1925 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Canadian businesspeople 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian businesspeople 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian memoirists Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian talent agents Canadian public relations people Canadian people of Italian descent Impresarios Male actors from Toronto Writers from Toronto