Heath Lamberts, (December 15, 1941 – February 22, 2005) 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 ...

actor.Robert Crew, "Lamberts, 63, stage's mirth master". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', February 23, 2005. He was born James Lancaster in

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, where, as a boy, he won singing contests at school, allowing him to perform with Toronto's Opera Festival Association. He pursued the arts as a career, changing his name to Heath Lamberts, and in 1963 graduated from 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 aw ...

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. He worked extensively in theatres across Canada, especially at the

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured production ...

and the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

. He also studied

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, at Le Coq d'Or. On

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

his longest role was in the original cast of ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'' on Broadway as Cogsworth. He had roles in dozens of television movies and shows and played numerous roles in Pittsburgh theatre. Although most prominently a stage actor, he also had some supporting film and television roles, including in the films ''

A Great Big Thing ''A Great Big Thing'' is a Canadian-American comedy-drama film, directed by Eric Till and released in 1968. Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 90. The film stars Reni Santoni as Vinny Shea, an aimless young ...

'' and ''

Sam & Me ''Sam & Me'' is a 1991 Canadian drama film directed by Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta (in her directorial debut) and written by Ranjit Chowdhry, who also stars in the film with Peter Boretski and Om Puri. The film went on to win an honourable ...

''. He was inducted as a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1987."Hansen, Bouey named to Order of Canada". ''

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 ...

'', July 7, 1987. Lamberts died in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, US, on February 22, 2005, from cancer.

References

External links

* 1941 births 2005 deaths Canadian male stage actors Members of the Order of Canada Male actors from Pittsburgh Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania National Theatre School of Canada alumni Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Male actors from Toronto Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors {{theat-bio-stub