John Starcevic, known by the stage name John Stark, is 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 ...

stage actor and producer most noted for his long-running one-man show which he performed in character as writer

Stephen Leacock Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known ...

. Originally from Rossland,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, he is an alumnus of

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

,Rod Currie, "Leacock heads to Edinburgh". ''

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 28, 1981. He began performing as Leacock in the 1970s, and toured the show extensively throughout Canada, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

."Stark is successful". ''

'', September 22, 1980. His show was also filmed for broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

and

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; his performance at the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...

was recorded for release on Tapestry Records in 1981, and received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination for Comedy Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 1982 The Juno Awards of 1982, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 14 April 1982 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by Burton Cummings at the Harbour Castle Hilton Convention Centre in the Grand Metrop ...

. In the 1980s, Stark moved into film production, trying for over ten years to produce a historical drama film about the

Doukhobors The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia an ...

. His other film projects included a television film of Leacock's ''

Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town ''Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town'' is a sequence of stories by Stephen Leacock, first published in 1912. It is generally considered to be one of the most enduring classics of Canadian humorous literature. The fictional setting for these stori ...

'', and the theatrical films ''Chekhov and Maria'' and ''A Play on Words''. He has also continued to produce and direct in theatre; he most commonly stages the plays of playwright Jovanka Bach, who was his wife for 28 years until her death in 2006, but has also created the original autobiographical show ''Me Myself And I, by Himself''."John Stark's 'Me, Myself and I, By Myself' opens 10/13 - Odyssey Theater"
''Broadway World'', October 1, 2013.

References

External links

*
John Stark Productions
(copy archived June 2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, John 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian theatre directors Canadian male stage actors Film producers from British Columbia Canadian theatre managers and producers People from Rossland, British Columbia Simon Fraser University alumni Male actors from British Columbia Writers from British Columbia Living people Year of birth missing (living people)