Marion Gilsenan (1936 - January 11, 1999) was a Canadian actress, best known for her regular role as Joan McKenzie in the Canadian television soap opera '' Riverdale''.Jim Bawden, "Soap star acted through illness ; Riverdale's Marion Gilsenan dies from cancer". ''

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 ...

'', January 13, 1999. Born in England, Gilsenan moved to Canada in her early 20s, and began her career as a stage actress with the

Canadian Stage Company Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

and 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 ...

.Mark Gollom, "`A brilliant role model' and enthusiastic actor: She loved the stage". ''

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 ...

'', January 22, 1999. She was a four-time

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

nominee for her stage work, receiving nods for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role in 1980 for '' Strawberry Fields'', Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Play (Midsize Theatre) in 1995 for ''

The Stillborn Lover ''The Stillborn Lover'' is a theatrical play by Timothy Findley, first staged in 1993."Theatre Review: The Stillborn Lover". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 29, 1993. Based in part on the true stories of Canadian diplomats E. Herbert Norman and John ...

'', Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Musical (Large Theatre) in 1996 for ''

A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. ...

'', and Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Play (Large Theatre) in 1997 for ''Thirteen Hands''. On television she starred in the 1993 film ''

Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

'', but principally had supporting and guest roles until being cast as a regular in ''Riverdale''. Of her character, Gilsenan said that "she's not totally nice -- she's very selfish, very snobbish, but she also has wonderful qualities. She wants the best for herself and her family. I think there's some self- knowledge, some warmth and sense of humour." Gilsenan was battling cancer for much of her stint on the series, but delayed

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

because her early treatments made her too weak and tired and she did not want to give up her acting roles. She died of cancer on January 11, 1999, after production on the second season of ''Riverdale'' had concluded but before production on the third season began. Her character was written out of the series rather than being recast. She was a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

nominee for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Program or Series at the

6th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 6th Gemini Awards were held in March 1992 to honour achievements in Canadian television. There were no awards issued in 1991, so this year’s awards covered productions from 1991 and 1990. The awards ...

in 1992 for the television film '' Getting Married in Buffalo Jump'', and won the award for ''Riverdale'' at the

14th Gemini Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 14th Gemini Awards were held on November 7, 1999, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Rick Mercer, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and ...

in 1999, several months after her death.Antonia Zerbisias, "CBC cops 41 Geminis ; Public network dominates news and information awards; CTV dramas win big". ''

'', November 8, 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilsenan, Marion 1936 births 1999 deaths 20th-century British actresses 20th-century Canadian actresses British stage actresses British television actresses British emigrants to Canada Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners