Nonnie Griffin (20 October 1933 – 7 June 2019) was a Canadian film, stage, television and voice actress. She studied at the Toronto Conservatory in her native land, the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and even with famed mime artist

Marcel Marceau Marcel Marceau (; born Marcel Mangel; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French actor and mime artist most famous for his stage persona, "Bip the Clown". He referred to mime as the "art of silence", and he performed professionally worldw ...

. Her stage work includes playing Mrs. Rafi in the original Toronto production of ''The Sea'' and a 10-month run as the title character in '' Hello, Dolly!'' at the Limelight Dinner Theatre in Toronto in 1990. Griffin appeared in the original Toronto production of John Murrell's Waiting for the Parade. She also played Jessica in the original Montreal production of David French's Jitters.

Biography

Apart from being a veteran of the

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

, her voice over work includes Nelvana's '' Star Wars: Ewoks'', and playing Harmony Bear in 1986's '' Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation''. She voiced Funshine Bear in the Nelvana version of ''

Care Bears Care Bears are multi-colored bears, originally painted in 1981 by artist Elena Kucharik to be used on greeting cards from American Greetings. In 1983, the characters were turned into plush teddy bears. The characters headlined their own televis ...

'', and also voiced Mrs. Suey-Ellen Pig in ''

The Raccoons ''The Raccoons'' is a Canadian animated television series that ran on CBC from November 11, 1985 to March 19, 1991 in Canada and on Disney Channel from July 4, 1985 to August 28, 1992 in the U.S., with three preceding television specials from ...

'' episodes "Mom's the Word!" and "Promises Promises!". Nonnie's voice appears in ''Wild Life'', a film that was nominated for Best Animated Short at the 2012 Academy Awards. She made guest appearances on several television series, including '' Kung Fu: The Legend Continues'', ''

King of Kensington ''King of Kensington'' is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on CBC Television from 1975 to 1980.Mary Jane Miller, ''Turn Up the Contrast: CBC Television Drama since 1952''. UBC Press, 2011. . pp. 134-144. Synopsis Al Waxman starred as Lar ...

'', '' RoboCop: The Series'', ''

Forever Knight ''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a ho ...

'', '' Street Legal'', ''

Doc DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

'', '' Bizarre'' and '' Strange Paradise''. Nonnie was a favourite on the children's television series, ''

Polka Dot Door Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

''. She played Diana Barry in the first televised production of '' Anne of Green Gables'' in 1956. She also appeared in several films, including ''

The Believers ''The Believers'' is a 1987 Canadian-American crime thriller horror film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Martin Sheen, Robert Loggia and Helen Shaver. It is based on the 1982 novel ''The Religion'' by Nicholas Conde. Plot After his wife ...

'', ''The Abduction'', '' Good Fences'', ''A Husband, a Wife and a Lover'' and ''

If You Could See What I Hear ''If You Could See What I Hear'' is a 1982 Canadian biographical drama film about blind musician Tom Sullivan, starring Marc Singer and Shari Belafonte, directed by Eric Till. Plot summary Tom Sullivan (Marc Singer) is a blind college student wh ...

''. Nonnie wrote the play ''Sister Annunciata’s Secret'', in which she played six different characters. The play appeared at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and later at the Hamilton Fringe Festival. Nonnie's one woman play, ''Marilyn-After'', which imagines Marilyn Monroe coming back to life fifty years after her untimely death, played the SpringWorks Festival in Stratford, Ontario in 2014. The show also played at Toronto's Buddies In Bad Times Theatre in 2014 and was performed in Hamilton, Ontario in January 2015. Nonnie continued to tour the show throughout 2015 with Baby Gumm Productions, winning Best International Show at the 2015

United Solo Theatre Festival United Solo Theatre Festival is the world's largest solo theatre festival. It takes place at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in New York City. Its founder and artistic director is Omar Sangare. The festival presents many categories of solo shows, incl ...

in New York City. Nonnie's diary, published as Showbiz and other Addictions, follows her career on stages across Canada.

Death

Griffin, 85, died from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. She was in rehearsals for a new solo show about Margaret Mitchell that would have been performed within days of her death.

References

Nonnie Griffin Biography by L. Mangue, Nerf-Herders Anonymous.ne

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Nonnie 1933 births 2019 deaths Actresses from Toronto Canadian film actresses Canadian stage actresses Canadian television actresses Canadian voice actresses Place of death missing