Ray Bellew (March 26, 1939 – October 10, 2006) 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 and performer.

Early life and education

Bellew was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. He had two sisters, Claudette and Majorie. Claudette, his younger sister, died on January 4, 2012.

Career

In the 1960s he moved to Newfoundland to host a teen radio show, ''Now Sound''. He starred as the title character in the TV series ''

Skipper and Company Skipper or skippers may refer to: Rank * Skipper (boating), a person who has command of a vessel * Skipper (rank), a former warrant rank in the British Royal Naval Reserve. Also informal for an officer of sergeant rank in British policing * T ...

'' in

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

, which ran on the CBC's Newfoundland affiliate CBNT from 1974 to 1982. Throughout the 1960s, Bellew was in the Canadian series ''Last of the Mohicans'' with

Lon Chaney Jr Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

, as well as ''

Razzle Dazzle ''Razzle Dazzle'' is a Canadian children's television program produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation between October 2, 1961, and July 1, 1966. The series was initially co-hosted by Alan Hamel and Michele Finney who were later replac ...

'', featuring puppet Howard the Turtle. Bellew also performed in '' The Forest Rangers'', Gordon Pinsent's '' Quentin Durgens, M.P.'', ''Cannonball'', ''CBC TV Theatre'', ''On Camera'', ''Folio'', and ''Star Time Theatre'', among others. He was in CBC Toronto's production of '' Macbeth'' with Sean Connery (before Connery starred in his first

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film). During the 1990s, he hosted the Weekend Arts Magazine in Newfoundland and Labrador. In the late 1990s, Bellew performed as the personification of P.J. Billington, of the P.J. Billington's restaurants. He made public appearances and voiced radio and TV advertisements.

Personal life

Bellew and his wife Rose had two daughters, Kelli and Lauren, and a son, Sean. He had two sons, Mark and Christopher, and two daughters, Kim and Robyn, from a previous marriage to Brenda. He was a skilled magician. After retiring from performing, he became depressed, alcoholic, and abusive. In 2002, Bellew was sentenced to six months under house arrest and two years probation and prohibition from imbibing alcohol. He pleaded guilty to assaulting and threatening his wife. The couple reconciled. Bellew died in St. John's.

Notes

External links

* 1939 births 2006 deaths Canadian male television actors Male actors from Montreal {{Canada-actor-stub