John Robert Roy Drainie (April 1, 1916 – October 30, 1966) was a Canadian actor and television presenter, who was called "the greatest radio actor in the world" by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. Drainie was most famous in Canada for two long-running roles: the lead role of Jake in the radio adaptation of

W. O. Mitchell William Ormond Mitchell, (March 13, 1914 – February 25, 1998) was a Canadian writer and broadcaster. His "best-loved" novel is '' Who Has Seen the Wind'' (1947), which portrays life on the Canadian Prairies from the point of view of a smal ...

's ''Jake and the Kid'', and a popular one-man stage show in which he played humourist

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 ...

. As well, he played Matthew Cuthbert in the 1956 CBC film adaptation of '' Anne of Green Gables'', the narrator in the CBC's 1952 series '' Sunshine Sketches'', and Jake in the 1963 version of ''

Jake and the Kid ''Jake and the Kid'' is a collection of short stories by W. O. Mitchell, originally published in 1961. Many stories in the series appeared in ''Maclean's'' prior to the book's publication. Mitchell also published a sequel volume, ''According to J ...

''. Drainie began his career in radio with CJOR,

CKNW CKNW is a news/ talk formatted radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, owned by Corus Entertainment. It broadcasts on an assigned frequency of AM 980 kHz, and is unusual in that it is a 50,000-watt, Class A station broadcasting on a regi ...

and CBU in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He was one of a group of actors, including

Fletcher Markle Fletcher Markle (March 27, 1921 – May 23, 1991) was a Canadian actor, screenwriter, television producer and director. Markle began a radio career in Canada, then worked in radio, film and television in the United States. Films and television ...

Alan Young Alan Young (born Angus Young; November 19, 1919 – May 19, 2016) was a British, Canadian and American actor, comedian, radio host and television host, whom ''TV Guide'' called "the Charlie Chaplin of television". His notable roles includ ...

Lister Sinclair Lister Sheddon Sinclair, OC (January 9, 1921 – October 16, 2006) was a Canadian broadcaster, playwright and polymath. Early life Sinclair was born in Bombay, India, to Scottish parents. His father, William Sheddon Sinclair, was a chemical eng ...

Len Peterson Leonard Byron Peterson (March 15, 1917 – February 28, 2008) was a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and novelist.Colin Boyd"Leonard Byron Peterson" '' The Canadian Encyclopedia'', November 1, 2011. He has written more than a thousand different ...

, Arthur Hill, Bernie Braden and Andrew Allan, who emerged in Vancouver prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and eventually moved to Toronto to become part of the CBC's "Golden Age of Radio". Drainie and Ruth Springford once appeared in a radio play by Peterson, during which Springford apparently forgot that she had one more scene, and left the studio early. Drainie reportedly improvised a monologue until the director grabbed another actress and thrust her into the scene, at which point Drainie ad libbed his way back into the script. The radio audience reportedly never realized that anything was amiss. He also worked with other notables throughout his long radio career, including

Jane Mallett Jane Mallett (April 17, 1899 – April 14, 1984) was a Canadian actress. She was born as Jean Dawson Keenleyside in London, Ontario, Canada. Career Her films included ''Love at First Sight'' with Dan Aykroyd, ''The Sweet and the Bitter'', ''T ...

Toby Robins Toby Robins (March 13, 1931 – March 21, 1986) was a Canadian actress of film, stage and television. Robins starred in hundreds of radio and stage productions in Canada from the late 1940s through the 1960s, working with such performers as Jan ...

Barry Morse Herbert Morse (10 June 19182 February 2008), known professionally as Barry Morse, was a British-Canadian actor of stage, screen, and radio, best known for his roles in the ABC television series '' The Fugitive'' and the British sci-fi drama '' ...

James Doohan James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series '' Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottis ...

, and

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

. In 1954 he voiced an "extraordinarily lifelike imitation" of the character modelled after Joseph McCarthy in the satirical radio play ''

The Investigator ''The Investigator'' (1954) was a radio play written by Reuben Ship and first broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on May 30 of that year. The play lampooned the actions of the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities ...

'', written by

Reuben Ship Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugues ...

, himself deported by the INS to Canada in 1953 following anti-communist HUAC hearings. In 1963 Drainie played Professor Hunter in the classic

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

film ''

The Incredible Journey ''The Incredible Journey'' (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford, is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton, which tells the story of three pets as they travel through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved m ...

''. In 1964, he was also a cohost with Laurier Lapierre of the controversial newsmagazine series ''

This Hour Has Seven Days ''This Hour Has Seven Days'' was a CBC Television news magazine that ran from 1964 to 1966, offering viewers in-depth analysis of the major social and political stories of the previous week. The show, inspired by the BBC and NBC-TV satire seri ...

''. Ill with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, Drainie left the series in its second year, and was replaced by Patrick Watson. Drainie died at the age of 50 in 1966. His widow,

Claire Clair or Claire may refer to: *Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire * Clair (surname) Places Canada * Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska * Clair Parish, New Brunswick * Pointe-Claire, Q ...

, subsequently married Canadian theatre impresario Nathan A. Taylor. John and Claire Drainie's eldest daughter, Bronwyn Drainie, is a noted Canadian journalist and broadcaster who wrote a biography of her father, ''Living the Part: John Drainie and the Dilemma of Canadian Stardom'', in 1988. Two major Canadian awards,

ACTRA The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The orga ...

John Drainie Award The John Drainie Award was an award given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to broadcasting in Canada. Although meant to be presented annually there have been years where it was not presented. Originally created by ACTRA in 1 ...

and the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada (french: La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada) is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laure ...

's Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize, were named in Drainie's honour. He was also posthumously inducted into the

BC Entertainment Hall of Fame The BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in Vancouver was founded on 24 July 1992 to honour British Columbians that have made outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry. Star Walk inductees are featured with a plaque on the Walk of Fame on ...

with a Star Walk plaque on

Granville Street Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99. Granville Street is most often associated with the Granville Entertainment District and the Granville Mall. This street also cuts through resid ...

References

External links

John Drainie
at th

*
John Drainie fonds (R781)
at '' Library and Archives Canada'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Drainie, John 1916 births 1966 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian male radio actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian radio personalities Canadian television hosts Male actors from Vancouver