Jonathan Crombie
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jonathan Crombie (October 12, 1966 – April 15, 2015) was a Canadian actor and voice over artist, best known for playing
Gilbert Blythe Gilbert Blythe is a character in Lucy Maud Montgomery's '' Anne of Green Gables'' series of novels. Character description Gilbert is described in the books as being very handsome with brown, curly hair and hazel eyes. He is tall with a lean build ...
in CBC Television's 1985 telefilm '' Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels.


Early life

Crombie was born on October 12, 1966 in Toronto, Ontario, the son of
David Crombie David Edward Crombie (born April 24, 1936) is a Canadian former academic and politician who served as the 56th mayor of Toronto from 1972 to 1978. Crombie was elected to Parliament following his tenure as mayor. A member of the Progressive Cons ...
, who was the mayor of
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
from 1972 to 1978 and 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 ...
federal Cabinet Minister in the 1980s. Crombie attended
Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute (''Lawrence Park CI'', ''LPCI'', "LP", or ''Lawrence Park'') is a semestered, public high school institution with over 1,267 students enrolled. The school is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grade ...
, where he was spotted by casting agent Diane Polley performing in a production of ''The Wizard of Oz''.


Career


Television

Crombie had no previous acting experience and used a photo he took at a kiosk in Union Station when he auditioned for the role of Gilbert Blythe in the 1985 TV miniseries ''Anne of Green Gables''. He reprised the role in the 1987 TV movie ''
Anne of Avonlea Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...
'', the 2000 TV movie '' Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story'' and an episode of '' Road to Avonlea'' in 1992. His role was so popular that he answered to the nickname "Gil". Crombie was also a comedian and in 1998 performed on the Canadian TV series ''
Comedy Now! ''Comedy Now!'' is a Canadian comedy television series which debuted in 1997 and ended in 2014 featuring the newest in Canadian comedic talent. The show has won numerous Gemini Awards as well as many international awards. It is broadcast in Cana ...
'' as part of a sketch comedy group. His other television credits included a guest appearance on an episode of the Vancouver-filmed TV series ''
21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'' in 1991, voicing the title character in the animated series ''
The Secret World of Benjamin Bear ''The Secret World of Benjamin Bear'' is a Canadian animated television series and a joint effort produced by Amberwood Entertainment, Secret Bear Productions, and produced with the participation of Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund including a ...
'' (2003–2009), along with its 3 prequel films, and appearing in the second season of ''
Slings & Arrows ''Slings & Arrows'' is a Canadian television series set at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Shakespearean festival similar to the real-world Stratford Festival. It stars Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette and Martha Burns. Rachel McAdams appeared ...
'' (2005), as playwright Lionel Train. In 2015, he had a guest role on ''
The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in l ...
'' and '' Haven''. In 2014, Crombie and John Mitchell wrote, produced, and directed a documentary titled ''Waiting for Ishtar'' about the 1987 film ''
Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...
''. The documentary was financed by an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. It premiered at Cinecycle in Toronto on December 14, 2017. It was dedicated to the memory of Jonathan Crombie.


Theatre

Crombie appeared on stage in ''The Dishwashers'' by
Morris Panych Morris Stephen Panych (born 30 June 1952) is a Canadian playwright, director and actor. Early life Panych was born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the Universi ...
(Tarragon Theatre, 2005) and ''The Oxford Roof Climbers Rebellion'' by Stephen Massicotte (Tarragon Theatre/Great Canadian Stage Company, 2006). He spent four seasons at Ontario's Stratford Shakespeare Festival appearing in ''A Comedy Of Errors'', ''Hamlet'', ''As You Like It'', ''Taming Of The Shrew'', and as Romeo in Diana Leblanc's ''Romeo and Juliet''. He was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his role in the Canadian Stage Company's 1997 production of
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
's play '' Arcadia''. Crombie debuted on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in the Canadian musical ''
The Drowsy Chaperone ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater fan who, feeling "blue", decides to p ...
'' as "Man in Chair", from March to April 2007. He returned to the production beginning August 21, and performed the role during the show's tour through the United States. In 2013, Crombie performed at Centerstage,
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, in ''
Clybourne Park ''Clybourne Park'' is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written as a spin-off to Lorraine Hansberry's play '' A Raisin in the Sun'' (1959). It portrays fictional events set during and after the Hansberry play, and is loosely based on historical event ...
'' and ''Benetha's Place'' for the Rasin Cycle featured on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. His final appearance on stage was playing two roles in the
Denver Center for the Performing Arts The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is an organization in Denver, Colorado which provides a showcase for live theatre, a nurturing ground for new plays, a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit, acting classes for the communi ...
Theatre Company's 2015 world premiere of ''Benediction'', based on the novel by
Kent Haruf Alan Kent Haruf (February 24, 1943 – November 30, 2014) was an American novelist. Life Haruf was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of a Methodist minister. In 1965 he graduated with a BA from Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he would late ...
.


Death

Crombie's family announced on April 18, 2015 that he had died suddenly three days earlier of a brain hemorrhage in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. His organs were donated. News of his death led to "Gilbert Blythe" trending on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
as fans shared their condolences.


Personal life

Crombie never married and had no children. At his memorial service in 2015, livetweeted by
TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...
journalist Steve Paikin, his sister Robin said that "Jonathan was also a gay man who didn’t come out until his 40s ... He was a very private person."


Filmography


References


External links

* *
Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert Blythe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crombie, Jonathan 1966 births 2015 deaths Canadian male stage actors Male actors from Toronto Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian gay actors 21st-century Canadian LGBT people 20th-century Canadian LGBT people