Jan Ladislav Rubeš CM (6 June 1920 – 29 June 2009) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

opera singer and actor.

Life and career

Rubeš was born in

Volyně Volyně () is a town in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urb ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, to Ružena (née Kellnerová) and Jan Rubeš. Not long after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he graduated from the Prague Conservatoire and joined the Prague Opera House as a bass singer. In 1948, he won first prize at the Geneva International Music Festival and emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the end of the year to pursue a career in a wider sphere. Beginning as a singer with the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

, he subsequently directed and became director of touring, before switching to radio and television, where he became well known as an actor and presenter in Canada. He is noted for his portrayal of

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

patriarch Eli Lapp in

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born 21 August 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He is known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), '' Gallipoli'' (1981), '' The Y ...

's major-market film ''

Witness In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know. A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...

'' and Jan in '' D2: The Mighty Ducks''.

Family

On 22 September 1950, Rubeš married actress Susan Douglas. The couple had three sons: Christopher (died 1996), Jonathan, and Anthony. They remained married until his death in 2009. He is the great-uncle of Czech YouTuber Janek Rubeš.

Death

On 29 June 2009, Rubeš died following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at Toronto General Hospital.

Awards and recognition

* 1989: nominee, 10th Genie Awards, Best Actor, '' Something About Love'' * 1990: winner,

Earle Grey Award The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team (such as SCTV or Royal Canadian Air Fa ...

* 1995: appointed Member,

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

Filmography

Motion pictures

*1950: '' Forbidden Journey'' - Jan Bartik *1963: '' The Incredible Journey'' - Carl Nurmi *1975: '' Lions for Breakfast'' - Ivan *1980: '' Mr. Patman'' - Vrakettas *1981: '' The Amateur'' - Kaplan *1981: '' Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid'' - Psychiatrist *1983: ''

Utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...

'' - Mort *1985: ''

'' - Eli Lapp *1985: ''

One Magic Christmas ''One Magic Christmas'' is a 1985 List of Christmas films, Christmas fantasy film directed by Phillip Borsos. It was released by Walt Disney Pictures and stars Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton. It was shot in Meaford, Ontario with some scen ...

'' - Santa Claus *1987: '' Dead of Winter'' - Dr. Joseph Lewis *1988: '' Blood Relations'' - Andreas *1988: '' The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick'' - Augustus Glick *1988: ''This Kiss'' - Gordon Tobin *1988: '' Something About Love'' - Stan Olynyk *1989: '' The Experts'' - Illyich *1989: ''

Cold Front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...

'' - Zoubov *1989: ''Blind Fear'' - Lasky *1990: ''Divided Loyalties'' *1990: '' Courage Mountain'' - Grandfather *1990: '' The Amityville Curse'' - Priest *1991: ''

Class Action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

'' - Pavel *1991: ''

Deceived ''Deceived'' is a 1991 American psychological thriller film directed by Damian Harris. The script was written by Mary Agnes Donoghue and rewritten by Bruce Joel Rubin. Goldie Hawn and John Heard star as a happily married couple whose lives ...

'' - Tomasz *1991: ''On My Own'' - The Colonel *1992: ''Don Gio'' - Journalist No. 2 *1994: ''Boozecan'' - Pops *1994: '' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' - Jan *1994: ''Mesmer'' - Prof. Stoerk *1995: '' Roommates'' - Bolek Krupa *1996: '' Never Too Late'' - Joseph *1997: ''Bach Cello Suite #4: Sarabande'' - Dr. Kassovitz *1998: ''Music from Another Room'' - Louis Klammer *1998: ''The White Raven'' - Markus Strand *1999: '' Snow Falling on Cedars'' - Ole Jurgensen *1999: ''Nightmare Man'' - Evan Hannibal *2000: ''Believe'' - Jason Stiles *2001: ''Anthrax'' - Arthur Kowalski *2002: '' The Burial Society'' - Marvin Telekunsky *2003: ''The Republic of Love'' - Strom *2004: ''Daniel and the Superdogs'' - The Colonel

Television movies

*1975: ''Deadly Harvest'' *1977: ''The Day My Granddad Died'' *1978: '' Catsplay'' *1985: '' Charlie Grant's War'' - Jacob *1985: ''Murder by Reason of Insanity'' - Giorgi Denerenko *1986: '' The Marriage Bed'' - Max Ehrlich *1988: ''No Blame'' - Dr. Bloomer *1988: '' Two Men'' - Michael Barna *1990: '' Descending Angel'' - Bishop Dancu *1992: ''Devlin'' - Vittorio Di Fabrizi *1993: ''

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 ...

'' - Tomas Havel *1994: '' The Birds II: Land's End'' - Karl *1994: ''Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio'' - Phantom *1995: '' Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story'' - Far *1997: ''Flood: A River's Rampage'' *1999: ''What Katy Did'' - Dr. Reinhart *2000: '' The Christmas Secret'' - Andree *2005: '' Our Fathers'' - Pope John Paul

Television series

*1963: '' The Forest Rangers'' - Jaworski / Gregor Kowalski *1970: ''Castle Zaremba'' - Col. Kazimir Zaremba *1970: ''The Barbara McNair Show '' - Himself *1983: ''Vandenberg'' - Lewis Vanderberg *1975–1983: ''Guess What'' (host) *1985: ''Kane & Abel'' (miniseries) - The Polish Consul *1985: '' Murder in Space'' - Gregory Denarenko *1986: '' Kay O'Brien'' - Dr. Josef Wallach *1986: '' Crossings'' (miniseries) - Isaac Zimmerman *1988: '' Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show'' (as a special guest) - Jan Rubes *1989: '' War of the Worlds'' - (Episode, "Choirs of Angels") - Dr. Erik von Deer *1990: '' Street Legal'' (season 4, Episode 4X13 "Leon's Story") - Arthur Robinovitch *1990: '' Max Glick'' - Augustus Glick *1992–1993: ''By Way of the Stars'' (miniseries) - Hausierer Nathan *1996: ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' (Episodes '' Tunguska'' ncreditedand '' Terma'') - Vassily Peskow *1996–1998: '' Due South'' - Dr. Mort Gustafson *1997: ''The Third Twin'' (miniseries) *1999: '' The Outer Limits'' (Episode, "

Tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

") - Robert Greene / Older Karl Rademacher *2000: ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...

'' (season 3, Episode 21 "Crystal Skull") - Nicholas Ballard

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubes, Jan 1920 births 2009 deaths People from Volyně Czech male film actors Czechoslovak male opera singers Czech male stage actors Czech male television actors Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Members of the Order of Canada Academic staff of University of Windsor Academic staff of Wilfrid Laurier University Czech emigrants to Canada Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners