Murray Westgate (April 16, 1918 – August 27, 2018) 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. He is best known for his longtime role as a television pitchman in Canadian commercials for

Esso Esso () is a trade name, trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Exxon, Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Ess ...

on ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its his ...

'' in the 1950s and 1960s, and also for his roles in '' Blue City Slammers'', for which he garnered a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for sc ...

nomination as Best Supporting Actor at the 9th Genie Awards in 1988; and in the film adaptation of '' Two Solitudes'', as the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as suc ...

."Westgate, Murray (1918- )"

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) is a Canadian nonprofit organization which documents the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television. Since 1995, the organization has distributed its collection via an intern ...

, November 2002.

Early life

Before becoming an actor, Westgate served as a radio operator in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

."Veterans at Sunnybrook show us how to age gracefully"
'' The Globe and Mail'', December 5, 2013. He then moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

to join Everyman Theatre as an actor, before joining

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

as an actor in radio dramas.

Career

Westgate began appearing in

commercials in 1952, when the company signed on as the main commercial sponsor of ''

'', and retained this role until 1968. He also had roles in the television series '' Jake and the Kid'', '' R.C.M.P.'', '' Seaway'', ''

House of Pride ''House of Pride'' was a Canadian television soap opera, which aired on CBC Television from 1974 to 1976. The series opened with the death of family patriarch Dan Pride (George Waite), and focused on the families of his five adult children."House ...

'' and '' Seeing Things'', and had some guest and supporting roles in television and theatrical films, but found that he sometimes lost out on roles because he was too recognizably

typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

by the Esso commercials. He won an

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.

in 1979 for his performance in the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

film ''

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''. He was inducted into the

Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first ...

Hall of Fame in 2002. Westgate's final acting job was in 1991, at the age of 72, a reprisal of his Esso attendant character for two commercials aired by Imperial Oil during that year's Stanley Cup playoffs. The spots featured both a black-and-white clip of one of his original Esso ads and newly recorded footage."Service with a smile". ''

Financial Post The ''Financial Post'' was an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the publication was folded into the new ''National Post'',"Black says Post to merge with new paper". '' The Globe and Mail'', July 23, ...

'', April 5, 1991. Westgate

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

on April 16, 2018. He died on August 27, 2018 at Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, where he had lived for more than a decade.

Personal life

Westgate was married to actress Alice Hill until her death in 1983.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Westgate, Murray 1918 births 2018 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male radio actors Male actors from Regina, Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Navy personnel Canadian centenarians Men centenarians