Gordon Pinsent

Gordon Pinsent studied at The Royal Conservatory of Music. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is acting and dubbing. Distinctions recorded are Companion of the Order of Canada, Earle Grey Award, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Canada's Walk of Fame.

• Name — Gordon Pinsent • Honorific Suffix — FRSC • Birth Name — Gordon Edward Pinsent • Born — 12 July 1930 • Birthplace — Grand Falls, Newfoundland • Died — 25 February 2023 • Place of death — Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Occupation — * Actor • writer • director • singer • Years Active — 1957–2021 • Children — 4, including Leah

Pinsent, the youngest of six children, was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland (present-day Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada). His mother, Florence "Flossie" (née Cooper), was originally from Clifton, Newfoundland and his father, Stephen Arthur Pinsent, was a papermill worker and cobbler originally from Dildo, Newfoundland. His mother was "quiet spoken" and a religious Anglican; the family was descended from immigrants from Kent and Devon in England. He was a self-described "awkward child" who suffered from rickets. Pinsent began acting on stage in the 1940s at the age of 17. He soon took on roles in radio drama on the CBC, and later moved into television and film as well. In the early 1950s, he took a break from acting and joined the Canadian Army, serving for approximately four years as a private in the Royal Canadian Regiment.

Pinsent's professional acting career began in 1957 at Winnipeg's Theatre 77 (later known as the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre) under the direction of John Hirsch. In the years that followed, he performed in many theatrical productions in Winnipeg, in Toronto at the Crest Theatre and at the Stratford Festival. In the early 1960s, he appeared in Festival, Scarlett Hill and The Forest Rangers. He later became a staple of Canadian television with roles including the series Quentin Durgens, M.P., A Gift to Last (which he created), The Red Green Show, Due South, Wind at My Back, and Power Play. Pinsent's film roles included The Thomas Crown Affair, The Rowdyman, Who Has Seen the Wind, John and the Missus, The Shipping News and Away from Her. He wrote the screenplays for The Rowdyman and John and the Missus. Perhaps his best known early film role was that of the president of the United States in the 1970 science fiction cult classic Colossus: The Forbin Project. His other plays include Easy Down Easy (1987) and Brass Rubbings (1989). One of Pinsent's largest roles was playing the character of Hap Shaughnessy on The Red Green Show from 1991 to 2006. Hap was notorious for telling largely exaggerated stories about his past. He was frequently called out on his fabrications by his friend Red Green (played by Canadian comedian and show co-creator Steve Smith) or others. His first memoir, By the Way, was published in 1992 by Stoddart Publishing. His second, Next (with George Anthony), was published in 2012 by McClelland and Stewart. On March 8, 2007, it was publicly announced in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that Pinsent had accepted the appointment of honorary chairman of the "Building for the Future" fundraising campaign for The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum. During the 2008, 2010, and 2011 summer periods of CBC Radio One, Pinsent presented a radio documentary series called The Late Show featuring extended obituaries of notable Canadians whom the producers believed deserved attention. Pinsent appeared in one of Canadian director Stephen Dunn's early short films titled Life Doesn't Frighten Me, which won various awards, including the CBC Short Film Face-Off, with a cash prize of C$30,000. The film also won awards at the Toronto Student Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013. He had a guest starring role as Maurice Becker on the February 3, 2010, episode of Canadian television series Republic of Doyle. He was also a featured guest reader on Bookaboo. He attained notoriety when a comedic segment of him reading dramatically from Justin Bieber's autobiography on This Hour Has 22 Minutes went viral on October 20, 2010.

Pinsent married actress Charmion King in 1962. They remained together until her death in 2007. Their daughter, Leah Pinsent, is also an actress. Pinsent also had two children, Barry and Beverley, from a previous marriage. On February 25, 2023, Pinsent died at a hospital in Toronto at age 92, from complications of a cerebral hemorrhage.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. Reference(s) • 1974 — Ocean Heritage — Narrator (voice) • 1984 — data-sort-value="Castle of White Otter Lake, The" | The Castle of White Otter Lake — Narrator (voice) • 1985 — Uncle T • 1999 — data-sort-value="Old Man and the Sea, The" | The Old Man and the Sea — Old Man (voice) • 2002 — data-sort-value="Promise, A" | A Promise — Stan • 2003 — Snow on the Skeleton Key — Winslow Icarus • 2006 — data-sort-value="Sparky Book, The" | The Sparky Book — Goldfish • 2009 — data-sort-value="Spine, The" | The Spine — Dan Rutherford (voice) • 2009 — How Eunice Got Her Baby — Narrator (voice) • 2012 — Life Doesn't Frighten Me — Francis Weary • 2012 — Night Light — Benjamin • 2012 — Flight of the Butterflies — Self / Dr. Fred Urquhart — Documentary • 2013 — Nuts, Nothing and Nobody — (voice) • 2016 — Martin's Hagge — Man on Sidewalk • 2019 — Night Shoot — Branch • 2020 — Age of Dysphoria — Fred • 2021 — Back Home Again — Jack Rabbit (voice)

Gordon Pinsent television credits • Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. Reference(s) • 1961–1966 — Festival — (various) — 6 episodes • 1963 — Scarlett Hill — David Black — Regular cast • 1963–1965 — The Forest Rangers — Sergeant Brian Scott — Regular cast • 1968–1969 — Quentin Durgens, M.P. — Quentin Durgens — Main Character • 1970 — Hogan's Heroes — Capt. Steiner — 1 episode • 1972 — Banacek — John Weymouth — 1 episode • 1973 — Incident on a Dark Street — Joe – Mayor — TV movie • 1973 — Cannon — Phillip Trask — 1 episode • 1974 — The Play's The Thing — Host • 1978–1979 — A Gift to Last — Sgt. Edgar Sturgess — TV movie • 1979 — The Suicide's Wife — Allan Crane — TV movie • 1980 — Up at Ours — TV miniseries • 1981 — Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper — Ambassador Ken Taylor — TV movie • 1982 — The Life and Times of Edwin Alonzo Boyd — Edwin Alonzo Boyd — TV movie • 1983 — Ready for Slaughter — Will Hackett — 1 episode • 1984 — A Case of Libel — Dennis Corcoran — TV movie • 1984 — Seeing Things — Englander — 1 episode • 1985 — And Miles to Go — Jack Morrissey — TV movie — Star and writer • 1988 — Two Men — (director) — TV movie • 1989–1991 — Babar — King Babar (voice) — Regular cast • 1989–1993 — Street Legal — Harold Vickers — 5 episodes • 1989 — Friday the 13th: The Series — Desmond Williams — 1 episode • 1991–2006 — The Red Green Show — Hap Shaughnessy — Recurring cast • 1992 — In the Eyes of the Stranger — Lt. Ted Burk — TV movie • 1992 — Counterstrike — Col. Jack Devon — Episode: "Death SEAL" • 1993 — Bonds of Love — Leon — TV movie • 1994–1999 — Due South — Robert Fraser — Recurring seasons 1-2, Main 3-4 • 1995 — A Vow to Kill — Frank Waring — TV movie • 1997–2000 — Wind at My Back — Leo McGinty — 7 episodes • 1998, 2003 — Made in Canada (The Industry) — Myron Kingswell / Walter Franklin, Sr. — 2 episodes • 1998–2000 — Power Play — Duff McArdle — 26 episodes • 1999 — Win, Again! — Win Morrissey — TV movie • 2001 — Blind Terror — Martin Howell — TV movie • 2003 — Hemingway vs Callaghan — Morley Callaghan — TV movie • 2003 — Fallen Angel — Warren Wentworth — TV movie • 2004 — H 2 O: The Last Prime Minister — Michael Cameron — 2 episodes • 2009 — Corner Gas — Corky Dillems — 1 episode • 2010 — The Pillars of the Earth — Archbishop — TV miniseries • 2010–2012 — Republic of Doyle — Maurice Becker — Recurring cast • 2010–2015 — Babar and the Adventures of Badou — King Babar (voice) — Regular cast • 2012 — Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town — Elder Stephen Leacock — TV movie • 2013 — Satisfaction — Dr Faskin — 1 episode • 2019 — Private Eyes — Nevin Ainslie — 1 episode

Gordon Pinsent is recorded with the occupation film director. Recorded as having received Companion of the Order of Canada, Earle Grey Award and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.