Dr. David Emmett Gardner
May 4, 1928 - February 8, 2020
May 4, 1928 - February 8, 2020
The Globe and Mail
February 14, 2020
With his daughter by his side, David died peacefully on
Saturday, February 8th at Toronto
General Hospital.
He was predeceased by his beloved wife and partner, Dorothy, and his brother Desmond.
David is survived by the apple of his eye, his daughter Jenny, her partner
Christine, close friend Gail Carr, and the Gardner family. Born in Toronto, David was an actor, director, and
historian. He got his start at Toronto's
Hart House Theatre where he played roles such as Othello, Macbeth, Marc
Anthony, and Constantin. In 1949, he turned professional with Ontario's Straw Hat Players. During the
1950s he appeared with the New Play Society, the Royal
Alexandra Theatre,
the Crest Theatre, and Jupiter Theatre in Toronto,
the Canadian Repertory Theatre in Ottawa, and
Brae Manor Playhouse in Quebec.
He also toured North America with the Canadian
Players. David performed for three seasons at the Stratford Festival, winning
the Tyrone Guthrie award in 1956. Over his long and distinguished creative
life, David's contributions to Canadian theatre were immense. In 1960, he led
the founding of the National Theatre School of Canada, which has become the
Canadian Centre of excellence in theatre training. Many of Canada's most
important theatre, performance, film, and television artists have been trained
at the school. He leaves a lasting legacy for the young artists who graduate
every year from the National
Theatre School,
and for the many Canadian theatres he helped to launch and which continue to
inspire audiences to this day. David directed and produced 75 dramas for CBC
Television including CBC's first full-length film, The Paper People, written by
Timothy Findley, which went on to win the Wilderness Award for Direction
(1969). He also created the Quentin Durgens MP TV series starring Gordon
Pinsent. He served as Artistic Director of the Vancouver Playhouse from 1969 to
1971. During his tenure as Theatre Officer for The Canada Council (1971-72),
David was instrumental in launching a new era of alternate and Indigenous
theatre, introducing and subsidizing 25 new Alternate Theatre companies across Canada. David
returned to academic life in the mid-1970s, taking first an M.A. (1974) and
then a Ph.D. (1983) in Canadian Theatre History at the University of Toronto,
where he also taught and directed. He lectured at York
University, the National Theatre
School of Canada, and for 20 years taught the 'Acting for Camera' course at George Brown
College. During this time
he also appeared in productions at the Neptune Theatre, the Manitoba Theatre
Centre, Hamilton's Theatre Aquarius, Ontario's Red Barn
Theatre, the Huron County Playhouse, the NAC, and again at the Stratford
Festival in 1986. In Toronto
he played for Tarragon, Canadian Stage, Necessary Angel, and Factory Theatre.
David either performed or directed in more than 850 stage, film, radio, or
television shows. David won the Canadian Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
in The Insurance Man from Ingersoll (1976), the ACTRA Award for his work in
Bethune opposite Donald Sutherland (1978), and a Gemini Award (1997) for his
leading role in the Traders series. Dr. Gardner wrote extensively about theatre
in Canada, was a founding
member of the Association for Canadian Theatre Research, and was awarded
Honourary Membership in 1993 for his distinguished service to theatre in Canada. In 1999
he donated his 25-year Canadian Theatre history collection to the Thomas Fisher
Library at the University
of Toronto. David was
awarded the Herbert Whittaker/Drama Bench Award for Outstanding Contribution to
Canadian Theatre by the Canadian Theatre Critics Association (2004) and the
Earle Grey Award (2008). Finally, and most importantly, we remember David for
who he was as a person and this stands above all else. As a father, husband,
uncle, friend, and colleague, David exemplified generosity, humility, loyalty,
and strength in the face of adversity. Jenny wants to thank the staff at Hazelton Place for
taking such good care of her dad for the past eight years, with special thanks
to his personal care worker Grace. A celebration of David's extraordinary life
will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2020 in the Great Hall at Hart House from 1:00
to 5:00 p.m. Dr. Gardner established a permanent annual endowment fund in 2014
that gives University of Toronto students the opportunity to acquire real-life,
highly-technical experience in directing at Hart House Theatre. Donations in
his memory can be made to the fund https://donate.utoronto.ca/gardner. Electronic condolences
can be left at www.cardinalfuneralhomes.com
GARDENER, David (David Emmett Gardner)
Born: 5/4/1928, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
Died: 2/8/2020, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada
David Gardener’s
westerns – actor:
The Campbells (TV) – 1989 (Sir William Stevenson)
All Hat – 2007 (Homer Parr)
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