Dinah Christie

Dinah Christie’s father was Canadian actor, Robert Christie. Although born in England during World War Two, the Christie family moved to Canada in 1944 and Dinah grew up in Toronto. She first worked as a “call boy” at the Stratford Festival when she was 13, but became an apprentice at the Festival in 1960. Before she was out of her teens, she had been cast as a performer and appeared on stage in a number of productions including Macbeth, The Tempest and Cyrano de Bergerac. Her singing career began with she was at North Toronto Collegiate and she performed as a folk singer. In 1961, she sang in a comedy revue in Toronto starring Dave Broadfoot and Jean Templeton that was directed by her father. In 1965, Christie was selected by Tom Kneebone to co-star in a stage revue. They would work together for decades. Also in 1965, she joined the CBC’s weekly news review, This Hour Has Seven Days, which allowed her to reach a national audience with her satirical songs. Christie is also an inventor and she has a bronze plaque in her honour installed at the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa.

Also see: Margot Christie