Mavor Moore

Mavor Moore was one of three sons of famed actress, director and theatre matriarch Dora Mavor Moore. His parents separated when he was a child, but with his mother’s guidance he grew up to produce his first play at 10, write his first play at 11 and then a few years later he made his acting debut on radio when he was 14 years old. He graduated from the University of Toronto and served as a recruitment officer during the Second World War, returning to CBC Radio at the war’s end as producer for the International Service in Montreal. He also wrote and directed radio documentaries for the United Nations, three of which were given Peabody Awards. He eventually became CBC Television’s first chief producer. In his life he would be a playwright, actor, director, producer, composer, critic, essayist and teacher. He had more than 100 plays, documentaries, musicals and librettos for stage, radio and television to his credit. He also founded a number of Canadian artistic institutions. For example, he helped his mother establish the New Play Society in 1946 which he managedfor many years. Among their creations was Spring Thaw. Moore founded the Charlottetown Festival, the Canadian Theatre Centre and Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre. He served as the first chairman of the Guild of Canadian Playwrights, and was a founding governor of both the Stratford Festival and the National Theatre School. Moore was the first artist to chair the Canada Council for the Arts and served as head of music network Jeunesses Musicales Canada. He chaired the British Columbia Arts Council and was director of the Canadian Music Council. Beginning in 1970, he taught in both the English and theatre departments at York University just north of Toronto, which honoured him with professor emeritus status in 1984. He then moved west, where he worked as a research professor at the University of Victoria and the University of Lethbridge. His substantial contributions to Canadian culture were recognized in 1973 when he was named a member of the Order of Canada, an honour that was elevated to Companion in 1988. He also received the Canada Council’s Molson Prize, ACTRA’s John Drainie Award for lifetime service to broadcasting, a Diplôme d’honneur from the Canadian Conference of the Arts, the Order of British Columbia, the Governor General’s Award for lifetime achievement in the performing arts, and honorary degrees from a host of Canadian universities. A book about his life titled, Reinventing Myself, was published in 1994. In keeping with the guidelines of Northernstars, these are his credits for his work as an actor on television and in film.