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Nonnie Griffin was born Lorna Margaret Jean Griffin and began her career onstage when she was 16 at the now defunct Red Barn Theatre in Jackson’s Point, Ontario. She went on to study first at the Toronto Conservatory and then at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London where she studied voice, speech arts and drama. She also studied with the famed mime artist Marcel Marceau. Her stage work includes a 10-month run as the title character in Hello, Dolly! at the Limelight Dinner Theatre in Toronto in 1990. She appeared in the original Toronto production of John Murrell’s Waiting for the Parade and played Jessica in the original Montreal production of David French’s Jitters. Other stage work included appearances at the Canadian Repertory Theatre in Ottawa, the Peterborough Summer Theatre, the Jupiter Players in Toronto and the Bristol Old Vic in London, England, among many others.A generation of children grew up with her when she was part of the TVOntario children’s series, Polka Dot Door. Her dramatic work on television dates back to the medium’s so-called Golden Age, including her being cast in the role of Diana Barry in the first televised production of Anne of Green Gables in 1956. For all of her early career she was credited as Margaret Griffin. She was 85 and getting ready for a new production when she died in hospital of a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
For her appearances in television dramas, we list the title of the drama followed by the year of production and the title of the series.
Also see: Passages 2019.
Features & TV Movies:
VR indicates Direct-to-Video Release
The Ox and the Ass (TV-1954, Hidden Pages)
Anne of Green Gables (TV-1956)
When Soft Voices Die (TV-1956, Folio)
Black of the Moon (TV-1956, First Performance)
The Painted Blind (TV-1956, General Motors Theatre)
Kathleen (TV-1956, General Motors Theatre)
Whiteoaks (TV-1957, General Motors Theatre)
Black Chiffon (TV-1957, General Motors Theatre)
The Trial of James Whelan (TV-1957, Folio)
Mr. Bolfry (TV-1957, Folio)
A Matter of Principle (TV-1958, General Motors Theatre)
The Diary of a Scoundrel (TV-1958, Folio)
Three to Get Married: Part 1 (TV-1958, On Camera)
A Touch of the Sun (TV-1959, ITV Play of the Week)
Too Young to Love (1960)
Roman Gesture (TV-1960, Armchair Theatre)
Eye Witness (TV-1960, Armchair Mystery Theatre)
The Watching Cat (TV-1961)
The Ninety-Ninth Day (TV-1963, Playdate)
The Close Prisoner (TV-1964, Festival)
The Birthday Party (TV-1965, Festival)
The Scotch (TV-1966, Festival)
Counter Etiquette. Part 1 (1967, short)
If You Could See What I Hear (1982)
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (voice, 1986)
The Believers (1987)
Blades of Courage (TV-1988)
The Toy Shop (voice, VR-1996)
A Husband, a Wife and a Lover (TV-1996)
The Abduction (TV-1996)
An Angel for Christmas (voice, VR-1996, short)
A Little Princess (voice, VR-1996)
Good Fences (2003)
Wild Life (voice, 2011)
Old Stock (2012)
Wet Bum (2014)
Sundowning (2016, short)
A Puppy for Christmas (TV-2016)
Stockholm (2018)
TV Series – Cast:
Ewoks (voice, 1985)
The Care Bears (voice, 1986)
TV Series – Guest appearances:
Last of the Mohicans (1957)
Strange Paradise (1969)
King of Kensington (1978)
Bizarre (1980)
The Littlest Hobo (1983)
Check It Out (1986)
Adderly (1986, 1987)
Street Legal (1989)
The Raccoons (1989, 1991)
RoboCop (1994)
Forever Knight (1995)
Doc (2002, 2003)
Bitten (2014)
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First published as Northernstars.net February 1, 1998
ISSN 2563 4895
