Passages 2019
by Ralph Lucas – Publisher
(December 31, 2019 – Toronto, ON) For the past many years as the year draws to a close, Northernstars.ca has looked back at the Canadian actors, directors and other crew members behind the cameras that have died in the previous 12 months. Instead of writing a lengthy article this year we decided to produce a video remembering those we have lost in 2019.
Some of the names are, or should be, familiar. Others less so. There are directors, screenwriters, actors and actresses, composers, animators…34 people who entertained us with their words, ideas, music or performances on stage or on screens large and small. Some were old, some were too young. Some may surprise you. It’s common for us to get emails that begin with “I didn’t know they were Canadian.”
Northernstars was founded more than 20 years ago on the idea we can never really have a true film industry until we have a true star system. It is safe to conclude that some of the people we lost this year toiled in relative obscurity. We assume they loved what they did and that was enough to sustain them. It would be nice if they were all household names, stars in their own right, known and acknowledged while they were alive for the work they did and the joy they brought by entertaining us.
We do our best during the year to celebrate Canadian screen talent, but we also set aside time at the end of each year to remember those stars we have lost.
Ralph Lucas is the founder and publisher of Northernstars.ca. He began writing about film and reviewing movies while in radio in Montreal in the mid-1970s.
