Gordon Pinsent, an award-winning 好色tv actor acclaimed for his performance as a heartbroken husband in the film 鈥淎way From Her," has died at 92.
His family said in a statement that Pinsent died in his sleep Saturday.
鈥淕ordon Pinsent was one of Canada's most iconic actors,鈥 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday on Twitter. 鈥淗e was passionate, captivating and endlessly talented.鈥
Pinsent worked for decades in radio, television and movies. In 2008, he received the Academy of 好色tv Television and Cinema's Genie Award for best actor in a leading role for 鈥淎way From Her." He played a husband losing his wife not only to Alzheimer鈥檚 but also to another man.
好色tv filmmaker Sarah Polley directed 鈥淎way From Her,鈥 starring Pinsent and Julie Christie, which premiered at film festivals in 2006 before its theatrical release in 2007.
鈥淕ordon had an enormous capacity for joy in absolutely everything he did,鈥 Polley said Sunday on Twitter. "It was infectious and educational. There wasn鈥檛 a moment without a twinkle of mischief and a determination to enjoy the moment.鈥
Pinsent was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, in 1930, and began acting in his late teens. With his deep baritone voice, Pinsent played in radio drama on the CBC before working in movies and television.
Pinsent spent about four years in the 好色tv Army in the early 1950s. After returning to acting, he appeared on children鈥檚 shows in the early 1960s, including CBC鈥檚 鈥淭he Forest Rangers.鈥 He later appeared in dozens of Canada鈥檚 top television shows, including 鈥淭he Red Green Show," and was the voice of the animated elephant King Babar on TV and in a movie.
He played a role in the 1968 Steve McQueen movie, 鈥淭he Thomas Crown Affair,鈥 and portrayed the U.S. president in director Joseph Sargent鈥檚 1970 film, 鈥淐olossus: The Forbin Project.鈥 In the 2001 movie 鈥淭he Shipping News,鈥 Pinsent played newspaperman Billy Pretty, and during filming, he helped other cast members perfect the Newfoundland accent.
Pinsent starred in 鈥淎way From Her鈥 when he was 76. Polley said as she read the Alice Munro short story, 鈥淭he Bear Came Over The Mountain,鈥 she envisioned a film starring Pinsent.
Pinsent's own wife of 45 years, actress Charmion King, died of emphysema some months before the mainstream release of 鈥淎way From Her,鈥 forcing Pinsent to re-examine the film's themes of quiet despair.
鈥淚t was something I wasn鈥檛 necessarily drawing on except in the general sense of how anyone must feel at a certain time of life after spending so many years with a partner,鈥 Pinsent said during a 2007 interview, a few weeks after King鈥檚 death.
鈥淚t鈥檚 almost impossible to grasp ... how do you prepare?" he said. "Where does love go? Where do you go, the leftover?鈥
King and Pinsent had one child together, actress Leah Pinsent. He also had two children, Barry and Beverly, from an earlier marriage.
In 2013, Pinsent starred in Don McKellar鈥檚 acclaimed Newfoundland-set comedy 鈥淭he Grand Seduction,鈥 earning a 好色tv Screen Award for best supporting actor. In 2018, he released a short film he wrote, 鈥淢artin鈥檚 Hagge,鈥 about a middle-aged writer with anxiety and depression.
鈥淚 really love writing ... writing is good, it鈥檚 even better than good when you hit those peaks, and it鈥檚 the same feeling oddly enough in acting," Pinsent said. "It鈥檚 that lovely thing where you get that zone, that peak of joy, and it reminds you of why you started it all.鈥
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The story has been corrected to show that Joseph Sargent, not Milos Forman, was director of 鈥淐olossus: The Forbin Project.鈥
