Louis Negin (20 October 1929 – 2 December 2022) was a British-born Canadian actor, best known for his roles in the films of Guy Maddin.[1]
Career
editBorn in London, England, and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Negin had his earliest film and television roles in the 1950s Canadian dramatic anthology series First Performance, and as a chorus member in Tyrone Guthrie's 1957 film of the Stratford Festival production of Oedipus Rex. He appeared in the Stratford Festival production of Tamburlaine, which had a run on Broadway in 1956,[2] and later appeared in London productions of Fortune and Men's Eyes and his own play Love and Maple Syrup; in Fortune and Men's Eyes, he became one of the first actors ever to appear fully nude on stage in England.[2]
Negin later appeared in films including The Ernie Game, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?, Ooh… You Are Awful, Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, Rabid, Two Solitudes and Highpoint. As well as appearing in TV series such as Brett, Mousey and The Zoo Gang and episodes of King of Kensington and The Littlest Hobo. In the 1980s he had a recurring role on Seeing Things, as well as acting in the television films Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner and Charlie Grant's War.
In 1994, he acted in drag as Mrs. White in a Toronto production of John Wimbs and Christopher Richards' play Molly Wood.[3] In 1998, he played Noël Coward in a production of Linda Griffiths' play The Duchess at Theatre Passe Muraille.[2] He played Truman Capote, both in a Toronto stage production of the play Tru in 1996[4] and in the film 54.[1]
In later years, he acted in several of Guy Maddin's films, including Cowards Bend the Knee, Sissy Boy Slap Party, The Saddest Music in the World, Keyhole, and The Forbidden Room as well as narrating Maddin's semi-documentary films Brand Upon the Brain! and My Winnipeg.[1] He also had guest roles in the television series Lord Have Mercy!, Mona the Vampire, ReGenesis and Slings and Arrows, and in Bruce McDonald's film Pontypool.
In 2008, he performed The Glass Eye, a semi-autobiographical play which he wrote in collaboration with Marie Brassard, in Montreal and Toronto.[2]
In 2019, he appeared in Matthew Rankin's film The Twentieth Century, acting in drag as the mother of Prime Minister Mackenzie King.[5] He received a Vancouver Film Critics Circle award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film.[6]
Personal life and death
editNegin, who was gay, was the partner of former television and film designer Charles Dunlop.[1] In a 2007 interview with Xtra!, Negin described his age as "Write that I'm 95 years old, and that I've been to Hungary to have some work done."[7]
Guy Maddin announced Negin's death on his Instagram on December 3, 2022.[8] Negin had died the previous day, in Montreal, at the age of 93.[9]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Ernie Game | Ernie's friend | |
| 1969 | Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? | Producer Peter | |
| 1972 | Get Charlie Tully | Emilio Ferruchi | |
| 1974 | Barry McKenzie Holds His Own | Hugo Cretin | |
| 1977 | Rabid | Maxim | |
| 1978 | Two Solitudes | Cardinal's Canon | |
| Blackout | (Unnamed role) | ||
| 1980 | Deadline | Older Man | |
| 1982 | Highpoint | Dance Instructor | |
| 1985 | Big Deal | Eugene Leach | |
| 1986 | Keeping Track | Conductor | |
| 1987 | City of Shadows | Bamji | |
| 1988 | Last Man Standing | Cyril | |
| 1989 | Physical Evidence | Jake Farley | |
| 1990 | Love & Murder | Ginger | |
| 1994 | Sissy Boy Slap Party | Older Man | Short film |
| 1998 | 54 | Truman Capote | |
| 1999 | Eye of the Beholder | Bartender | |
| The Devil's Arithmetic | Uncle Morris | ||
| 2002 | Left Behind II: Tribulation Force | Witness Moishe | |
| 2003 | Cowards Bend the Knee | Dr. Fusi | |
| The Saddest Music in the World | Blind Seer | ||
| 2006 | Brand Upon the Brain! | Theatre tour narrator | |
| 2007 | My Winnipeg | Mayor Cornish | |
| 2008 | Pontypool | Conversationalist | |
| 2011 | Keyhole | Calypso / Camille | |
| 2013 | Gerontophilia | Crossing Guard | |
| 2015 | The Forbidden Room | Marv / Smithy / Mars / | |
| 2019 | The Twentieth Century | Mother (drag-role) |
TV
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-1960 | Encounter | Bernie Altman | (TV Series), 3 episodes: "The Man Who Ran Away", "The Silent Partner" and "Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" |
| 1955 | Folio | (Unnamed role) | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Hand and the Mirror" |
| 1957 | First Performance (TV Series) | (Unnamed role) (credited as Louis Negan) | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Seeds of Power" |
| Oedipus Rex | Chorus (credited as Louis Negan) | (TV Movie) | |
| 1960 | The Play of the Week | The Husband | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Two by Saroyan: 'Once Around the Block' and 'My Heart's in the Highlands'" |
| 1961 | The Man Born to Be King | (Unnamed role) | (TV Movie) |
| 1961-1966 | Festival | First Komsomol | (TV Series), 4 episodes |
| 1964 | Twelfth Night | (Unnamed role) | (TV Movie) |
| Quest | Prisoner | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Brig" | |
| 1968 | Man in a Suitcase | Amin Hammoud | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Revolutionaries" |
| Mogul | First Official | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Not for My Friend - He's Driving" | |
| 1970 | Vile Bodies | Archie Schwert | (TV Movie) |
| 1971 | Brett | Zurkin | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Hollow Men" |
| 1974 | The Zoo Gang | Claude | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Mindless Murder" |
| Mousey | Couturier | (TV Movie) | |
| 1975 | On the Evidence | (Unnamed role) | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Murder: Regina Vs. Willis" |
| 1976 | Teleplay | Mouette | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Italian Machine" |
| The Wayne & Shuster Comedy Special | (Unnamed roles) | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Canadianization" and "Rinse the Blood Off My Toga" | |
| 1977 | King of Kensington | Waiter | (TV Series), 1 episode: "The Comic" |
| 1980-1982 | The Littlest Hobo | Dr. McQuarter | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "The Pied Piper" and "Once Upon a Tyme" |
| 1981 | Standing Room Only (TV Series) | Louis - Maitre 'D | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Red Skelton's Christmas Dinner" (also known as Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner) |
| 1981-1987 | Seeing Things | Marlon | (TV Series), 16 episodes |
| 1983 | A Matter of Cunning | (Unnamed role) | (TV Movie) |
| American Playhouse | Pierre | (TV Series), 1 episode: Overdrawn at the Memory Bank | |
| Cook & Peary: The Race to the Pole | Maitre D' | (TV Movie) | |
| 1984 | Charlie Grant's War | Otto Schmidt | (TV Movie) |
| 1985 | In Like Flynn | Dr. Howe | (TV Movie) |
| 1986 | Hot Shots | Goldsmith | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Tails You Lose" |
| Philip Marlowe, Private Eye | Martin | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Red Wind" | |
| 1986-1987 | Night Heat | Broffey | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Every Picture Tells a Story" and "Limo" |
| 1987 | Check It Out | Maitre D' | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Love and Marriage" |
| Adderly | Antoine | (TV Series), 1 episode: "A Matter of Discretion" | |
| Diamonds | (Unnamed role) | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Domestic Spirits" | |
| 1991 | Tropical Heat | Mr. Charles / Jonathan | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Hard Case" and "She" |
| The Cutaway | Soap Opera Surgeon | (TV Movie) | |
| 1993 | Counterstrike | (Unnamed role) | (TV Series), 1 episode: "French Twist" |
| Class of '96 | Professor Glick | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Midterm Madness" | |
| 1999-2000 | Mona the Vampire (TV Series) | Reverend Gregory | (TV Series), 15 episodes |
| 2001 | Queer as Folk | Older Gay Male #2 | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Queens of the Road" |
| 2003 | Lord Have Mercy! | Father White | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Tangled Web" |
| 2006 | Slings and Arrows | (Unnamed role) | (TV Series), 1 episode: "Divided Kingdom" |
| ReGenesis | Salvador Charringa | (TV Series), 2 episodes: "Our Men in Havana" and "Listen to Him" |
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Enchantment". In Toronto, September 2011.
- ^ a b c d Louis Negin at the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Molly Wood goes the way of all flash". Toronto Star, October 27, 1994.
- ^ "Toronto Tru Delays Opening" Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine. Playbill, May 23, 1996.
- ^ Kevin Ritchie, "Review: The Twentieth Century is an absorbing visual delight". Now, December 12, 2019.
- ^ Adrian Mack, "Marriage Story dominates Vancouver Film Critics Circle noms". The Georgia Straight, December 13, 2019.
- ^ "Silver screen: Louis Negin's shocking disclosures". Xtra!, May 24, 2007.
- ^ "Guy Maddin on Instagram: "Rest in Peace, beloved and unforgettable Louis Negin! My longtime Marlene Dietrich, Divine and Edith Massey rolled into one! We shared a million laughs and as many loving moments! Thank you for EVERYTHING! I shall miss and love you forever. ❤️❤️❤️"".
- ^ Chandler Levack (21 December 2022). "Veteran actor Louis Negin became a muse for director Guy Maddin". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
External links
edit- Louis Negin at IMDb