Douglas, Shirley 1934–

views updated

DOUGLAS, Shirley 1934–

PERSONAL

Born 1934, in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada; daughter of Tommy (a Canadian provincial premier and politician) and Irma Douglas; married second husband, Donald Sutherland (an actor, voice artist, and producer), 1966 (divorced, 1970); children: (first marriage) Thomas; (second marriage) Kiefer (an actor) and Rachel. Education: Attended Banff School of Fine Arts; Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, graduated, 1952.

Addresses:

Agent—Oscars Abram Zimel and Associates, 438 Queen St. East, Toronto, Ontario M5A 1T4, Canada.

Career:

Actress and voice artist. Appeared as stage actress in London. Trent University, Margaret Laurence Lecturer, 2002. Political and social activist; founding member of Friends of the Black Panthers; Toronto Health Coalition, chair; Canada Health Coalition, national spokesperson; supporter of Performing Artists for Nuclear Disarmament and Friends of Medicare Toronto.

Awards, Honors:

Gemini Award nomination, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, best performance in a performing arts program or series, 1993, for Passage of the Heart; Gemini Award nomination, best performance by an actress in a continuing leading dramatic role, 1998, for Wind at My Back; Gemini Award, best performance by an actress in a featured supporting role in a dramatic program or miniseries, 2000, for Shadow Lake; Diamond Award, Variety Club, 2000; honorary doctorate, Ryerson Polytechnic University, 2001; decorated member, Order of Canada, 2003; received star on a Canada's Walk of Fame, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2004.

CREDITS

Television Appearances; Series:

Kitty, The Hat Squad, CBS, 1992–93.

May Bailey, Wind at My Back, CBC, 1996–2001.

Voice, Flash Gordon (animated), syndicated, beginning 1996.

Voice of Infectia, The Silver Surfer (animated), Fox, 1998.

Narrator, Franklin (animated), The Family Channel (Canada) and Noggin, c. 1998–2000.

Pauline Dubois, Robson Arms, CTV, 2005—.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Herself and Nellie McLung (in archive footage), The Greatest Canadian, CBC, 2004.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Title role, Nellie McLung, 1978.

Lena, Turning to Stone (also known as Concrete Hell), CBC, 1985.

Dadapopoplous's wife, Screwball Academy (also known as Divine Light and Loose Ends), 1986.

Edna Besley, "Cursed with Charisma," Really Weird Tales, HBO, 1987.

Katherine Ward, Passage of the Heart, [Canada], 1992.

Vivian Karney, Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story (also known as Shattered Trust), NBC, 1993.

Mrs. Hardwick, Johnny's Girl, ABC, 1995.

Shadow Lake, [Canada], 1999.

Elizabeth Dickson, A House Divided, Showtime, 2000.

Peg, Woman Wanted, Starz!, 2000.

Ellen Layton, The Christmas Shoes, CBS, 2002.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Schyler Noyes, "Redwood Curtain," Hallmark Hall of Fame, ABC, 1995.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Monica Logan, "Driving under the Influence," Alfred Hitchcock Presents, USA Network, 1989.

Miss Cavendish, "High Society," Road to Avonlea, CBC and The Disney Channel, 1992.

"Tommy Douglas: The Fight of a Lifetime," Life and Times, CBC, 2000.

Cybill Thornbush, "Beaver Creek Commercials," Made in Canada, CBC, 2001.

Guest and person in archive footage, Rick Mercer's "Monday Report" (also known as Monday Report), CBC, 2004 (multiple episodes), 2005.

Television Work; Miniseries:

Creative consultant, The Tommy Douglas Story, CBC, 2005.

Film Appearances:

Joe MacBeth, Columbia, 1956.

Mrs. Starch, Lolita, Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer, 1962.

Mrs. Lawson, The Wars, International Spectrafilm, 1983.

Laura, Dead Ringers (also known as Alter Ego), Twentieth Century–Fox, 1988.

Nicole, Shadow Dancing, Shapiro–Glickenhaus Entertainment, 1988.

Marie, The Shower, 1992.

Duchess DuBarry, Mesmer, Mayfair Entertainment/Nomadic Pictures, 1994.

Grandma Greenfield, Barney's Great Adventure (also known as Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie), PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1998.

Myra, The Law of Enclosures, Alliance Atlantis Communications/Odeon Films, 2000.

Narrator, Franklin and the Green Knight: The Movie (animated), 2000.

Stage Appearances:

Amanda Wingfield, The Glass Menagerie, National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, then Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, both 1997.

Appeared as Marilla, Anne of Green Gables, as Hagar Shipley, The Stone Angel, as Martha, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, in Blood Relations, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Torch Bearers, all National Arts Centre; also appeared in The Vagina Monologues, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, production; appeared in other productions, including productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Ontario, Canada.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Financial Post, January, 1999, p. 12; November 23, 2002, p. F5.

Globe and Mail (Toronto), March 9, 2000, p. R3.

Maclean's, March 17, 1997, pp. 66–67.

About this article

Douglas, Shirley 1934–

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article