A celebration of the life of
William Needles will be held as follows:
DATE: Sunday, April 17
TIME: 2 p.m.
PLACE: Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street, Stratford
Speakers include
Colm Feore, Geraint Wyn Davies, Benedict Campbell, Seana McKenna, Lucy
Peacock, and Jon Lovitz (by video), with performances by Loreena
McKennitt, Gerald Isaac and Berthold Carrière,
and Nicholas Van Burek, Trent Pardy, Roger Shank, Jesse Aaron Dwyer and Jean-Michel Le Gal.
Mr. Needles, a
regular member of the Stratford Festival company since its first season,
died two months ago at the age of 97. Details can be found in the press
release below from January 13.
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It is with sadness that the Stratford Festival bids farewell to the man who was Canada’s oldest working actor.
William Needles died January 12, at the age of 97, surrounded by
his family, at a hospice in Alliston, Ontario. Just days earlier, he had
left his adopted hometown of Stratford after suffering a heart
attack on December 19.
True to form, Mr. Needles surprised doctors and
loved ones, showing enormous resilience despite a dim prognosis. The
Stratford General Hospital saw a steady stream of actors pour through
its doors during the Christmas period, as faithful
friends visited a man whose support of the theatrical industry is
unparalleled. Expecting to find an invalid drawing his last breath, his
visitors instead found their longtime friend and mentor reciting
Shakespeare – the Chorus from
Henry V one day, Shylock’s admonition to Antonio another. His mind was razor sharp, though his body was letting him down.
Mr. Needles, with the help of his daughter, Jane,
reached out to friends near and far. Calls came in from every corner,
including from his former student Jon Lovitz, who immortalized Mr.
Needles with his classic
Saturday Night Live character “Master Thespian.”
His achievements and honours are many: a Member of
the Order of Canada, a founding member of the Stratford Festival
company, a co-founder of the Actors Fund of Canada, a Master Teacher Cum
Laude from the University of California, Irvine,
and recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo
and the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals.
“The
Stratford Festival has lost one of its pioneers, a gifted actor and a
favourite uncle. Bill Needles was the embodiment of grace and
generosity. His humour,
humanity and sense of fun infused his work on and off the stage,” said
Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino.
“Bill
was a brilliant comedian who could bring the house down with laughter
while appearing quite nonchalant. His work seemed effortless. His voice
and manner
were rich with nuance.
“But
perhaps the greatest of his many talents was his gift of mentorship to
several generations of young actors. In what can be a difficult way of
life Bill
was there for so many during the tough times. His honesty, decency and
kindness could balm almost any hurt and sooth a bruised spirit. After a
talk with Bill you'd be ready to get up, smile and try again.
“Billie Noodles – as he was fondly called – will be dearly missed."
Mr.
Needles was born in Yonkers, New York, on January 2, 1919, and raised
in Kitchener, Ontario, just down the road from Stratford. His
grandfather, Ira Needles,
was the founder of BF Goodrich Canada and co-founder of the University
of Waterloo.
In
the late 1930s, Mr. Needles studied for two years at the Goodman School
of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago, and then moved to Winnipeg to
work as
a stage manager for the John Holden Players. In 1940 he moved on to
Toronto, where he joined the cast of the CBC Radio soap opera
John and Judy, playing John. After serving in the Second World
War he returned to the role of John at CBC. He made a name for himself
in radio drama, and served as a manager for Lorne Greene’s Acting
Academy and Dora Mavor Moore’s New Play Society before
joining the Stratford Festival in its inaugural season.
He made his Stratford debut in
Richard III, under the direction of Tyrone Guthrie, playing Norfolk and the 1st Murderer, and as Rinaldo in
All’s Well That Ends Well. The next season he was celebrated for his portrayal of Petruchio in Guthrie’s Wild West production of
The Taming of the Shrew. He became an indispensable member
of the Stratford acting company, appearing in more than 100 productions
over 47 seasons, including as Duke Senior in
As You Like It (1959), Chorus in Henry V (1956 and 1989), Albany in
King Lear (1964 and 1972), Cymbeline (1970), Monsieur Loyal in Tartuffe (1983 and 1984), the Duke in
The Merchant of Venice (1996), the White King in Alice Through the Looking-Glass (1996), the Lord Mayor in
Richard III (1997), the Shepherd in Oedipus Rex (1997), Merriman in
The Importance of Being Earnest (2000) and Mortimer in Henry VI (2002).
He
retired from the stage at the age of 87 and, as the oldest working
actor in Canada, turned in two final masterful performances: Adam in
2005’s
As You Like It – his last performance on his beloved Festival stage – and Castruchio in 2006’s
The Duchess of Malfi.
During his career, Mr. Needles performed at theatres across North America and abroad, including the Broadway productions of
Hadrian VII with Alex McCowan and Next Time I’ll Sing to You with James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons. His many film roles included Banquo in the 1961 production of
Macbeth, with Sean Connery in the title role.
He
was a teacher of acting, serving for many years at the University of
California, Irvine, and a mentor beyond compare to hundreds of people
starting out
in the profession.
Though
retired for a decade, Mr. Needles made almost weekly visits to the
Festival, travelling through the halls on his scooter and sharing lunch
with his
many friends in the greenroom. The Festival was truly his second home,
and the theatre’s people his second family. He will be sadly missed and
long remembered.
Mr.
Needles leaves behind his wife, Dorothy Jane Goulding, whom he married
in 1946, five children, Jane (Ted Bradley), Arthur (Linda), Dan (Heath),
Reed (Clare)
and Laura Ann, 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, his
sister, Lauranna Jones, many nieces and nephews and countless friends
and colleagues.
The Stratford Festival is dedicating the 2016 production of
As You Like It to Mr. Needles’ memory. Mr. Needles performed in
four different productions of the play at Stratford, as Duke Senior in
1959, Duke Frederick in 1972, Duke Senior in 1983 (which was televised
on CBC), and Adam in 2005.
A
celebration of Mr. Needles’ life will be held at the Festival in the
spring. A family funeral will be held on Saturday, January 16, in
Alliston, with burial
to follow at Avondale Cemetery in Stratford at a later date. Memorial
donations may be made to the William Needles Guthrie Award Fund at the
Stratford Festival, the Actors’ Fund of Canada, or Matthews House
Hospice in Alliston, Ontario.
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Stratford Festival
55 Queen Street | PO Box 520 | Stratford ON | N5A 6V2
55 Queen Street | PO Box 520 | Stratford ON | N5A 6V2
Box Office: Toll Free 1.800.567.1600 | Local 519.273.1600
2016 Season|April to October
Macbeth
| As You Like It | Breath of Kings: Rebellion| Breath
of Kings: Redemption
A Chorus Line | A Little Night Music | Shakespeare in Love| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
A Chorus Line | A Little Night Music | Shakespeare in Love| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
All My Sons|John Gabriel Borkman|Bunny |The
Aeneid| The Hypochondriac
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