Ted Follows

Ted Follows
Born
Edward James Follows

November 30, 1926
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
DiedOctober 21, 2016 (aged 89)
EducationUniversity of Toronto
Spouses
Dawn Greenhalgh
(m. 1958; div. 1979)
Susan Trethewey
(m. 1988)
Children4, including Megan
RelativesSean O'Bryan (son-in-law)

Edward James Follows (November 30, 1926 – October 21, 2016) was a Canadian film, television and stage actor.[1] He was best known for playing the role of Macduff in Macbeth at the Stratford Festival and the 1961 CBC Television film adaptation,[2] and his television roles as the title character in the CBC drama series McQueen,[2] as crown attorney Arnold Bateman in Wojeck,[2] and as Charles Tupper, Minister of Railways, in The National Dream.

Early life and education

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Follows was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1926 to Edward James Follows and Isabella (née Latimer) Follows, and had a younger brother, Jack. He was raised in a variety of locations across Canada as his father was a serviceman with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Ted Follows attended high school in Winnipeg.[2] He studied psychology at the University of Toronto, also acting in Hart House theatre productions, and following his graduation he had his first professional acting role in 1945.[2]

Career

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Over the next number of years, Follows regularly toured Canada and the United Kingdom with the Canadian Players and the Canadian Repertory Theatre Company, before being invited to join the Stratford company in 1955.[2]

In 2001, Follows directed a production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever in Gravenhurst, with a cast that included himself, Greenhalgh, all of their children and their children's spouses.[3] They subsequently mounted a tour of the production to several Southern Ontario cities in 2003.[4]

Personal life

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He married actress Dawn Greenhalgh in 1958.[2] The couple had four children, including actress Megan Follows, before divorcing in 1979.[2] Follows later remarried to Susan Trethewey, a musician with the Stratford Festival Orchestra in 1988.[2][5]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role
1953 Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue Douglas MacGregor
1957 Oedipus Rex Chorus
1973 Paperback Hero Cagey
1980 Virus Dr. Baines
1989 Cold Comfort Roy

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1954 Sunday Night Theatre Pvt. Brown Episode: "The Promised Years #2: The Good Partners"
1956–1961 General Motors Theatre Various roles 12 episodes
1959 Hudson's Bay Sam Gifford 2 episodes
1960 The Unforeseen Charles Episode: "Desire"
1960 Startime Raphael Episode: "The Zeal of Thy House"
1960–1962 Festival Hurst / Mickser / Major 4 episodes
1961 Macbeth MacDuff Television film
1961 The Conquest of Cobbletown Fred Cobble Television film
1961 Quest Wu 2 episodes
1961–1962 Playdate Various roles 6 episodes
1963 The United States Steel Hour Seaton Episode: "The Troubled Heart"
1966 Seaway David Miller / Darby 3 episodes
1966–1968 Wojeck Arnie Bateman 4 episodes
1969 Quentin Durgens, M.P. Cabinet minister Episode: "Master of the House"
1969–1970 McQueen McQueen 14 episodes
1974 The National Dream Charles Tupper Episode: "The Great Debate"
1974 Performance Immigration Officer Episode: "Find Volopchi!"
1979 The Spirit of Adventure: Night Flight Leblanc Television film
1979 The Great Detective Percy Episode: "Death Takes a Curtain Call"
1980–1982 The Littlest Hobo Various roles 5 episodes
1988 War of the Worlds General Arquette 2 episodes
1992 E.N.G. Commissioner Episode: "True Patriot Love"
1992 Wojeck: Out of the Fire Arnold Bateman Television film
1993 Matrix Mr. Preston Episode: "The Yellow Chamber"
1993 Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story Airplane Man Television film
1993 JFK: Reckless Youth Patsy Mulkern 2 episodes

References

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  1. ^ "Actor Ted Follows inspired young performers". Waterloo Region Record, October 31, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Ted Follows: Canadian actor’s career spanned more than 70 years". The Globe and Mail, November 9, 2016.
  3. ^ "Follows family affair is a high-wire act with no net". National Post, July 24, 2001.
  4. ^ "Follows family takes smash hit Hay Fever on tour". Waterloo Region Record, January 29, 2003.
  5. ^ "In Memory of Edward James "Ted" Follows 1926 - 2016". erbgood.com.
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