- Born
- Died
- Birth nameGordon Edward Pinsent
- Height1.73 m
- Gordon Edward Pinsent was born on July 12, 1930 in Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to Florence (Cooper) and Stephen Arthur Pinsent. Gordon was known as "Porky" as a child, and dreamed of performing as early as he can remember. He served with the Royal Canadian Regiment from 1948-51. Gordon received an L.L.D. from the University P.E.I. in 1975, an Honorary doctorate from Queen's University in 1988, as well as from the Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Prince Edward Island.
Gordon left Newfoundland at the age of 17 and began his career on stage. His first theatrical experiences were in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While there, he was involved in the first live radio drama out of Winnipeg. He eventually moved east, working in Toronto and Stratford, Ontario. He has since won numerous credits and awards, and is one of Canada's most well-respected artists.
In addition to acting, he directs and produces, and has written a number of novels and screenplays, as well as plays for the stage, including 'Corner Green' for the Newfoundland amateur drama festival. The play was staged in St. John's, Newfoundland in April of 1997, and was was based upon life his hometown of Grand Falls, Newfoundland.
He is a member of the Honorary Advisory Board for the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Orchestra, and is very active in various charities. His humorous and poignant autobiography, "By the Way", was published.
His wife until her death was actress Charmion King, whom he met during his early theater days. He has a daughter, actress Leah Pinsent, from that union, as well as a son and daughter from an earlier marriage (Barry and Beverly Kennedy). He has two brothers, Harry and Haig, and three sisters: Nita, Hazel, and Lil, who passed away in 1998.- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous and Someone who should know
- SpousesCharmion King(November 2, 1962 - January 6, 2007) (her death, 1 child)Irene Reid(1951 - ?) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- RelativesDon Pinsent(Niece or Nephew)Laura Vandervoort(Cousin)
- When filming the movie Terre-Neuve (2001), he was the model for the Newfoundland accent for the rest of the cast, since this was the province in which he was born and raised.
- While living in California he was friends with Marlon Brando. On one occasion he and Brando attended a drive in movie together with Brando's wife and children.
- Won the Earl Grey award.
- His novel "The Rowdy Man" was turned into a classic Canadian film and later a musical which Gordon himself performed in PEI.
- Recipient of three Honorary Doctorates.
- Early in my career, I figured out how to 'hit notes' - you know, to color them properly, to play the right chords. And I hit them pretty well, you know. But now I know precisely what to do with them. I can bring them down, down, down. And I can still be true to the rendition when I do it.
- In acting, you're simply at the mercy of other people's perception of you. It can be a terrifying feeling. The rewards can be great, but there is no steady happiness in this business. There are peaks of joy and valleys of gloom. As you get older, you forget that it was an adventure at one time, that you were able to take the falls. You think 'I know I'm good. I've had it proven. Then why is it not working now?' You feel you can't take the falls. You say to yourself, 'Gee, I need this. This is all I can do in life.'
- The truth is I got into this business because I skipped into this darkened theatre in Winnipeg when I was running away from a girlfriend. They were rehearsing, and while I was in there somebody offered me a small part in the play.
- [on his infidelities during a long marriage to Charmion King] They were mistakes because I had not stopped growing. We do have a ledge in us, and anything below that is probably a root-cellar where you keep all the bad stuff, all the mistakes you've made. But what do you do? You can't fix it. You just have to leave it and it becomes part of your infrastructure. The only way to make it up to anybody was to become better at what I was doing.
- [on his career in Hollywood] I had a dreadful time there really. I thought that I could use up to three lifetimes there just waiting in line for better material, for good opportunities. It was at the end of the golden era, and a lot of movie stars were moving over to television. The possibility of getting the best material was very tough. I felt very strongly I didn't want to hand my life over to these people, just strangers.
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