Heritage Stratford will honour a renowned Canadian actor, author, and playwright with a Blue Plaque.
Timothy Findley, who passed away on June 20, 2002, is being recognized for his work in the arts, where he was part of the original Stratford Festival Acting Company in 1953.
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, his acting career included appearing in the first production of The Matchmaker at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland in 1954 and playing Peter Pupkin in Sunshine Sketches in 1952.
His close friend and fellow actor and playwright Ruth Gordon inspired him to start writing, and he went on to win the Governor General’s Literary Award for his 1977 novel The Wars, which follows the experiences of an Ontario Man during the First World War.
The encyclopedia added he’s also known for other works like Famous Last Words, Headhunter, The Piano Man’s Daughter, The Stillborn Lover, and Elizabeth Rex, which won Findley his second Governor General’s Literary Award.
On top of those awards, he was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1986.
The city said the plaque is used to celebrate the links between notable figures in history and the buildings they worked and/lived in, with Findley’s plaque to be presented on 72 Ontario Street, where he moved into in 1998.
Previous recipients included legendary hockey player Charlie Lightfoot, the first female medical doctor in Canada, Dr. Jennie Trout, and pianist and singer for The Band, Richard Manuel.
The plaque will be presented this Saturday at 11 a.m.
