Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the arts, and to war veterans.

Life and career

Thomson was born on September 24, 1947, in Richmond Hill,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. He studied at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and the

National Theatre School The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants aw ...

. His own play ''The Lost Boys'' was staged at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in March 2000 and at

Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

in February 2002. He has also hosted programming for

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

and CBC Television. Thomson has portrayed a number of historical figures including

Samuel Lount Samuel Lount (September 24, 1791 – April 12, 1838) was a blacksmith, farmer, magistrate and member of the Legislative Assembly in the province of Upper Canada for Simcoe County from 1834 to 1836. He was an organizer of the failed Upper Can ...

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...

Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential. In 1923, Banting and Joh ...

Duncan Campbell Scott Duncan Campbell Scott (August 2, 1862 – December 19, 1947) was a Canadian civil servant and poet and prose writer. With Charles G.D. Roberts, Bliss Carman, and Archibald Lampman, he is classed as one of Canada's Confederation Poets. A career ...

, Mitchell Sharp, and

James Cross James Richard Cross (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) durin ...

. In 2010, he was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. In May 2015 Thomson received a

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (2004–2009), and '' This is Wonderland'' ...

performed in his honour at the gala celebrating the laureates at the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

Personal life

Thomson is married with two sons. Thomson has had a long-standing interest in Canada's military and war veterans. In 1995 he narrated a 3-part documentary series about Canada's involvement in international conflicts. On the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, in which nearly 3,600 Canadians died, he co-created, with Marin Conboy, a commemoration in which the name of each fallen soldier was projected onto the National War Memorial. The following year in 2009, he and Conboy undertook an ambitious project to project the names of the more than 68,000 Canadians who died in World War I onto famous monuments across the country. Projections occurred during the night. In 2010, the Government of Canada honoured Thomson for this effort with a Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

Wins

*1989 : Gemini Award, for ''

Glory Enough for All ''Glory Enough for All'' is a 1988 Canadian television movie directed by Eric Till and written by Grahame Woods, depicting the discovery and isolation of insulin by Frederick Banting and Charles Herbert Best. It was the winner of nine 1989 Ge ...

'' *1983 : Gemini Award, for ''

If You Could See What I Hear ''If You Could See What I Hear'' is a 1982 Canadian biographical drama film about blind musician Tom Sullivan, starring Marc Singer and Shari Belafonte, directed by Eric Till. Plot summary Tom Sullivan (Marc Singer) is a blind college student wh ...

'' *2015: Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Theatre) *2018 : Canadian Screen Award, for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama ''

Anne with an E ''Anne with an E'' (initially titled ''Anne'' for its first season within Canada) is a Canadian television series loosely adapted from Lucy Maud Montgomery's 1908 classic work of children's literature, ''Anne of Green Gables''. It was created by ...

Nominations

*1982 : Genie Award, for ''

Ticket to Heaven ''Ticket to Heaven'' is a 1981 Canadian drama film directed by Ralph L. Thomas and starring Nick Mancuso, Saul Rubinek, Meg Foster, Kim Cattrall, and R.H. Thomson. The plot concerns the recruiting of a man into a group portrayed to be a reli ...

'' *1986 : Genie Award, for ''

'' *1986 : Gemini Award, for '' Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks'' *1987 : Gemini Award, for ''Screen Two'' *1987 : Gemini Award, for ''Ford: The Man and the Machine'' *1988 : Gemini Award, for ''And Then You Die'' *1993 : Genie Award, for ''The Lotus Eaters'' *1994 : Gemini Award, for '' Road to Avonlea'' *2008 : Gemini Award, for ''

The Englishman's Boy ''The Englishman's Boy'' is a novel by Guy Vanderhaeghe, published in 1996 by McClelland and Stewart, which won the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction in 1996 and was nominated for the Giller Prize. It deals with the events of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, R. H. 1947 births Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Best Supporting Actor Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Members of the Order of Canada People from Richmond Hill, Ontario University of Toronto alumni Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Male actors from Ontario Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Canadian Screen Award winners