Émile Genest (July 27, 1921 – March 19, 2003) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Career

Born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, as a young man Genest served with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At war's end, he worked for a time in

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

in his hometown before accepting a job with

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

radio in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

where he would eventually become a sportscaster, working in both French and English. Genest turned to acting and in his early years played a son on the immensely popular French-language radio show, ''

La famille Plouffe ''La famille Plouffe'' was a Canadian television drama, more specifically a téléroman, about a Quebec City family that first aired in the French language on Société Radio-Canada in 1953. The show was created to fill a void in francophone tel ...

'' and on its follow-up television series. In 1961 he had a significant role in the first of several films for

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

. The first was '' Nikki, Wild Dog of the North'' followed by 1962's '' Big Red'' and the following year he was cast in the lead of '' The Incredible Journey''. Moving to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, Émile Genest went on to play character roles in a variety of films including ''

The Cincinnati Kid ''The Cincinnati Kid'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best. This quest leads him to chal ...

'' (1965), '' The King's Pirate'' (1967), '' In Enemy Country'' (1968), '' The Hell with Heroes'' (1968), and ''

Don't Just Stand There! ''Don't Just Stand There!'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Ron Winston and written by Charles Williams. It is based on the 1966 novel ''The Wrong Venus'' by Charles Williams. The film stars Robert Wagner, Mary Tyler Moore, Glynis Joh ...

'' (1968). His son, Claude, was born in 1963 in Hollywood and too worked as an actor before becoming an

ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

activist. In the early 1960s, Genest turned to performing on television, appearing in a large number of guest roles in a variety of series such as '' Mission: Impossible'', '' Route 66'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', '' Combat!'', '' The Rat Patrol'', '' Perry Mason'', '' The Virginian'', '' Ironside'' and others. Near the end of the 1970s, Genest returned to work in film in Canada. In 1981, he was cast as the head of the family in a four-hour film update of "''The Plouffe Family''" for which he was nominated for a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2000, at the age of seventy-nine, Émile Genest appeared in his last film, "A Day in a Life" (2000). He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while vacationing in Hallandale Beach, Florida in 2003. His elder son is

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...

unelected politician Claude Genest. His second son, Eric Genest, is the Vice President of Group Alta Real Estate, Inc. He is married to Cornelia Huerlimann; they have two children.

Partial filmography

*'' Nikki, Wild Dog of the North'' (1961) - Jacques Lebeau *''Dubois et fils'' (1961) *''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (1962) (Season 7 Episode 29: "The Matched Pearl") - Laurent DuBois *'' Big Red'' (1962) - Emile Fornet *'' Combat!'' (1962) (TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 4: "Any Second Now") - Emile, the barman *'' Combat!'' (1963) (TV Series) (Season 1 Episode 13: "Reunion") - Henri Fouquet *'' Rampage'' (1963) - Schelling *'' The Incredible Journey'' (1963) - John Longridge *''

'' (1963) (Season 8 Episode 37: "Jeb") - Chouteau *''

'' (1964) (Season 9 Episode 34: "Homecoming") - Frisbie *'' Rawhide'' (1964) (Season 7 Episode 1: "The Race") - Curt Mathison *'' The Virginian'' (1964) (Season 2 Episode 16: "Roar from the Mountain") - Louis Dubois *'' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964) (Season 1 Episode 12: "The Dove Affair") - Arseny Linz *'' Combat!'' (1965) (TV Series) (Season 3 Episode 26: "The Tree of Moray") - Duval *'' The Art of Love'' (1965) - Cesar (uncredited) *''

'' (1965) - Cajun *'' The Virginian'' (1966) (Season 4 Episode 22: "Harvest of Strangers") - Brule *'' The Rat Patrol'' (1966) (Season 1 Episode 13: "The Lighthouse Raid") - Mathias, the lighthouse warden *'' Combat!'' (1967) (TV Series) (Season 5 Episode 18: "Anniversary") - Robierre *'' The King's Pirate'' (1967) - Captain Mission *'' The Scorpio Letters'' (1967) - Garin *'' Mission Impossible'' (1967) (Season 1 Episode 21: "Snowball in Hell") - Dr. Kronen *'' Mission Impossible'' (1968) (Season 2 Episode 25: "Recovery") - Technician *''

'' (1968) - Henri *'' In Enemy Country'' (1968) - General Grieux *'' The Hell with Heroes'' (1968) - Inspector Bouchard *'' Kamouraska'' (1973) - Aubergiste *'' Us Two'' (1979) - Le chef de police américain (American Police Chief) *'' The Plouffe Family'' (1981) - Théophile, le pere Plouffe *''Frankenstein and Me'' (1996) - Judge Ewing *''A Day in a Life'' (2000) - George (final film role)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Genest, Emile 1921 births 2003 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian military personnel of World War II Male actors from Quebec City Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States