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

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

Career

Born in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), 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 Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, as a young man Genest served with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

in his hometown before accepting a job with CBC radio in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

where he would eventually become a sportscaster, working in both

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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'' 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 studio, film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action featur ...

. 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 ''The Incredible Journey'' (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford, is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton, which tells the story of three pets as they travel through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved ...

''. 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) * Hollywoo ...

, 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 ''The King's Pirate'' is a 1967 American pirate film directed by Don Weis and starring Doug McClure, Jill St. John and Guy Stockwell. It is a remake of the 1952 film '' Against All Flags''. Plot A British naval officer volunteers for a dangerous ...

'' (1967), '' In Enemy Country'' (1968), ''

The Hell with Heroes ''The Hell with Heroes'' (''A Time for Heroes'' and ''Run Hero Run'') is a 1968 American drama film directed by Joseph Sargent (his first feature directorial effort) set in Africa immediately after World War II. The film stars Rod Taylor, Claudia ...

'' (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 study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their biophysical environment, physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosy ...

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 centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'', ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American s ...

'', ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one British — who are part of a long-range desert ...

'', ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'', '' 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; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for sc ...

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 blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

while vacationing in

Hallandale Beach, Florida Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 20 ...

in 2003. His elder son is

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada (french: Parti vert du 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 ...

unelected politician

Claude Genest Claude William Genest is a former Canadian journalist, actor, and TV host. He ran as the Green Party of Canada candidate in the riding of Westmount-Ville-Marie during the 2008 federal election. Biography A native of Montreal, Quebec, Genes ...

. 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) *'' Big Red'' (1962) - Emile Fornet *''

'' (1962, TV Series) - Emile (the barman) / Henri Fouquet *''

Rampage Rampage may refer to: Places * Rampage Mountain, a mountain in Montana People * Quinton Jackson (born 1978; nicknamed "Rampage"), American mixed martial artist and actor * Randy Rampage (1960-2018), Canadian musician * Rampage (rapper) (born 1 ...

'' (1963) - Schelling *''

'' (1963) - John Longridge *'' The Art of Love'' (1965) - Cesar (uncredited) *''

'' (1965) - Cajun *''

'' (Commando du désert) : Mathias the lighthouse warden *''

'' (1967) - Captain Mission * ''

The Scorpio Letters ''The Scorpio Letters'' is a 1964 thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. Following this stand-alone novel he began his Rex Carver series with ''The Whip Hand'' the following year. Synopsis George Constantine is a friend of a profes ...

'' (1967) - Garin *''

'' (1968) - Henri *'' In Enemy Country'' (1968) - General Grieux *''

'' (1968) - Insp. Bouchard *'' Kamouraska'' (1973) - Aubergiste *'' Us Two'' (1979) - Le chef de police américain *''

The Plouffe Family ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (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 French Quebecers Male actors from Quebec City Canadian expatriates in the United States