Dianne Mae Heatherington (May 14, 1948 – October 22, 1996) 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 ...

singer of several genres, particularly rock, whose musical career spanned nearly two decades. In the latter part of her career, she became a successful businessperson in the film security industry, while at the same time enjoying modest success as a Canadian film and television actress. She was nominated for a Juno Award in 1981 in the category of Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year. She also hosted her own national

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

series, ''Dianne'', in 1971. In May 1993, she was diagnosed with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...

from which she died on October 22, 1996, aged 48, in Toronto.

Early life and musical career

Heatherington was born in

Fort Rouge, Winnipeg Fort Rouge is a district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada. Located in the south-central part of the city, it is bounded on the north by the Assiniboine River, on the east and south by the Red River of the North, Red River, and on the west by Winni ...

. Described as "the undisputed First Lady of Winnipeg rock 'n' roll", she commenced her musical career in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, where she was the lead singer of Dianne Heatherington and The Merry-Go-Round. The band included Bill Wallace, later a member of

The Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

. She became a local legend when, in 1970, she personally shamed

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

into performing at the Man-Pop Festival, when they had already been paid pursuant to a rain clause in their contract, and were preparing to leave Winnipeg without performing. Heatherington relocated to Toronto from Winnipeg in the early 1970s. To commemorate her departure,

recorded the Kurt Winter-Bill Wallace composition, "Bye Bye Babe", on their 1973 Artificial Paradise album. In Toronto, she formed a band which by 1976 included Dave Garber, Sandy Chochinov and Mark Rutherford. She and her band became increasingly popular in the Toronto and area club scene. In 1980, her only album, ''Heatherington Rocks'', was released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

. The album included a mix of original and cover material. Three of the standout tracks were rearrangements of The Beatles' " Helter Skelter" and Bruce Cockburn's "Mama Just Wants To Barrelhouse All Night Long", plus "Mr. Nice Guy", co-written by Heatherington and members of her band. The basic album had been recorded in 1978 for GRT Records, which had gone bankrupt as of the summer of 1979, prior to releasing the album. Heatherington purchased the master tapes from the bankruptcy trustee.Gary Taylor
My Life With Dianne
; www.dianneheatherington.com "Helter Skelter" was released as a single, with "Mr. Nice Guy" as the B-Side. Despite Heatherington's ownership of the master tapes, the album has not been released in CD format, through her estate or otherwise. In 1980, a one-hour documentary on Heatherington, ''Soul Survivor'', chronicling the challenges of a woman in the music business, was produced under the auspices of the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre and aired on CBC Television. In 1981, Heatherington was nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

in the category of Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year, but lost to Carole Pope. In 1983, Heatherington decided to further her musical career by moving to New York City. For eighteen months, she was the weekend performer at the well-known Joe's Bar in the East Village. She sang rock songs on Saturdays and, at the insistence of the bar owner, country and western songs on Fridays. Despite her public popularity singing both genres, there was no record company interest. She returned to Toronto in 1985. At various points during the 1980s, she sang jazz and blues standards as a lounge act, accompanied solely by a pianist. This included a 1983 engagement at Winnipeg's prestigious Marlborough Hotel. In 1987 she retired from singing professionally.

Acting career

Her acting career began to develop in 1982, when she appeared on an episode of the television series ''Seeing Things''. She had modest success in film and television roles, which occurred particularly between 1988 and 1995. While she was in one major international film success, ''

Cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

'' (1988), her roles were generally minor.Her appearances are listed at th
Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
and a
Allmovie.com
/ref> A notable exception was a co-starring role in '' Zero Patience'', which "examines and refutes the urban legend of the alleged introduction of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

to North America by a single individual, Gaëtan Dugas".

Business career

Contemporaneous to her 1988-1995 period as an actress, she started a movie location security company, the Dianne Heatherington Security Company, which provided 24-hour location security. The business became highly successful, providing location security to major budget films and television series being shot in and around Toronto. At its height, it employed approximately thirty people, some of whom were musicians Heatherington had met during her singing career and to whom she now offered more stable economic prospects.

Personal life

In 1977, she married musician Gary Taylor, in a Toronto civil ceremony performed by musician Greg Leskiw, a former member of

. Heatherington, Taylor and Leskiw all had originally been Winnipeg-based. She remained married to Taylor until her death.

Postscripts

In the years since her death, there has been increased interest in preserving her memory. A tribute website was established, containing numerous video and audio clips, plus recollections of friends and fellow musicians. In 2008, tribute concerts were held in Toronto and Winnipeg, for the purpose of raising money for cancer research, as well as the establishment of a music scholarship in Heatherington's name at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

Discography

Heatherington Rocks
(1980)

Filmography

* ''The Shamrock Conspiracy'' (1995) - TV * ''To Save the Children'' (1994) - TV * '' Zero Patience'' (1993) * ''Taking the Heat'' (1993) - TV * ''

Perfectly Normal ''Perfectly Normal'' is a Canadian comedy film directed by Yves Simoneau, which premiered at the 1990 Toronto International Film Festival, 1990 Festival of Festivals, before going into general theatrical release in 1991. Simoneau's first English-la ...

'' (1990) * ''Liberace: Behind the Music'' (1988) - TV * ''

'' (1988) * ''Seeing Things'' (1982) - TV, episode "Hear No Evil, See No Evil". *''Soul Survivor'' (1980) (TV) *''Dianne'' (1971) (TV)

References

External links

Dianne Heatherington Tribute Website/Blog
* *
Article at canadianbands.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heatherington, Dianne 1948 births 1996 deaths Actresses from Toronto Actresses from Winnipeg Businesspeople from Toronto Businesspeople from Winnipeg Canadian women rock singers Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Deaths from cancer in Ontario Deaths from ovarian cancer in Canada Singers from Toronto Musicians from Winnipeg 20th-century Canadian actresses 20th-century Canadian women singers Singers from Manitoba