Alexander Kier Gigeroff, known professionally as Lex Gigeroff (June 29, 1962 – December 25, 2011), 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 ...
television writer and actor best remembered as a co-creator of the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
series ''
Lexx
''Lexx'' (also known as ''LEXX: The Dark Zone Stories'' and ''Tales from a Parallel Universe'') is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul and Michael Donovan. It originally aired on April 18, 1997, on Cana ...
''. He also appeared in the comedy series ''
Liocracy'' and the short film ''
Treevenge''.
Biography
Gigeroff was born in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. His father Alex K. Gigeroff (1931–2016) was a prominent artist, playwright and writer on criminology and the law who belonged to
Macedonian Canadians
Macedonian Canadians ( mk, Македонски Канаѓани) are Canadian citizens of ethnic Macedonian descent or Macedonian-born people who reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census there were 39,435 Canadians who claimed full or p ...
: both of his parents were poor immigrants from Macedonian villages and "Gigeroff" was his father's immigrant's assigned name. Lex's brother Andre Haines is an artist and musician who also contributed to the ''
Lexx
''Lexx'' (also known as ''LEXX: The Dark Zone Stories'' and ''Tales from a Parallel Universe'') is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul and Michael Donovan. It originally aired on April 18, 1997, on Cana ...
'' series as an actor and songwriter.
Gigeroff grew up in
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries.
History
Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the regi ...
. When he was 10 he wrote a play for
Cub Scout
Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...
s which was picked up as a project for a youth group in Toronto and eventually staged.
[Philip Doucette]
In Memorian. Alex Gigeroff 1962-2011
article from the Dalhousie Magazine of the Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...
Alumni, Winter 2012, p. 38
He also worked as an announcer at the CJLS radio in the late 1970's and became actively involved with the campus-community radio
CKDU-FM
CKDU-FM (88.1 MHz) is a non-profit radio station broadcasting from the campus of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It airs a campus radio format serving the Halifax Regional Municipality area and is operated by the not-for-profit CK ...
, serving as a programming manager from 1987 to 1989.
While performing a sketch in a radio comedy show he was noticed by
Paul Donovan who invited Gigeroff to act in several of his movies.
In 1993 he wrote and starred in a one-man stage show, and after Donovan saw it he shared his idea of a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
TV show with Gigeroff and
Jeffrey Hirschfield Jeffrey Hirschfield is co-developer of the science fiction series '' Lexx''. He wrote for three of its four seasons and voiced the character of the robot head 790.
Hirschfield is also creator of the live action/animation sci-fi adventure series '' ...
which would eventually develop into the ''
Lexx
''Lexx'' (also known as ''LEXX: The Dark Zone Stories'' and ''Tales from a Parallel Universe'') is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul and Michael Donovan. It originally aired on April 18, 1997, on Cana ...
'' series.
Filming began in the fall of 1995 and the series was released by the
Showcase
Showcase or vitrine may refer to:
*Cabinet (furniture)
*Display case
Music
* ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961
* ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...
channel in 1997; with strong ratings it lasted for four seasons and sold to over 100 countries around the world.
[Ian Johnston]
Dark Zone Adventures. Paul Donovan's Living, Oozing, Exploding Universe
article from Cinefantastique
''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine.
History
The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...
Volume 28, Number 7, January 1996 Apart from writing, Gigeroff also starred in various roles while his name became an inspiration for the show's title.
He continued his writing and acting career, working in theatre, film and TV. Those included ''
The Real Howard Spitz'' comedy and the ''
Liocracy'' series, a number of short films and children's shows he created with Jason Shipley, a stage play ''Conrad and Barbara'' and a short comedy movie ''Benoit'' he wrote and directed in 2010. He was also working on his first feature film ''Gillian and Giles'' as a director which was to be shot in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
.
Gigeroff died at his home in
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...
on December 25, 2011, from a heart attack.
References
External links
*
InterviewMemorial Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gigeroff, Lex
1962 births
2011 deaths
Canadian male dramatists and playwrights
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male stage actors
Canadian male television actors
Canadian people of Macedonian descent
Canadian television writers