Michael Kane (March 21, 1922 – December 14, 2007) was a Canadian film and television actor, who worked in both Canadian and American film and television.Paul King
"Actor Michael Kane always steers his own course"
''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', July 10, 1974. He was most noted as a two-time

ACTRA Award The ACTRA Awards are Canadian accolades presented since 1972 to celebrate excellence in cinema, television and radio industries.2nd ACTRA Awards The 2nd ACTRA Awards were presented on April 30, 1973 to honour achievements in Canadian television in 1972.

in 1973 for the television film ''The Disposable Man'',Ron Base
"Words of love"
''

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bor ...

'', April 28, 1973. and at the

4th ACTRA Awards The 4th ACTRA Awards were presented on April 23, 1975. The ceremony was hosted by Pierre Berton.Joan Irwin"ACTRA set to give its national awards" ''Montreal Star'', April 22, 1975. Due to the cancellation of the Canadian Film Awards in 1974, ACTRA ...

in 1975 for the drama series '' The Collaborators''.

Background and family

A native of

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 ...

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, ...

, he served in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

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 ...

, and decided to pursue acting after participating in variety shows."Michael Kane Stars With MRT"
''

'', September 12, 1959. He was the uncle of actor

Art Hindle Arthur Hindle (born July 21, 1948) is a Canadian actor and television director. He won the Gemini Award for Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for his portrayal of news director Mike Fennell on the CTV drama ''E.N.G.'' (1989-94). ...

Career

He began his acting career in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, appearing in dramatic anthology television series such as '' Lights Out'', ''

The Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond IT specialists and hobbyists. It allows documents and other web ...

'', '' Omnibus'' and ''

Camera Three ''Camera Three'' was an American anthology series devoted to the arts. It began as a Sunday afternoon local program on WCBS-TV in New York and ran “for some time”Mercer, Charles, Associated Press writer, Television World column, “Obscure P ...

''. He also played Angus in the 1954 television production of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', and had a role for several months in the soap opera ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

''. In 1957 he won an award for his performance in an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's play ''

Exiles Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

''. In the same year he was cast as

Laertes Laertes may refer to: * Laertes (father of Odysseus), Ionian king and the father of Odysseus in Greek mythology * Laertes (''Hamlet''), son of Polonius and brother of Ophelia in Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'' * Laertes (Cilicia), an ancient town ...

in the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', but was dropped from the production and subsequently sued for wrongful dismissal. The following year he staged his own one-man show in Stratford, without festival participation, receiving acclaim for his selection of monologues by various playwrights. In 1959 he starred as Jamie in a production of ''

Long Day's Journey into Night ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' is a play in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939–1941 and first published posthumously in 1956. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus and one of the great American plays of the ...

'' for Montreal's

Théâtre du Nouveau Monde The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (; TNM) is a theatre company and venue located on rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in , it launched with the classic play ''L'Avare'' by Molière. Initially located at the Gesù (1951–1958), it ...

, alongside

Ian Keith Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school pr ...

as James,

Mildred Dunnock Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American stage and screen actress. She was nominated twice for an Academy Award for her works in ''Death of a Salesman'' (1951) and '' Baby Doll'' (1956). Early life Born in B ...

as Mary, Eileen Clifford as Cathleen and Roland Hewgill as Edmund. In the early 1960s he moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he had some success in stage roles until his career was disrupted by the rise to fame of the similarly-named

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

. In 1965 he appeared in the film ''

The Bedford Incident ''The Bedford Incident'' is a 1965 British-American Cold War film directed by James B. Harris, starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and produced by Harris and Widmark. The cast also features Eric Portman, James MacArthur, Martin Balsa ...

''."Montreal Actor Kane Stars In Richard Widmark Movie"
''

Red Deer Advocate The ''Red Deer Advocate'' is a twice-weekly newspaper in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. It publishes Wednesday and Saturday and is owned by Black Press. History The newspaper was first established in 1901 as the ''Red Deer Echo'', changing its n ...

'', March 5, 1965. In 1967, he returned to Montreal to perform the one-man show ''Michael Kane on Stage''. He returned to living in Canada permanently soon afterward, and was again regularly featured in Canadian television and stage productions, including a 1968 guest appearance in '' Quentin Durgens, M.P.'', the theatrical film ''

Love in a Four Letter World ''Love in a Four Letter World'' is a Canadian softcore pornographic film, directed by John Sone and released in 1970.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 131. The film stars Michael Kane and Helen Whyte as Ha ...

'', and the television films ''Fringe Benefits'', ''The Day They Killed the Snowman'', ''The Disposable Man'', and '' The Sloane Affair''. Beginning in 1973 he starred as Jim Brewer in the first season of the police drama series ''The Collaborators''. After shooting three episodes of the show's second season he left the series, with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

stating that he left for health reasons,"CBC police series loses second star"
''

Waterloo Region Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener, Waterloo, Ontario, Water ...

'', May 16, 1974. but Kane disputed that, claiming that he had been fired for demanding a pay increase due to excessive overtime work. Throughout his career, he was also a frequent narrator of documentary films for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

and other documentary producers.

Filmography

Film

Television

Documentary narration

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kane, Michael 1922 births 2007 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Male actors from Montreal