Ray Bellew (March 26, 1939 – October 10, 2006) 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 and performer.

Early life and education

Bellew was born 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 ...

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, ...

, Canada. He had two sisters, Claudette and Majorie. Claudette, his younger sister, died on January 4, 2012.

Career

In the 1960s he moved to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

to host a teen radio show, ''Now Sound''. He starred as the title character in the TV series '' Skipper and Company'' in St. John's, Newfoundland, which ran on the

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 ** ...

's Newfoundland affiliate CBNT from 1974 to 1982. Throughout the 1960s, Bellew was in the Canadian series ''Last of the Mohicans'' with

Lon Chaney Jr Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film ''The Wolf Man (1941 film), The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various fictional ...

, as well as ''

Razzle Dazzle ''Razzle Dazzle'' is a Canadian children's television program produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation between October 2, 1961, and July 1, 1966. The series was initially co-hosted by Alan Hamel and Michele Finney, later replaced by ...

'', featuring puppet Howard the Turtle. Bellew also performed in '' The Forest Rangers'', Gordon Pinsent's '' Quentin Durgens, M.P.'', ''Cannonball'', ''CBC TV Theatre'', ''On Camera'', ''Folio'', and ''Star Time Theatre'', among others. He was in CBC Toronto's 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 ...

'' with

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

(before Connery starred in his first

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film). During the 1990s, he hosted the Weekend Arts Magazine in Newfoundland and Labrador. In the late 1990s, Bellew performed as the personification of P.J. Billington, of the P.J. Billington's restaurants. He made public appearances and voiced radio and TV advertisements.

Personal life

Bellew and his wife Rose had two daughters, Kelli and Lauren, and a son, Sean. He had two sons, Mark and Christopher, and two daughters, Kim and Robyn, from a previous marriage to Brenda. He was a skilled magician. After retiring from performing, he became depressed, alcoholic, and abusive. In 2002, Bellew was sentenced to six months under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

and two years probation and prohibition from imbibing alcohol. He pleaded guilty to assaulting and threatening his wife. The couple reconciled. Bellew died in St. John's.

Notes

External links

* 1939 births 2006 deaths Canadian male television actors Male actors from Montreal {{Canada-screen-actor-1930s-stub