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

Early life and education

Bellew was born 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- ...

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 ...

, 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 (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

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'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) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Drac ...

, as well as '' Razzle Dazzle'', 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 ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' with

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

(before Connery starred in his first

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

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 In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if ...

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-actor-stub