Valentine Anthony Neil "Tony Van" Bridge CM (28 May 1917 – 20 December 2004) was a British television and theatre actor and director.

Early life

Bridge was born in London and first appeared as a child actor at the age of ten, and enrolled aged 19 at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

. He married Kippe Cammaerts just before World War II. They had two children, Pieter and Michael. While he was away during World War II, his wife met Jack Morpurgo and started a relationship with him. Bridge returned to England in 1946 and shortly thereafter decided to emigrate to Canada. Bridge had three further children in Canada – Shona Bridge, David Cheyne and Peter Cheyne.

Career

Bridge worked for 15 years with the

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs 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 Shakespearean Festival ...

, and 30 years with the

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured production ...

. He was interim artistic director at Shaw for the 1974–75 season. On 27 April 2000, Bridge was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

for his services to the performing arts. Bridge died 20 December 2004 in

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of ...

, Ontario. He was survived by his ex-wife Stacey and predeceased by his second wife Elizabeth Bridge.

Television (partial)

* ''

The Quatermass Experiment ''The Quatermass Experiment'' is a British science fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television during the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells t ...

'' (1953), producer * ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'' (1961), Henry Burge * '' Playdate'' (1961–62) ** "Masterpiece" (1961), Raiyler ** "Love Story 1910" (1962), Inspector Dew ** "Great Expectations" (1962), Magwitch ** "The Old One" (1962) (and writer) * '' Mission: Impossible'' (1969), Erhard Poltzin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge, Tony Van 1917 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Male actors from London English male television actors English male stage actors Members of the Order of Canada Canadian theatre directors