Al Waxman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Al Waxman

Al Waxman
Born March 2, 1935
Toronto, Ontario
Died January 18, 2001
Notable roles King of Kensington

Albert Samuel Waxman, C.M., O.Ont (March 2, 1935 – January 18, 2001) was a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles on the television series King of Kensington (CBC) and Cagney & Lacey (CBS).

Contents

Waxman was born in Toronto to Jewish immigrants from Poland. His parents operated and owned Melinda Lunch, a small restaurant, and his father, Aaron Waxman, died when Al was nine.[1]

Waxman was a founding member of the Canadian Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. In 1997, he was awarded a Gemini Award for his performance in the television film Net Worth. Waxman also appeared at the Stratford Festival, beginning with Death of a Salesman in 1997. Later in 2001, he would have returned to Stratford to portray Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. This was a potentially controversial performance given that Waxman was of the Jewish faith while the Shylock character is often associated with Anti-Semitism. Paul Soles accepted the part of Shylock in the wake of Waxman's death and the play was performed in honour of Waxman.[2]

In 1996, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was awarded the Order of Ontario. In 1998, he was given the Earle Grey Award for lifetime achievement in Canadian television.

He died in Toronto during heart surgery at the age of 65. The Toronto neighbourhood that his starring role in King of Kensington made famous, Kensington Market, erected a memorial to Waxman following his death.

Musician Jaymz Bee of the Bee People, (prior to his work with The Look People, The Royal Jelly Orchestra and various projects) was a founder of the Al Waxman Fan Club. The Fan Club began in the 1980s following the heyday of the King of Kensington television show. Bee, his associates Clay Tyson (son of Ian and Sylvia), Bazl Salazar, Bruce J. Scott and artist Max MacDonald would host parites and write songs in honour of Waxman. While the Fan Club initially appeared to be a publicity stunt, this led to a long and successful association between Jaymz Bee and Al Waxman. Waxman attended some of the Fan Club events as organised by Bee, most of which raised money for charities such as The Canadian Cancer Foundation and Big Brother. Bee attended Waxman's funeral, and joined with his Fan Club to hold a wake in Toronto on 25 January 2001. They had a New Orleans-style funeral march with a jazz band and paraded from The Cameron House to Kensington Market where they recorded his hit TV theme song with Vezi Tayeb at Kensington Sound. The AWFC boasted over 1,000 card carrying members and while the bulk of members were from Toronto, some were as far away as Japan and Africa. President Bee received a terse reply from Buckingham Palace however, notifying him that The Queen of England does not "join a fan club". Al Waxman realized over the years that this organization, while appearing tongue in cheek, was a group of bonafide fans who enjoyed celebrating "the King of Canada".

  • 1971: When Michael Calls
  • 1979: Please Don't Eat the Planet (voice only)
  • 1981: Cagney & Lacey (pilot TV movie)
  • 1988: The Return of Ben Casey
  • 1991: I Still Dream of Jeannie
  • 1992: Quiet Killer
  • 1992: Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story
  • 1992: The Trial of Red Riding Hood
  • 1994: Cagney & Lacey: The Return
  • 1994: Web of Deceit
  • 1995: Net Worth
  • 1995: The Shamrock Conspiracy
  • 1996: Gotti
  • 1997: Rescuers: Stories of Courage
  • 1998: Naked City: A Killer at Christmas
  • 1999: In the Company of Spies (TV-1999)
  • 1999: A Saintly Switch
  • 2000: The Ride
  • 2000: The Thin Blue Lie
  • 2001: Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (released posthumously)

  1. ^ AL WAXMAN. Northern Stars (2006). Retrieved on January 12, 2007.
  2. ^ "The importance of being Shylock", Canadian Jewish News, 2 August 2001

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../a/l/_/Al_Waxman_9b76.html"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.