Sean McCann, 83, on June 13. Born in Windsor, ON, McCann studied to become a priest at St. Peter’s Seminary in London before deciding to turn to acting. McCann would go on to appear in over 150 television series, feature films and stage productions. Among his better known roles, he appeared alongside Nick Nolte in Affliction (1997), Meryl Streep in TV movie …First Do No Harm (1997), Chris Farley in Tommy Boy (1995), and Peter Weller and Judy Davis in Naked Lunch (1991). In 1999, he won a Gemini Award for Best Guest Actor in a Series for Power Play and was twice-nominated for Best Performance in a Pre-School Series for Noddy as Grandpa Noah Tomten. McCann also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role on Canadian TV series Night Heat, which aired from 1985-89. He was honoured with an Earle Grey Award in 1989 for LIfetime Achievement in television acting. Outside film and television, McCann served as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays and served on the board of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He also made a brief foray into politics, running unsuccessfully for the Liberals against Progressive Conservative MPP Roy McMurtry in 1979.
Rev. Sterling Gosman, suddenly, on June 13. Gosman had a 33-year technical career working behind the scenes at CBC New Brunswick, also serving as a Fredericton City Councillor, auxiliary police officer, and former president of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist churches, over the years. After retiring from the public broadcaster in 1997, Sterling and his wife moved from Fredericton to Kentville, Nova Scotia. He subsequently graduated from Seminary at Acadia Divinity College in 2007 with a Bachelor of Theology. He was ordained at New Minas Baptist Church in 2008. Gosman is survived by his wife Anne and their three children, Rev. Dr. Neville Gosman, Teah Gosman-Odinga, and soprano Measha Brueggergosman.
Douglas McIlraith, 83, on June 6, after a short battle with esophageal cancer. McIlraith started in radio while still in highschool at CJBQ Belleville. He moved to Vancouver to be closer to his sister Lois which led to stints at CFUN and CJOR and later CKOV Kelowna. In 1961, he joined CBC Edmonton where he worked in both TV and radio. McIlraith ended up marrying fellow CBC Edmonton colleague Beatrice Lamond and transferred to her hometown of Winnipeg in 1967 to start raising a family. McIlraith travelled to cover many major events for the public broadcaster, including the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He retired from CBC Winnipeg in 1990 where his last role was co-host of CBC Information Radio.
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