Al Waxman, actor, 65

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

Thursday January 18 6:19 PM ET

Pioneering Canadian actor Al Waxman dies 

TORONTO (Reuters) - Pioneering Canadian actor Al Waxman, who achieved icon
status in his home country and was well known elsewhere for his role in
the U.S. TV series ''Cagney & Lacey,'' died Thursday at age 65 of
complications following heart bypass surgery.

In Canada, Waxman became a household name for his role in the long-running
Canadian television series ``King of Kensington.''

The CBC-TV production, which ran for five seasons, from 1975 to 1980,
followed the misadventures of variety store owner Larry King, played by
Waxman, as he meddled in other people's lives in Toronto's colorful
Kensington Market district.

In the United States, he appeared as Lieutenant Bert Samuels in the police
drama ``Cagney & Lacey,'' which ran from 1981 to 1988, and as Judge
Othineil in the series ``Twice in a Lifetime''.

He had roles in several movies, including the 1999 film ''The Hurricane''
with Denzel Washington.

``Al Waxman ... pioneered TV stardom in English Canada and continued being
a major contributor as an actor, director, teacher,'' said David Barlow,
King of Kensington's associate producer. ``I've met few people who have
worked as hard as he did at his craft. He was devoted to his work and took
tremendous pride in it.''

In his career, which spanned 50 years, Waxman acted in, directed, produced
or wrote more than 1,000 radio, television, theater and film productions.

Waxman returned to the Canadian stage in 1997, playing Willy Loman in the
Stratford Festival production of ``Death of a Salesman''. Last season, he
directed ``The Diary of Anne Frank'' at Stratford and this year he was to
play Shylock in ``Merchant of Venice''.

Richard Monette, the Stratford Festival's artistic director, expressed
shock and sorrow on the news of Waxman's death.

``Al was a marvelous actor. He was a first-rate actor and he was also a
wonderful supporter of the Stratford Festival. He gave us a wonderful
performance of Willy Loman and last year's direction of ``Anne Frank'' was
superb. It's a great loss to us and to the theatrical community, and to
all his friends who had met him over the years.''

Waxman is survived by his wife Sara Waxman, daughter Tobaron and son
Adam. His funeral will be held in Toronto Friday.

Reuters/Variety REUTERS 



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This mailing list is brought to you by Slick.ORG at http://www.slick.org
to remove yourself from the list, send e-mail to majordomo@slick.org
and include the words "unsubscribe deathwatch" in the message (not in the
subject).  For web-based help, go to:

http://www.slick.org/cgi-bin/majordomo

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *