Leon Pownall Explained

Leon Pownall
Birth Place:Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales
Death Place:Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Occupation:Actor

Leon Pownall (April 26, 1943 – June 2, 2006) was a Welsh-Canadian actor and director.

He was born in Wrexham, Wales and moved to Hamilton, Ontario with his family in 1957. He performed at the Stratford Festival during the 1960s and returned several times to the festival over the years to perform, the last time in 2002 as a director.[1]

Pownall wrote and performed a one-man play, Do Not Go Gentle, about Dylan Thomas. Geraint Wyn Davies later performed this work off-Broadway in 2005 and at the Stratford Festival in 2010.[2] [3]

His film credits include Dead Poets Society (1989), in which he shared the screen with Robin Williams, as well as the title role in Handel's Last Chance (1996) and a supporting role in the Golden Globe-winning Dirty Pictures (2000). Pownall was nominated for a Gemini Award for the role of Dr. Ewan Cameron in the 1998 Canadian television mini-series The Sleep Room. He also appeared in television series such as The Beachcombers, Street Legal, Wiseguy, and Slings & Arrows.

Pownall died from cancer in Stratford, Ontario, on June 2, 2006, at the age of 63.[4] [5]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1968data-sort-value="Great Big Thing, A" A Great Big Thing Ray
1970Twelve and a Half Cents Father
1989Dead Poets Society McAllister
1989Termini Station Charles Marshall
1989Bye Bye Blues Bernie Blitzer
1989 Gerry Gerrand
1990Angel Square Blue Cheeks
1994How the West Was Fun Leo McRugger
1996Handel's Last Chance Georg Friedrich Handel
1997Dinner at Fred's George Billings
1998data-sort-value="Sleep Room, The" The Sleep Room Dr. Ewen Cameron
1998Sleeping Dogs Lie Inspector Mitchell
2005Bailey's Billion$ Judge Cornelius Strawacher

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Leon Pownall acting and directing credits . Stratford Festival Archives . June 21, 2019.
  2. Web site: Do Not Go Gentle . May 22, 2005. Variety.
  3. Web site: Do Not Go Gentle (2010) production credits . Stratford Festival Archives . June 21, 2019.
  4. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/06/04/pownall-obit.html CBC News
  5. Web site: Leon Pownall, Canadian Actor Who Wrote, Directed and Taught, Dead at 63. June 5, 2006. Kenneth Jones. Playbill. December 10, 2022.