Alex Trebek was in Ottawa today to inaugurate the "Alex Trebek Alumni Hall" of the University of Ottawa after donating 2.3 million for the renovation of the heritage building.
That is how I came up with the idea; does your city have a person like Alex Trebek; grew up in your town or went to one of your Universities before hitting big time and continues to this day of not only proudly mentioning his connection to your city (every time there a question on Jeopardy with Ottawa as the answer or has a chance to talk about his university years, he always slips in his connections to the City and U of O), but also continue to contribute to the development of your city or local charitable organizations.
Another such person would be Daniel Alfredsson. Although I'm still bitter from the events of July 2013 and his subsequent year in Detroit, no one can take away his endless community involvement and generosity in Ottawa. We've had a lot of great players past and present contributing in this city, but no one comes close to Alfie's calibre.
- Don Iveson
- Joey Moss
- Mark Carney(?)
- Nathan Filion
- Nellie McClung and Emily Murphy
- Wop May
- Barb Tarbox
- Tommy Chong
- Leslie Nielsen (went to high school here)
- Cadence Weapon
- Lots of hockey players
We have a serious deficit of good musicians that came out of this town compared to other large cities in the country.
Ones who actively promote the city: Danny Williams, Gordon Pinsent, Seamus O'Regan, Gwynne Dyer, Mary Walsh, Allan Hawco, everyone at Republic of Doyle, This Hour has 22 Minutes, etc., Shaun Majumder, Mark Critch, Rick Mercer, Ray Guy, Rex Murphy, Cathy Jones, Geoff Stirling, Natasha Henstridge Ron Hynes, Joan Morrissey, and basically anyone whose name you know who is from here, etc.
Everyone from here does it, every chance they get...
There are also ones who don't go on about us or aren't from here but will praise us at length if asked, such as Shannon Tweed, George Strombolopolous, just about anyone at CBC, Bush administration officials, Justin Trudeau, Chris and Mary Pratt (he actually designed our provincial flag), Stompin' Tom, Jason Priestly, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Dame Judy Dench, etc.
*****
And, of course, my favourite - discovered through SSP... she's apparently famous on the mainland
Quote:
Jan Morris says in the book that of all the cities she has written about - anywhere in the world - none has given her more enjoyment than St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland, which she describes as "the most entertaining town in North America." She delights in finding a rum in St. John's called Newfoundland Screech, and a family clan with the name Noseworthy. She paints a memorable portrait:
"Windy, fishy, anecdotal, proud, weather-beaten, quirky, obliging, ornery, and fun - its chunky wooden streets clamber up and down the civic hills with a kind of throwaway picturesqueness, suggesting to me sometimes a primitive San Francisco, sometimes Bergen in Norway, occasionally China, and often an Ireland of long ago."
J.OT13... I'm choosing to take that the sweet, non-bitchy way. Thanks.
__________________ Note to self: "The plural of anecdote is not evidence."
Last edited by SignalHillHiker; May 6, 2015 at 11:49 AM.
- Don Iveson
- Joey Moss
- Mark Carney(?)
- Nathan Filion
- Nellie McClung and Emily Murphy
- Wop May
- Barb Tarbox
- Tommy Chong
- Leslie Nielsen (went to high school here)
- Cadence Weapon
- Lots of hockey players
We have a serious deficit of good musicians that came out of this town compared to other large cities in the country.
But do they continue to support and promote Edmonton. Paul Anka, Dan Aykroyd, Sarah Chalke and Matthew Perry have totally abandoned us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker
Ones who actively promote the city: Danny Williams, Gordon Pinsent, Seamus O'Regan, Gwynne Dyer, Mary Walsh, Shaun Majumder, Mark Critch, Rick Mercer, Ray Guy, Rex Murphy, Cathy Jones, Geoff Stirling, Natasha Henstridge Ron Hynes, Joan Morrissey, and basically anyone whose name you know who is from here, etc.
Everyone from here does it, every chance they get...
J.OT13... I'm choosing to take that the sweet, non-bitchy way. Thanks.
That's true; I find that famous Newfoundlanders show their pride for their home province more than any other.
We have a serious deficit of good musicians that came out of this town compared to other large cities in the country.
The 50s produced a fair bit of Edmontonian musicians: Wes Dakus, Barry Allen, the Allan Sisters, Tommy Banks. Wes Dakus, when he stopped touring with the Rebels in and around 1967, he set up Edmonton's first recording studio. I think One Horse Blue, kd lang, Nancy Nash, and Mary Saxton did some recording in that studio. Barry Allen had a "solo" career per se before replacing Wes Dakus. Once Barry Allen took over, it seemed they only ever did covers. The Allan Sisters had a string of hits in the pre-MAPL years, doing some Northern Soul mostly. Tommy Banks would eventually become a senator.
T.C. Douglas
Doug Wickenheiser
Leslie Nielsen
Tatiana Maslany
Ryan Getzlaf
__________________
-- “We heal each other with kindness, gentleness and respect.” -- Richard Wagamese
-- “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” -- Dr. Seuss
Drake
The Kids in the Hall (All of them)
Mike Myers
Catherine O'Hara
John Tory
Olivia Chow
Martin Short
George Stroumboulopoulis
David Mirvish
Kathleen Wynne
and Zanta
I could have listed off a ton of other well known names but for many like Jim Carrey they are more Hollywood then Canadian now.
There could be a long list of Ambassadors that are no longer with us like Jack Layton and Ed Mirvish.
This isn't meant to be a list of celebrities from here, but rather notable ambassadors for the city... i.e., people who maintain a connection to Winnipeg and somehow have it form a part of their public persona.
Winnipeg:
Monty Hall
Chris Jericho
Nia Vardalos
Chantal Kreviazuk
Burton Cummings John K. Samson of The Weakerthans
Guy Maddin
I've bolded Samson and Maddin not because they're the biggest ambassadors for the city, but because they are perhaps the most eloquent storytellers through music and film, respectively.
----
Video clip of a Winnipegger aggressively asserting his Winnipegness:
I agree that Ottawa seems a bit let down by its more famous offspring. They seem to forget about the place once they make it big elsewhere.
I won't even talk about Gatineau as the famous names are not generally known outside Quebec. But quite a few people from here in the Montreal-based Québécois showbiz industry do talk favourably about the Outaouais region and how nice it is and one of the province's best-kept-secrets.
As for Montreal well the ones who talk up the city most are probably Arcade Fire. It's probably because they're a totally anglo band from a francophone city and need to remind people of where they're from, lest they get mistaken for natives of Austin, Texas or something...
Francophone celebrities don't tend to play up Montreal or Quebec much unless they get specifically asked. Everyone knows where they're from right away so there's no need to...
For Kingston:
-Isabel & Alfred Bader. Millionaire Queen's alumnus couple. They recently donated tens of millions of their own dollars to help build a new concert hall in Kingston
-The Tragically Hip.
- Don Iveson
- Joey Moss
- Mark Carney(?)
- Nathan Filion
- Nellie McClung and Emily Murphy
- Wop May
- Barb Tarbox
- Tommy Chong
- Leslie Nielsen (went to high school here)
- Cadence Weapon
- Lots of hockey players
We have a serious deficit of good musicians that came out of this town compared to other large cities in the country.
I don't feel like most of those people are good ambassadors given that many of them are dead.
It seems to me that to be a good ambassador, one must regularly extoll the virtues of the city and push the positive aspects to build up our narrative elsewhere. Aside from Don Iveson, few people that you listed seem very vocal about Edmonton outside of Edmonton.
To that end, I would put writer Todd Babiak on the list.
To the surprise of some and not to others, I would also put Daryl Katz. His relationship with the city is complex, but I think both near- and long-term we will see much greater investment in our city directly because of him.
I would also add local blogger and event organizer Mack Male, though I am biased being both friend and colleague.
This isn't meant to be a list of celebrities from here, but rather notable ambassadors for the city... i.e., people who maintain a connection to Winnipeg and somehow have it form a part of their public persona.
Winnipeg:
Monty Hall
Chris Jericho
Nia Vardalos
Chantal Kreviazuk
Burton Cummings John K. Samson of The Weakerthans
Guy Maddin
I've bolded Samson and Maddin not because they're the biggest ambassadors for the city, but because they are perhaps the most eloquent storytellers through music and film, respectively.
----
Video clip of a Winnipegger aggressively asserting his Winnipegness:
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