Stage Door Blog
Stage Door Blog
Denis Simpson 1950 – 2010
It is with great sorrow, but also deep gratitude for a beautiful life well lived, in which the family of Denis Simpson announces his passing on October 22, 2010, two weeks short of his 60th birthday. On Wednesday evening October 20th, Denis suffered a sudden brain haemorrhage from which he did not recover. As was Denis’s style, he was in the midst of working on a number of creative projects, including a production for Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in his hometown Toronto when tragedy struck.
Denis had just marked the 50th anniversary of his arrival in Canada with his Mother, Pearl. He grew up in Scarborough with his siblings, whom he dearly loved: Rosemarie, Kathleen, Lennox and Gloria Reuben. David Reuben, the youngest of the Reuben family, passed away in the fall of 1988.
Denis received training in music, dance and theatre and by his early twenties was working as a professional singer/actor/dancer. He was the original bass voice of the singing group The Nylons. Denis’s vast love for musical theatre started early and led him into an incredible and rare career in that realm, starting with a debut on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as being in the original Toronto production of Hair. His range as an actor and singer brought stage roles as diverse as ‘Horse’ in The Full Monty¸ ‘Belize’ in Angels In America, ‘ Four-Eyed Moe’ in Five Guys Named Moe, ‘Hoke’ in Driving Miss Daisy and ‘Jesus’ in Godspell. He received many awards for his work including a Dora Award for playing ‘Andre’ in Ain’t Misbehavin’ and a Jessie Award for his own one-man show Denis, Anyone?
In film and television, Denis was best known as the long time host of the children’s television series The Polka Dot Door. In all the years since, people who saw the show as children shyly approached him on the street or in restaurants asking to meet him. Denis always treated them with gentle grace and respect.
Denis Simpson will be missed by countless numbers of people who were blessed by his boundless love of life, his passion, his outrageous and contagious sense of humour and his deeply generous spirit.
Recently, Denis said that a favourite quote of his was Namaste…"I honour the place in you where Spirit lives. I honour the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light, of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, then we are One."
- 30 -
2010-10-22
Toronto: Denis Simpson, actor on stage screen and television, has died