Hugh Webster (actor)
Hugh Webster was a Scottish-born Canadian actor. Webster acted on stage, in television and film.
Biography
Born in Edinburgh, Webster studied art in England. Webster moved with his family to Canada in 1948. He studied drama in Toronto, and later formed his own theatre company in Oakville, Ontario.Webster was one of the early stars of Canadian television, notably appearing as a regular cast member in "Sunshine Sketches"' and in many episodes of CBC Television drama anthologies. He regularly appeared in "The Defenders" 1960s television show in the United States. He continued to work in television throughout his career, later appearing in "A Gift to Last", "The Newcomers" and "All the Days of my Life".
He was also a frequent stage performer. Webster's early stage career began at Toronto's Crest Theatre in 1955 in Stanley Mann's The Gift of the Serpent. He also performed at the Stratford Festival, beginning in 1962 in The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest and Cyrano de Bergerac. He was most notable playing The Fool in a 1964 production of King Lear. Webster won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Featured Male Performance in 1983 for his role in Toronto Free Theatre's production of Brian Friel's Translations. He also performed at the Phoenix Theatre and the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto. Webster also toured with Canadian Players.
Webster also had a career in film. He was most noted for his role in the film For Gentlemen Only, for which he and his costar Ed McNamara were joint winners of the Canadian Film Award for Best Actor in a Non-Feature at the 27th Canadian Film Awards in 1976.