Shirley Douglas

2025-08-28T01:50:17Z

73.181.169.151: /* Film */

{{Short description|Canadian actress (1934–2020)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Shirley Douglas
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of Canada|OC]]
| birthname = Shirley Jean Douglas
| image = Photo of Shirley Douglas.jpg
| imagesize =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1934|4|2|}}
| birth_place = {{nobr|[[Weyburn]], [[Saskatchewan]], Canada}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|4|5|1934|4|2}}
| death_place = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
|alma_mater = [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| years_active = 1954–2009
| spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Timothy Emil Sick|1957||end=div}}|{{marriage|[[Donald Sutherland]]|1966|1970|end=div}}}}
| children = 3, including [[Kiefer Sutherland]]
| parents = [[Tommy Douglas]], Irma Dempsey
| occupation = Actress
| relations = [[Emil Sick]] (father-in-law, 1st marriage)
}}

'''Shirley Jean Douglas''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|size=100%|OC}} (April 2, 1934 – April 5, 2020) was a Canadian actress.<ref>Sandra Nichols, [https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shirley-douglas "Shirley Douglas"]. ''[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]'', May 18, 2009.</ref> Her acting career combined with her family name made her recognizable in Canadian film, television and national politics.

==Early life==
Douglas was born April 2, 1934, in [[Weyburn]], [[Saskatchewan]],{{sfn|Solski|2009|page=137}}<ref name="AP">{{cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/canadian-actress-and-activist-shirley-douglas-dies-at-age-86/|title=Canadian actress and activist Shirley Douglas dies at age 86|agency=Associated Press|work=[[The Seattle Times]]|publisher=[[The Seattle Times Company]]|location=[[Seattle]]|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref> the daughter of Irma May ([[married and maiden names|née]] Dempsey; 1911–1995) and [[Tommy Douglas]] (1904–1986), the late Scottish-born Canadian [[public figure|statesman]], [[Premier of Saskatchewan]] and the first leader of the federal [[New Democratic Party]].<ref name="Ahearn">{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/actress-activist-shirley-douglas-daughter-of-medicares-tommy-douglas-dies|title=Actress-activist Shirley Douglas, mother of Kiefer Sutherland, dies at 86|first=Victoria|last=Ahearn|work=[[National Post]]|publisher=[[Postmedia Network]]|location=[[Toronto]]|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref> She attended high school at Central Collegiate Institute (later closed) in [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]]. Douglas attended the [[Banff School of Fine Arts]] at the age of 16.{{sfn|Solski|2009|page=137}}<ref name="AP"/>

==Career==
{{expand section|date=October 2024}}
Douglas's acting career began in 1950 with a role in the Regina Little Theatre entry at the Dominion Drama Festival,<ref>[http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Dominion%20Drama%20Festival Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia]</ref> where she won the best actress award. In 1952 Shirley graduated from the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] in [[London]] and stayed in [[England]] for several years, performing for theatre and television, before returning to Canada in 1957.{{sfn|Solski|2009|page=137}}

She continued to act; and her career encompassed several memorable roles on stages in [[Canada]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]]. She portrayed prominent [[feminist]] [[Nellie McClung]], family [[matriarch]] and business woman May Bailey in the television series ''[[Wind at My Back]]'', Hagar Shipley in [[Margaret Laurence]]'s ''[[The Stone Angel]]'', and even characters in popular [[science fiction]] series like ''[[The Silver Surfer]]'' and ''[[Flash Gordon]]''.

In 1997, Douglas appeared on stage with her son [[Kiefer Sutherland]] at the [[Royal Alexandra Theatre]] and at the [[National Arts Centre]] in ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]''.{{sfn|Solski|2009|page=137}} In 2000, she performed on stage in ''[[The Vagina Monologues]]''. In 2006, she portrayed former [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Madeleine Albright]] in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[mini-series]] ''[[The Path to 9/11]]''.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

In 2003, for her contributions to the [[performing arts]], she was named an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]].<ref name="NYT"/>

==Personal life and death==
Douglas was the mother of three children: Thomas Emil Sick from her marriage to [[Canadian Prairies|Canadian prairie]] brewery heir Timothy Emil Sicks in 1957,{{sfn|Solski|2009|page=137}}<ref name=ShirleyRemembers>{{cite news|last1=Ouzounian|first1=Richard|title=Shirley Douglas fondly remembers her famous father, Tommy Douglas|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2013/02/20/shirley_douglas_fondly_remembers_her_famous_father_tommy_douglas.html|access-date=January 8, 2018|work=[[Toronto Star]]|publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. ([[Torstar]])|location=[[Toronto]]|date=February 9, 2013}}</ref> and twins Rachel Sutherland and [[Kiefer Sutherland]] from her second marriage to Canadian actor [[Donald Sutherland]] (1966–70).<ref name="AP"/>

{{rquote|right|Our jobs, we move around a great deal … and that is the reality that my children grew up with{{snd}} is being left, and not happily.<ref name="Ahearn"/>}}

By 2009, Douglas was in a wheelchair due to a degenerative spine condition that caused her severe pain.<ref name="Ahearn"/>

Douglas died on April 5, 2020, due to complications from [[pneumonia]], three days after her 86th birthday.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[CTV News]]|publisher=[[Bell Media]]|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/canadian-actress-shirley-douglas-dies-at-86-1.4883465|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408121046/https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/actress-activist-shirley-douglas-daughter-of-medicare-s-tommy-douglas-dies-1.4883465|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 8, 2020|location=[[Toronto]]|title=Actress-activist Shirley Douglas, daughter of medicare's Tommy Douglas, dies|date=April 5, 2020|first=Victoria|last=Ahearn}}</ref>

===Activism===
Douglas moved to Los Angeles, California in 1967 after marrying actor [[Donald Sutherland]]. She became involved in the [[American Civil Rights Movement]], the campaign against the [[Vietnam War]], and later on behalf of immigrants and women. She helped establish the fundraising group "Friends of the [[Black Panthers]]".

In 1969, she was arrested in Los Angeles for Conspiracy to Possess Unregistered Explosives. According to a sworn statement by FBI agents, she allegedly attempted to purchase hand grenades from those FBI agents for the Black Panthers using a personal cheque.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-21 |title=32 things you didn't know about Kelly's Heroes - Donald Sutherland was ill, expected to die before his wife got to Yugoslavia |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/12/31/43655/#:~:text=Panthers%20with%20a-,personal%20cheque,-from%20an%20undercover |access-date=2024-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621044239/https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/12/31/43655/#:~:text=Panthers%20with%20a-,personal%20cheque,-from%20an%20undercover |archive-date=June 21, 2019}}</ref> As her defence, she claimed the FBI was framing her by creating a crime where none existed prior to their involvement.<ref name=ShirleyRemembers/> Subsequently, the FBI denied her a [[work permit]] based on this allegation. Douglas, by then divorced from Sutherland, left the USA in 1977. She and her three children moved to [[Toronto]].<ref name="Ahearn" /><ref name="ABC" /> The courts eventually dismissed the case and exonerated her.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/04/05/world/ap-cn-obit-canada-shirley-douglas.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406213114/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/04/05/world/ap-cn-obit-canada-shirley-douglas.html |archive-date=2020-04-06 |title=Canadian Actress and Activist Shirley Douglas Dies at Age 86|agency=Associated Press|work=[[The New York Times]]|location=[[New York City]]|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref>

Douglas co-founded the first chapter in Canada of the Performing Artists for Nuclear Disarmament.<ref name="Ahearn"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/ct-ent-shirley-douglas-obituary-kiefer-sutherland-20200405-wpipkbuamza7lkodc57c6awqbi-story.html|title=Canadian actress and activist Shirley Douglas dies at 86|agency=Associated Press|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]]|location=[[Baltimore]]|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref>

As the daughter of [[Tommy Douglas]], promoter of [[Medicare (Canada)|Medicare]], she was one of Canada's activists in favor of taxpayer funded health care instead of [[privatization|privatised]] care. In the [[2006 Canadian federal election]], Douglas campaigned on behalf of the federal [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]] and in 2012 she supported [[Brian Topp]] for that party's leadership.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-03-23 |title=NDP leadership candidate Brian Topp asks for NDP's trust |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-leadership-candidate-brian-topp-asks-for-ndp-s-trust-1.1262215 |website=CBC News}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1955
|''[[Joe MacBeth]]''
|Patsy
|[[Crime drama|Crime drama film]] [[Film director|directed]] by [[Ken Hughes]]{{sfn|Shakespeare|Williams|2006|page=29}}{{sfn|Mayer|2003|page=216}}
|-
|1962
|''[[Lolita (1962 film)|Lolita]]''
|Mrs. Starch
|
|-
|1983
|''{{sortname|The|Wars|The Wars (film)}}''
|Mrs. Lawson
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1988
|''[[Dead Ringers (film)|Dead Ringers]]''
|Laura
|
|-
|''[[Shadow Dancing (film)|Shadow Dancing]]''
|Nicole
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
|''Passage of the Heart''
|Katherine Ward
|
|-
|''{{sortname|The|Shower|The Shower (film)}}''
|Marie
|
|-
|1994
|''[[Mesmer (film)|Mesmer]]''
|Duchess DuBarry
|
|-
|1998
|''[[Barney's Great Adventure]]''
|Grandma Greenfield
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2000
|''[[Woman Wanted (2000 film)|Woman Wanted]]''
|Peg
|
|-
|''{{sortname|The|Law of Enclosures|The Law of Enclosures (film)}}''
|Myra
|
|-
|''[[Franklin and the Green Knight]]''
|Narrator
|Video
|}

===Television===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1955
|''[[Rheingold Theatre]]''
|Molly Gaines
|Episode: "The Long White Line"
|-
|1978
|''Nellie McClung''
|[[Nellie McClung]]
|TV film
|-
|1982
|''[[Hangin' In]]''
|Mrs. Ricardo
|Episode: "Barnum and Baby"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1986
|''[[Turning to Stone]]''
|Lena
|TV film
|-
|''Loose Ends''
|Elder Seth's Wife
|TV film
|-
|1987
|''Really Weird Tales''
|Edna Besley
|TV film
|-
|1989
|''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985 TV series)|Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''
|Monica Logan
|Episode: "Driving Under the Influence"
|-
|1990–1991
|''[[Street Legal (Canadian TV series)|Street Legal]]''
|Mayor Riley
|Recurring role (4 episodes)
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
|''[[Road to Avonlea]]''
|Miss Cavendish
|Episode: "High Society"
|-
|''{{sortname|The|Hat Squad}}''
|
|Episode: "Pilot"
|-
|1993
|''[[Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story]]''
|Vivian Karney (who bullied and abused her daughter Shari Karney)
| rowspan="3" |TV film
|-
| rowspan="2" |1995
|''[[Redwood Curtain]]''
|Schyler Noyes
|-
|''Johnny's Girl''
|Mrs. Hardwick
|-
|1996–97
|''[[Flash Gordon (1996 TV series)|Flash Gordon]]''
|Additional Voices
|25 episodes
|-
|1996–2001
|''[[Wind at My Back]]''
|[[Wind at My Back#May Bailey|May Bailey]]
|Main role (65 episodes)
|-
|1998
|''[[Silver Surfer (TV series)|Silver Surfer]]''
|Infectia (voice)
|Unknown episodes
|-
|1998–2000
|''[[Franklin (TV series)|Franklin]]''
|Narrator
|20 episodes
|-
|1999
|''Shadow Lake''
|Margaret Richards
| rowspan="2" |TV film
|-
|2000
|''{{sortname|A|House Divided|nolink=1}}''
|Elizabeth Dickson
|-
|2001
|''[[Made in Canada (TV series)|Made in Canada]]''
|Cybill Thornbush
|Episode: "Beaver Creek Commercials"
|-
|2002
|''{{sortname|The|Christmas Shoes|The Christmas Shoes (film)}}''
|Ellen Layton
|TV film
|-
| rowspan="2" |2005
|''[[Robson Arms]]''
|Pauline Dubois
|Recurring role (4 episodes)
|-
|''[[Corner Gas]]''
|Peg
|Episode: "Trees a Crowd"
|-
|2006
|''{{sortname|The|Path to 9/11}}''
|[[Madeleine Albright]]
|TV film
|-
|2008
|''[[Degrassi: The Next Generation]]''
|Professor Dunwoody
|Episode: "Bust a Move: Part 2"
|}

==Awards==
* (2000) [[Gemini Award]] for her performance in the 1999 TV film ''Shadow Lake''.<ref name="ABC">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/canadian-actress-activist-shirley-douglas-dies-age-86-69989385|title=Canadian actress and activist Shirley Douglas dies at age 86|agency=Associated Press|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|location=[[New York City]]|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref>
* (2001) [[Honorary degree]] of [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D) from [[Toronto Metropolitan University|Ryerson University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ryerson.ca/convocation/honorary-doctorate/honorary-doctorates/|title=Past Honorary Doctorates}}</ref>
* (2000) "Diamond Award" for her volunteerism, by the [https://web.archive.org/web/20060713192546/http://www.varietyclub.org.uk/ Variety Club] an international charity for children in need
* (2002) [[Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/125-7999|title=Ms. Shirley Douglas}}</ref>
* (2003) [[Order of Canada|Officer of the Order of Canada]] (OC) - October 24, 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-718|title=Ms. Shirley Douglas}}</ref>
* (2004) awarded a space on the Wall of Fame at the [[National Arts Centre]] in [[Ottawa]]
* (2004) received the "Distinguished Canadian Award" by the Seniors’ Education Centre at the [[University of Regina]], an award first presented to her father almost 20 years before
* (2004) inducted with a star, on [[Canada's Walk of Fame]] in [[Toronto]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canadaswalkoffame.com/inductee/shirley-douglas|title=Shirley Douglas 2004 Inductee|work=CanadasWalkofFame.com|access-date=April 6, 2020}}</ref>
* (2005) Honorary degree from [[Brandon University]]
* (2006) In November, Shirley gave an honorary lecture at [[Trent University]]
* (2009) Shirley Douglas was awarded the International Achievement Award at the 2009 Crystal Awards presented in Toronto by Women in Film & Television - Toronto, November 30, 2009
* (2012) [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]]{{snd}} Toronto, February 28, 2012

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QdmeBqRtaU4C&q=%22Shirley+Douglas%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA37|title=Famous Female Actors Gr. 4-8|first=Ruth|last=Solski|publisher=On The Mark Press|location=[[Toronto]]|year=2009|isbn=9781-770727779|page=137}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2VyqY8rddYAC&q=%22Joe+MacBeth%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA29|title=Macbeth|first1=William|last1=Shakespeare|first2=William Proctor|last2=Williams|author-link1=William Shakespeare|author-link2=William Proctor Williams|publisher=[[Sourcebooks]]|location=[[Naperville, Illinois]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1402206887|page=29}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7FOX_OWDyHEC&q=%22Joe+MacBeth%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA216|title=Guide to British Cinema|first=Geoff|last=Mayer|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|location=[[Santa Barbara, California]]|year=2003|series=Reference Guides to the World's Cinema|isbn=978-0313303074|page=216}}

==External links==
*[https://archive.today/20070930024120/http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=8873 Order of Canada Citation]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060304134415/http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsdef/douglas.html Northern Stars]
*{{IMDb name|235250}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060216150242/http://www.saskndp.com/cw/64.3/shirleyawarded.html The Commonwealth Journal]

{{Tommy Douglas}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Shirley}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses from Saskatchewan]]
[[Category:Canadian activists]]
[[Category:Canadian film actresses]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian stage actresses]]
[[Category:Canadian television actresses]]
[[Category:Canadian voice actresses]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actress in a Television Film or Miniseries Canadian Screen Award winners]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:People from Weyburn]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian actresses]]
[[Category:Sutherland family]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Canadian women activists]]

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Shirley Douglas