Actor Donald Sutherland died June 20, 2024 at the age of 88 after a long illness in Miami, FL.
The Canadian born actor spent over half of his life in front of the camera appearing in some 200 productions and countless television commercials.
Son Kiefer spoke on his father via X saying, “never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that.”
Appearing on “Charlie Rose” in 1998, Sutherland said, “I love to work. I passionately love to work mI love to feel my hand fit into the glove of some other character. I feel a huge freedom — time stops for me. I’m not as crazy as I used to be, but I’m still a little crazy.”
Donald McNichol Sutherland was born July 17, 1935 in St. John, New Brunswick to a salesman and a math teacher; but was raised in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. A young Donald had to deal with bouts of polio, hepatitis, and rheumatic fever His first foray into showbusiness was his own radio station and was a disc jockey.
It was while attending the University of Toronto that Sutherland began acting in theatrical productions. It was there that he met his first wife Lois Hardwick. The couple married in 1959 but divorced seven years later.
He attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and began appearing on the West End and in British television.
After moving to Los Angeles, Sutherland’s early appearances were in war films including the original Hawkeye Pierce in the 1970 film “M*A*S*H”.
Sutherland; along with Jane Fonda, was among those that founded Free Theater Associates to spread their anit-war message against the Vietnam War. Speaking on the organization Sutherland once told the Los Angeles Times, “I thought I was going to be part of a revolution that was going to change movies and its influence on people.”
Never nominated for an Academy Award, Suther was presented with an honourary Oscar in 2017; he has an Emmy and two Golden Globe Awards. He was also presented with the Commander of the Order of the Arts and the Letters of France in 2012 for his contributions to Drama, is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and was inducted into the country’s Walk of Fame.
Sutherland appeared in only one Broadway production, “Lolita” in 1981. The show only ran for two weeks.
Sutherland made his American television debut in 1962 in an episode of “Studio 4” as a switchboard operator. From there he went on to appear in nearly 200 productions including “The Castle of the Living Dead”, “A Farewell to Arms”, “The Saint”, “The Avengers”, “The Dirty Dozen”, “M*A*S*H”, “Kelly’s Heroes”, “The Eagle Has Landed”, “Animal House”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, “Bear Island”, “Ordinary People”, “Eye of the Needle”, “The Winter of Our Discontent”, “Backdraft”, “JFK”, “Buff the Vampire Slayer”, “The Simpsons”, “Space Cowboys”, “Salem’s Lot”, “The Mechanic”, “The Hunger Games” series and films, and his final role in 2023 in “Lawmen: Bass Reeves”.
He is survived by his third wife Francine and children Keifer, Rachel, Rossif, Angus, and Roeg.
feature photo credit: Donald Sutherland accepting the Crystal Nymph Award