NIBLETT o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-05-24 published
He ran O'Keefe Centre in its prime
Former accountant was an innovator: He booked a show using surtitles
and a play about an interracial romance
By Carol COOPER
Special to The Globe and Mail Saturday, May 24,
2003 - Page F10
Late one spring night in 1963, a phone call awoke Hugh
WALKER,
the first managing director and president of Toronto's O'Keefe
Centre for the Performing Arts. A police officer wanted to know
if "we had a mad Russian called Nuri-something dancing at the
O'Keefe Centre," Mr.
WALKER wrote in his book, The O'Keefe Centre:
Thirty Years of Theatre History.
After the opening performance of Marguerite and Armand, in which
he starred with Dame Margot
FONTEYN,
Rudolph
NUREYEV had danced
up the centre of Yonge Street, attempting headstands on cars
as he went. Police intervened in the interest of Mr.
NUREYEV's
safety, but after a scuffle, the dancer landed in jail for causing
a disturbance.
Endlessly kind, courtly and patient, Mr.
WALKER notified the
Royal
Ballet with whom Mr.
NUREYEV was performing, and the dancer
was released.
Mr. WALKER, the man who smoothed the way for the stars appearing
at the O'Keefe as overseer of its operations and who had previously
supervised its construction, has died at the age of 93.
O'Keefe Centre, now named the Hummingbird Centre, opened on October
1, 1960, with the first performance of Camelot in the country's
first Broadway musical. The show starred Richard
BURTON,
Julie
ANDREWS and Robert
GOULET and played to a glittering crowd.
In The Toronto Star, Gordon
SINCLAIR wrote: "A salaam to Hugh
WALKER for bringing the O'Keefe Centre home on time after 30
months of strain on his patience, nerves and humour."
Mr. WALKER had, in fact, developed an ulcer during the centre's
construction, and the strain didn't end with its opening. Shortly
after the curtain, his wife, Shirley, smelled smoke. It turned
out to be a burning escalator motor, and after the fire was extinguished,
Mary JOLLIFFE, the centre's publicist, ran to a hotel across
the street for air freshener. The audience came out at intermission
none the wiser.
It took royalty to solve another problem. At the time, temperance
sentiment remained strong in Toronto, and teetotallers criticized
the fact the O'Keefe was funded by, and named for, a brewery.
Mr. WALKER set about to gain acceptance for the centre. Learning
that the Queen was visiting Canada in June of 1959, he convinced
her aides that she should stop briefly at the construction site
and view a model of the building.
Before an audience of arts patrons and the press, the Queen inspected
the model and showed such an interest that she overstayed her
schedule, delaying the start of the Queen's Plate, her next stop,
by half an hour.
Mr. WALKER didn't know that the Queen or the O'Keefe would be
in his future when he became executive assistant to Canadian
Breweries and Argus Corp. owner E. P.
TAILOR/TAYLOR in 1955.
It was only after his hiring that he learned that Mr.
TAILOR/TAYLOR
had responded to a challenge made by Nathan
PHILLIPS, then mayor
of Toronto, for industry to build a desperately needed performing
arts theatre in the city. For the project, Mr.
TAILOR/TAYLOR gave $12-million
and the services of his new assistant.
With the slogan "To bring the best of live entertainment to the
greatest number of people at the lowest possible prices," the
3, 211-seat multipurpose theatre, designed by modernist architect
Peter DICKINSON, quickly became a predominant Canadian venue,
predating the Place des Arts in Montreal and the National Arts
Centre in Ottawa.
Pre-Broadway shows, musicals, ballets and plays from around the
world came to the O'Keefe and it replaced Maple Leaf Gardens
as the Toronto venue for the Metropolitan Opera. International
stars such as Louis
ARMSTRONG, Paul
ANKA, Tom
JONES, Diana
ROSS
and Harry BELAFONTE performed there.
During one of Mr.
BELAFONTE's many performances at the centre,
he experimented with a wireless mike. Accidentally, he tuned
into the police frequency. "The O'Keefe audience had the unusual
experience of listening in on a lot of police messages, while
the police were able to enjoy hearing
BELAFONTE sing Ma-til-da!,"
Mr. WALKER wrote.
Another O'Keefe story concerned Carol
CHANNING.
When the performer
appeared at the centre in Hello, Dolly, she needed to make a
number of quick costume changes. Since there wasn't enough time
for Ms. CHANNING to run backstage to her dressing room, the crew
put up a roofless tent in the wings.
From the fly bridge, the stagehands looked down on Ms.
CHANNING,
remaining quiet while they watched her change. After her last
performance, she looked up at them and said, "Well, boys, hope
you've enjoyed the show. 'Bye now."
Other more critical events are associated with the O'Keefe. In
1964, while awaiting her divorce from Eddie
FISHER,
Elizabeth
TAILOR/TAYLOR stayed with Richard
BURTON while he starred in Sir John
GIELGUD's production of Hamlet at the centre. One weekend between
performances, the couple stole off to Montreal and married.
And in 1974, ballet dancer Mikhail
BARYSHNIKOV arranged his defection
from the Soviet Union at the centre.
During the early 1960s, the O'Keefe became home to the National
Ballet of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company. In his book,
Mr. WALKER credits the centre with allowing the companies' artistic
growth.
Still, not everyone spoke so kindly about the O'Keefe. Many critics
denounced its acoustics and less-than-intimate size.
For that, Mr.
WALKER had a ready answer. In 1985, Herbert
WHITTAKER,
then The Globe and Mail's drama critic, wrote: "Against the fading
chorus of these ancient complaints, I hear an echo, the rather
quiet British tones of Hugh
WALKER: 'We know it [O'Keefe Centre]
is too large for legitimate theatre, Herbert, but think of all
the things Toronto would have missed if E. P.
TAILOR/TAYLOR hadn't built
it when he did?' "
Born on March 2, 1910, in Scotland to Brigadier-General James
Workman WALKER, who fought in the Middle East during the First
World War, and Jane
STEVENSON,
Hugh
Percy
WALKER was the middle
of three children. After earning a B.A. at Cambridge University,
he became a chartered accountant.
Mr. WALKER worked with firms in London, Palestine, Quebec, Scotland
and Michigan before being employed by Mr.
TAILOR/TAYLOR.
Although a great lover of theatre, upon his appointment as the
O'Keefe's managing director, Mr.
WALKER had little experience
with its business side. This led to some innocent faux pas, such
as when he booked a photo shoot with the Camelot stars at 10
in the morning, impossibly early for actors. In response, Mr.
BURTON exclaimed: "What, in the middle of the night?" Ms.
JOLLIFFE
said.
Still, director and theatre critic Mavor
MOORE said Mr.
WALKER
dealt with difficulties well. "He was very smooth," Dr.
MOORE
said. "He was very expert at handling people and situations.
He was a calm man."
Mr. WALKER trusted his staff, Ms.
JOLLIFFE said. "He was willing
to take direction from staff people who had already been in the
business, and that was unusual."
And he was gracious and courteous. "He gave great dignity to
the performing arts profession and he treated people wonderfully,"
Ms. JOLLIFFE said. "He was a perfect model of a former era
of English gentlemen."
Known for his hospitality, Mr.
WALKER always visited the stars
in their dressing rooms before opening night and entertained
them afterward at First Nighters' parties with Mrs.
WALKER.
When the
WALKERs took Leonard
BERNSTEIN to the Rosedale Country
Club, Mr. WALKER tolerated Mr.
BERNSTEIN's sending back the wine
three times, Ms.
JOLLIFFE said.
Along with bringing in commercial performances from the United
States and Britain, Mr.
WALKER showed some daring in booking
shows. In 1961, Kwamina, the story of a romantic relationship
between a white woman and a black man, played the O'Keefe.
Acknowledging
Toronto's
Italian population, Mr.
WALKER arranged
for Rugantino, the biggest musical hit in Italian history, to
play at the O'Keefe in 1963. It was the first foreign-language
attraction in North America to use "surtitles," and although
plagued with technical difficulties, it played to 60-per-cent
capacity.
Things changed for Mr.
WALKER and O'Keefe Centre in the late
1960s. Initially, the centre had been a subsidiary of the O'Keefe
Brewing Co., owned by Canadian Breweries, and was never intended
to make a profit. The company wrote off its operating losses
and property taxes.
When Mr. TAILOR/TAYLOR retired in 1966, directors of Canadian Breweries
decided that they could not continue to pay the O'Keefe's high
taxes. To resolve the situation, Metropolitan Toronto was given
the centre in 1968.
A new and inexperienced board of directors brought a new way
of doing things, and the centre's losses began to mount.
Mr. WALKER wrote that after the disastrous 1971-72 season, "what
followed was not the happiest part of my 15 years at the O'Keefe
Centre, and I would like to forget some of the things that happened."
In his final working years, Mr.
WALKER dealt with both the centre's
internal changes and rising competition from the Royal Alexandra
Theatre, the St. Lawrence Centre and emerging alternative theatres.
After his retirement in 1975, he spent 10 years at the Guild
of All Arts in Scarborough, Ontario, as the director of Guildwood
Hall, curating former Guild Inn owner Spencer
CLARK's historical
architectural collection of artifacts, writing and illustrating
a booklet on them, curating Mr.
CLARK's art collection, making
a film and lecturing.
He and his wife lived on the Guild's grounds for four years in
the now-demolished Corycliff, where they hosted parties whose
guests included many stars from the O'Keefe days.
Along with writing the O'Keefe Centre history while in his 80s,
Mr. WALKER golfed.
Sue NIBLETT, who worked with him at the Guild, recalls seeing
Mr. WALKER nattily attired in golf clothing and Wellingtons standing
in two feet of snow driving balls into Lake Ontario.
"He had a love of life that I've never experienced or met in
anybody before," Ms.
NIBLETT said. "He didn't waste a day of
his life as far as I could see."
Mr. WALKER died on May 2 and leaves daughters Katrina
PARKER
and Zoë ALEXANDER and two grandchildren. Another daughter, Sarah
CHENIER/CHENÉ, and his wife, Shirley, predeceased him.
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NIBLETT o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-11-05 published
'Nobody beats Arthur'
Victoria native left mark on Ottawa's business scene, while setting
swimming records when he was over 70
By Randy RAY,
Special to The Globe and Mail Wednesday, November
5, 2003 - Page R7
Ottawa -- When Arthur
INGLIS moved to Ottawa from Victoria in
the late 1960s, his goal was to leave his mark on the nation's
capital. By all accounts, he succeeded, both in the world of
business and in the swimming pool.
"When he arrived he thought he could make a difference," said
his partner of 20 years Kimberly
CROSS. "
The place was a wasteland
back then, but he did manage to leave an imprint."
Mr. INGLIS, who as recently as May set a world swimming record,
died on September 1. He as 71.
After moving to Ottawa, Mr.
INGLIS, who was born in Victoria
on March 28, 1932, worked as director of store design for Hudson's
Bay Co. and redesigned a handful of department stores purchased
from their local owner by the Bay.
In 1976, he started two Vanilla Boutique clothing stores and
later operated the Ecco Restaurant in downtown Ottawa. He founded
the Mags and Fags newsstand that same year after he realized Ottawa
didn't have an outlet with the variety of magazines and newspapers
available in New York or London. The business also included Immigration
and Naturalization Service News Service, which distributes newspapers
and magazines to Ottawa's business and government sectors.
With a reputation as an innovative member of Ottawa's business
community, Mr.
INGLIS and a partner built Mags and Fags into one
of the biggest newsstands in Canada, said Mr.
CROSS, who added
that local media individuals often visited the Elgin Street shop.
During the early 1980s, Mr.
INGLIS and a business partner designed
a bar named Shannon's in honour of Shannon
TWEED,
Miss
Ottawa
Valley of 1977 and Playboy Magazine's 1982 Playmate of the Year.
TWEED, partner of Gene
SIMMONS, bassist for rock band
KISS, named
her dog Vanilla after Mr.
INGLIS's women's fashion shops.
His boutiques carried innovative lines of clothing from France
and Italy that couldn't be found elsewhere in Ottawa. His Ecco
restaurant and club was a downtown hotspot known for its elegant
yet homey setting.
"It was hot, hot, hot with a library and outdoor terrace on the
second floor, like something you'd find on 3rd Avenue in New
York," Mr.
CROSS said. "It was the place where all of the city's
movers and shakers went, real estate people, fashion people --
you name it."
Mr. INGLIS and a partner also designed and introduced several
Ottawa shopping centres to the sales kiosks that are now commonplace
in most malls.
In 2000, when Mr.
INGLIS was 68 and still operating the newsstand,
his life took a dramatic turn because of cholesterol and blood-pressure
problems. His doctors placed him on medication but instead of
relying on pills, he quit drinking, adopted a healthier diet
and started swimming and weight-training.
In 2002, he sold his share in Mags and Fags to concentrate on travel
and competitive swimming, which he had excelled at as youngster
and into his teens.
Mr. INGLIS's athletic prowess in his younger days also included
skating with the Ice Capades, touring North America with his
sister May in the 1950s.
To pursue his interest in swimming and to improve his fitness,
Mr. INGLIS joined the Technosport masters swim and triathlon
team in Ottawa and was soon setting Canadian and world swimming
records in the 70-and-over age group. As his health problems
eased, he challenged the best in the world in masters swimming
in various locales, including New Zealand and Hawaii.
When he died, he held 17 Canadian or Ontario records in backstroke,
breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley, including all
Canadian backstroke records in all distances in the 70 to 74
age group, said teammate Pat
NIBLETT, who keeps track of records
set by members of the Technosport team. Mr.
INGLIS was also a
member of an Ontario swim relay team that set a world record
in New Zealand in 2002.
Ms. NIBLETT, who often travelled to swim meets with Mr.
INGLIS,
remembers her teammate as a "tall slim man with the twinkling
eyes and wonderful sense of humour. I only had the privilege
of knowing Arthur for three short years. I felt as if I had known
him for a lifetime. There is a saying in our house that 'nobody
beats Arthur.' This is true of everything that Arthur did."
At the Canadian National Masters Swim Championships in Montreal
in May, Mr.
INGLIS broke his own 200-metre backstroke record
and set Canadian records in the 100 and 200 individual medley
events.
Technosport coach Duane
JONES, who was among those shocked by
the incredibly fit Mr.
INGLIS's death, said the swimmer worked
out about five times a week.
"When we first met, he was 30 pounds overweight, he was not a
healthy eater and he was lethargic. But soon after, he was setting
records; when he was 71-years-old he had the body of a 35-year-old.
He paid attention to detail and did his workouts, swimming, biking
and weight-training consistently.
"The first time he dove into the water I could not believe how
beautiful his strokes cut the water. I've coached more than 6,000
athletes during the past 35 years and have never seen a guy like
Arthur INGLIS."
Ramona FIEBIG, manager of Mags and Fags for more than 14 years,
said Mr. INGLIS was a dedicated businessman who did his best
to ensure the newsstand had the best selection of titles in the
city. He often showed up for work on weekends as early as 3 a.m.
"There are thousands of titles in the store. It was no small
chore to keep on top of what was new, to find new magazines and
locate suppliers."
To the day he died, Mr.
INGLIS was an innovator, Mr.
CROSS said,
adding that as his health deteriorated, he wanted to try a novel
drug treatment to prolong his life.
"After his stroke, the options were paralysis on his left side
or trying a new drug," Mr.
CROSS said, adding that the side effect
was a 16-per-cent chance he would suffer massive bleeding in
his brain. "His feeling was that if he didn't survive, the next
person who came down the shoot might have a better chance."
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