KYONKA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-10-15 published
Gino EMPRY, 83: Entertainment icon
By Nick KYONKA,
Staff▼
Reporter▼
Gino EMPRY, a long-time Toronto entertainment promoter and an
icon in the international artistic community, died yesterday
at the age of 83.
EMPRY, known for his work behind the scenes, will be remembered
by Friends and acquaintances as a man who pushed others to stay
true to themselves, said Gordon
PINSENT, a prolific Canadian
actor and long-time friend.
"He was there as the constant angel on your shoulder, reminding
you not to give up and that you are important,"
PINSENT said.
"He was a dear man who was loved by all of us who truly knew
him."
Born in Toronto,
EMPRY got involved in the entertainment industry
while still a teenager by starting his own drama group and establishing
himself as an actor, director and producer. It wasn't until 1964
that he immersed himself in the work he would become famous for,
founding his own agency for booking and public relations. By
1970, he was an entertainment director and consultant for the
Royal York Hotel's Imperial Room, which was then the top nightclub
in the country.
EMPRY went on to represent some of the biggest names in show
business, including Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Bob
Hope and Ella Fitzgerald.
But it was always his representation of local talent that set
him apart.
"Gino was a truly a champion of Toronto talent,"
PINSENT said.
"He was a man who wanted the very best for us …"
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KYONKA o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2006-12-26 published
Keith YATES, 78; University of Toronto prof
By Nick KYONKA,
Staff▲
Reporter▲
After a successful career as a chemistry professor at the University
of Toronto, few would argue that Keith
YATES wasn't an expert
on molecules.
But to those who knew him best,
YATES was a man of many passions
including sports, politics, sociology and even naval warfare,
a subject he wrote two books about after his retirement.
"He knew everything about everything," says daughter Nicola
FILLIER,
of her father who died December 2 after a heart attack. "He was
like a walking encyclopedia."
Sports, politics, warfare and -- of course -- science, were some
of his interests, she says, but when it came to reading, just
about anything would do.
"He forever read books. There was nothing he didn't like," she
says.
As she was growing up,
FILLIER says, her father's deep knowledge
of the world helped to push her to learn more herself.
"He was funny. He was intelligent. He was great with my kids,"
she says.
Born in the north of England on October 22, 1928,
YATES was raised
in Blackpool. In 1946, he began a two-year conscription in Britain's
Royal Navy.
In 1948, as he approached the end of his naval requirements,
he received a letter from his parents informing him they had
moved to British Columbia, and that he was welcome to join them.
He did.
For the next few years,
YATES worked blue-collar jobs for Coca-Cola
and a local electrical company, but didn't pursue an academic
career. It wasn't until 1953 that he started to move down that
road, with help from his new wife, June
CHARTER.
"My mom met him when he was nothing,"
FILLIER notes, saying they
met on a blind date set up by Friends. "She chose him because
she saw something ambitious or something in his character that
she knew would get him somewhere in life."
In the following years,
CHARTER would bring home the couple's
only source of income as a teacher while
YATES worked toward
a bachelor's degree and a medical science degree at the University
of British Columbia, and then a PhD at Oxford University in England.
In 1968, YATES began his career in physical organic chemistry
as a professor at UofT. A short six years later, he was chairman
of the the department.
Bob McCLELLAND, one of
YATES' students and then a fellow faculty
member, said: "He was sort of my model as a supervisor. He let
students get on with their thing and he didn't bother you too
much, but he was always there to help you."
As a physical organic chemist,
YATES studied the reasons molecules
responded to each other in the way that they did. Considered
an authority in the field,
YATES wrote more than 150 articles
and other published works. Perhaps his best known, a 1978 book
entitled Huckel Molecular Orbital Theory, discussed an alternative
theory to predict where an electron could be found in certain
molecules. Acclaimed by his peers,
McCLELLAND says the book is
still used as a textbook in some universities.
YATES was given a prestigious award by the Chemical Institute
of Canada in 1991. After retiring that same year,
YATES moved
back to British Columbia with his wife, devoting his time to
writing a pair of books on naval history and running the local
branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
"He went to every Legion function and he sat in a little trailer
and he would flip hamburgers and joke with everybody as they
came by," FILLIER says. "He would say to them, 'Do you want your
buns toasted?' and as soon as they'd say yes, he'd say 'Yeah?
Come on and get up here on the grill.'"
YATES leaves his wife of 53 years, as well as three daughters
and four grandchildren. A funeral was held December 10 in B.C.
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