2019 BC Entertainment Hall of Fame Honourees

Announcing 2019 Honourees to BC Entertainment Hall of Fame

The BC Entertainment Hall of Fame (BCEHOF) today announced its 2019 BCEHOF inductees. These eight new StarWalk Stars and five Pioneer Stars from the world of music, dance, theatre and  film/television will join the 275+ previous inductees who have been recognized for their significant contribution to the province’s entertainment industry and cultural landscape.

The BCEHOF is divided into two prestigious categories: StarWalk Stars and Pioneer Stars. The StarWalk inductees are individuals who have enhanced the province’s cultural profile, both locally and on the world stage.

The 2019 StarWalk inductees are:  7-time Juno award winning star; Colin James,  Artistic Director, Ballet BC; Emily Molnar,   Composer and musician; Bob Buckley, Media personality, Nardwuar;  Film, television and stage actress, Karin Konoval;   3-time Emmy Award winner, producer and actress, Moira Walley-Beckett; Musician and recording artist, Rick Scott and jazz vocalist, Joani Taylor.

The Pioneer inductees are those who have left an indelible mark on BC’s entertainment landscape and this year include producer and writer, Jeff Groberman; actress and artistic director, Anna Hagan; legendary entertainers from the 1940’s, The Crump Twins; concert promoter, Mel Warner; and film, television and stage actor Terrance Kelly.

“The BCEHOF is proud and excited to present a very diverse and impressive group of Pioneer and StarWalk inductees who represent artistic excellence in British Columbia,” stated BCEHOF President Rob Haynes. “We look forward to scheduling and celebrating their individual inductions at various high profile events over the coming months to honour their contribution.”

StarWalk Star members are recognized with a featured star on the Walk of Fame on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver and on the StarWall Gallery in the historic Orpheum Theatre upper lobby. Pioneer Star members are acknowledged on the Honour Plaque in the Orpheum lobby.

BCEHOF is proud to acknowledge these outstanding individuals with appreciation to ensure their work is long recognized for its importance and value.

For further information visit: www.bcentertainmenthalloffame.com

Backgrounder – About our StarWalk “STARS”

Colin James – Music

Known to be one of Canada’s leading guitarists, Colin is able to navigate through different genres such as blues, rock, jazz and swing.  Catching the eye of master guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan at just 18 years old, he was asked to open for him in Saskatoon and eventually the United States.   He then released his first album, Colin James, in 1988 introducing classic hits like “Why’s you lie?” and “Five Long Years”.  The album exceeded sales of 100,000, breaking the Canadian record for most albums sold on a release day.  From there, Colin James hit the ground running making a name for himself among a wide variety of genres.  In his 30-year career, he has won multiple awards including Juno’s for Single of the Year and Best Male Artist as well as Blues Album of the Year.  His most recent album, Miles to Go, has charted internationally and picked up multiple Maple Blues Awards, showcasing that this Saskatchewan native’s music journey is just getting started.  Colin now lives in British Columbia and the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame is proud to induct him into the Hall.  https://www.colinjames.com/

Emily Molnar – Dance   

As Artistic Director of Ballet BC, Molnar’s vision has steered the unique company of 18 dancers into a celebrated era of innovation and collaboration. Since the start of her tenure in 2009, the Company has developed a diverse repertoire that includes more than 45 new works by celebrated Canadian and international choreographers.  Molnar is a graduate of the National Ballet School and a former member of the National Ballet of Canada, a soloist with the Ballet Frankfurt under director William Forsythe, and a principal dancer with Ballet BC. An internationally respected and critically acclaimed dance artist and choreographer, Molnar worked and toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Mexico, Canada and the U.S.   Named The Globe and Mail’s 2013 Dance Artist of the Year, Molnar is the 2016 recipient of the Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award, BC Community Achievement Award and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in Art, Culture & Design. She was recently appointed to the Order of Canada for her artistic leadership of Ballet BC and creative contribution to advancing dance in Canada.  For six years she served as a Director on the Board of the BC Arts Council.  In addition to her work with Ballet BC, Molnar is also Artistic Director of Dance at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.  https://balletbc.com/

Bob Buckley – Music

Bob Buckley is the most published orchestral composer in Canadian history.  His work is heard worldwide.  He has a diverse career as a composer, arranger, performer, producer, recording artist and conductor.  Bob won a gold record for “letting Go”. He has worked with artists like Michael Bublé, Brian Adams, Celine Dion, Our Lady Peace, Simple Plan and Aerosmith.  He’s worked with most of the major networks on various films and television projects.  In the live stage world, he composed music for contemporary dance, musicals and large-scale worldwide television events including the Calgary Olympics, the Victoria Commonwealth Games, the Vancouver Olympics and the FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony with Cirque Du Soleil.  He co-composed “This is My Home”, a song that has been performed at every Canada Day since Expo 86 and has become a Canadian tradition. www.bobbuckley.com

Nardwuar – Music, Television, Radio    

Nardwuar the Human Serviette is a media personality, music journalist, and musician born and raised in Vancouver, BC.  The Georgia Straight calls him “a Vancouver icon, a genius, and one of the world’s most idiosyncratic interviewers”.  You would be hard pressed to find a Vancouver entertainer who shows off his hometown pride on a global level more than the tireless, world-renowned Nardwuar.  Known for his unique, high-energy style and deeply researched questions, Nardwuar became a TV star on MuchMusic before launching his own YouTube channel, which has over 150 million views and over one million subscribers, which places Nardwuar’s channel in the top 3% for YouTube worldwide.  Nardwuar has interviewed everyone from Pierre Elliott Trudeau to Lady Gaga.  Nardwuar was born in Vancouver and raised on the North Shore.  https://nardwuar.com/

Karin Konoval – Theatre, Film, Television

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Karin grew up in Edmonton, Alberta where she trained as a dancer. After graduating from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts, she moved to Vancouver to pursue a career as an actor. She has received numerous Jessie Richardson awards and nominations for her work in theatre, performing lead roles in a wide range of musicals and contemporary dramas. Karin’s extensive screen credits include “Maurice” in the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy of films, supporting roles in many other features and guest star/recurring roles on numerous tv series. She received a Philip Borsos award for her lead performance in Cable Beach (2006) and most recently a UBCP/Actra award for her guest star role in The X- Files (2018). Karin’s writing has been published in various anthologies, literary magazines, and broadcast on CBC Radio. As an artist she creates series of paintings that tell a story and has had many solo gallery exhibits of her work. Her first illustrated book, Jeffrey Takes a Walk in December, was published in 2015. Studying orangutans for her role as “Maurice” sparked a profound personal interest. Karin continues an avid student of these compelling great apes and supports conservation efforts on their behalf. www.karinkonoval.com

Moira Walley-Beckett – Theatre, Film, Television   

Moira Walley-Beckett is a Canadian television actress, producer and writer.  She is the creator of the television series Flesh and Bone and Anne.  She previously worked on the AMC drama Breaking Bad as writer and producer.  She has won three Emmy Awards for writing Breaking Bad including the gut-wrenching episode entitled “Ozymandias”.  Other awards include three Writers Guild of America, two Producers Guild of America, a Golden Globe and a Peabody. Walley-Beckett grew up in Vancouver and trained at the Banff School of Fine Arts. She was a frequent performer for the Arts Club Theatre and Vancouver Playhouse Theatre.  Moira moved to Los Angeles in her 20s to pursue a career in the entertainment business and found work on camera, gathering acting credits on shows including “ER,” “Chicago Hope,” “The Practice” and “NYPD Blue.”                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Rick Scott – Music

Three-time Juno nominee, Rick Scott is an award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and Canada’s leading proponent of Appalachian mountain dulcimer.  Over 45 years, he’s released 19 albums and performed in eleven countries.  His beginnings as a street musician are immortalized in Ryan Larkin’s renowned animation Street Musique for which Rick wrote music and appears live and in cartoon, and in the Academy Award winning animation Ryan.  Since pioneering roque folk with iconic BC trio Pied Pumpkin in the 70’s, Rich has performed in Japan, Australia, USA and Southeast Asia.  He has acted or radio, film and TV; starred in musicals and written a symphony seen by 10,000 children.  His kudos include Parent’s Choice Award, Family Choice Award, Canadian Folk Music and Nanaimo Cultural Excellence Awards.  He is currently touring in Roots and Grooves, an intergenerational collaboration with a 29-year old Nico Rhodes.  Rick is a goodwill ambassador for the Down Syndrome Research Foundation and curator of the Protection Island Museum.  https://rickscott.ca/

Joani Taylor – Music

Joani Taylor has been synonymous with the BC Music Industry since its inception.  She grew up on the stages of Vancouver nightclubs. Singer, Jazz vocalist, lyricist, producer, teacher and mentor, she has released seven albums and performed internationally for stage, recording, film, radio and television.  Joani has shared the spotlight with artists including Bryan Adams, Jon Bon vi, |Stevie Wonder, Tom Jones, Little Richard, David Foster, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Fraser MacPherson and Moe Koffman.  For over 50 years, her impact on the evolution and success of the Vancouver music scene has been immeasurable.  A highly accomplished session singer, Joani’s voice has graced innumerable hit records and commercials.   Nationally, she is known as “the first lady of the jazz ballad”, nominated for the National Jazz Awards and The Junos.  In 2018, the Vancouver Jazz Festival premiered her latest CD, “In a Sentimental Mood”, a collaboration with PJ Perry.  The Globe and Mail reported “The work, the will, the passion, Joani is all the things that inspire.  Part of her magic is her fine control of nuances; vocals that range from a whisper to a whip”.

Backgrounder   –  About our Pioneer “STARS”

Jeff Groberman – Producer, Writer

Jeff Groberman was born and raised in Vancouver.   While at SFU he approached CBC to write a series of topical comedy sketches.  The sketches, co-written with Colin Yardley, played locally and then nationally on CBC radio.   A year later the CBC approached them to develop a one-hour national comedy show and the infamous “Dr. Bundolo’s Pandemonium Medicine Show” was born.  In 1976, Jeff joined CKVU television and was hired for the station’s flagship “Vancouver Show”.  Jeff remained at CKVU for 5 years working as a writer, performer, producer and executive producer.  In 1980 her returned to CBC to produce two seasons of Dr. Bundolo for television.  In 1981 he produced the Paul Anka Show and in 1984 he formed his own company, Prime Time Creative Services.  His company has produced shows for CBC, CTV, Global and the Knowledge Network.  At the Knowledge Network, Jeff met computer guru Steve Dotto and went on to produce the nationally syndicated Dotto on Data and Dotto Tech. Currently, he is a travel writer sharing his humorous adventures that appear in newspapers across the world.

Anna Hagan – Theatre, Film, Television   .

Anna left home at 18 to join Ice Capades. Living in L.A. for 5 years Anna was seen in many of the T.V. series there, but her favorite memory touring with the Theatre of Being.  Frank Silvera, Bea Richards,and Maya Angelou were among the poets who participated in these performances. During this period she also worked with Julie Harris and after a pre-Broadway tour playing opposite her in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, Anna returned home to B.C. She performed with the first experimental theatre, Tamahnous Theatre, while also performing at the Vancouver Playhouse, the Arts Club Theatre, the Shaw Festival, and as an actor/director with the Arena Theatre in White Rock. Anna was an associate director under the legendary Robin Phillips at Stratford. She continued to work with him as an actor at the Citadel Theatre. Favourite productions during these years include, “Waiting For Godot”,”As You Like It” “Journey’s End” “ A Man For All Seasons” “ The Beggars Opera” and “She Stoops to Conquer”. She was also invited to participate in the International Directors Seminar in London England, and returned to appear in the World Stage production of “The Mill on the Floss”. As the Artistic Director of Western Gold Theatre, founded by Joy Coghill, a professional company of senior actors 55+ Anna has acted/directed over 24 productions duringher 10 year tenure. Her long and accomplished career was honoured with the 2013 Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Career Achievement and in  2014, Anna was awarded “Woman of the Year” by UBCP/ACTRA.

The Crump Twins – Entertainers

Ronnie and Robert Crump – forever remembered as they were billed on posters, marquees and playbills as “The Crump Twins”, were two of the most recognizable entertainers in Vancouver from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s.  They notably performed on the same stage alongside Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Armstrong.   As a duo act, singing, tap dancing, telling jokes and playing guitar and drums, they regularly were featured at a host of downtown nightclubs and theatres during their years of performing.  They are perhaps the most prominent entertainers to be mentioned in association with the lost east end neighbourhood of Hogan’s Alley. Rock and roll guitarist, Jimi Hendrix from the same neighbourhood was once a Crump Twins sideman.  Robert passed away in March of 2019 leaving behind his twin brother Ronnie.  The Crump Twins remain  two of the great pioneers in the early years of the Vancouver entertainment scene and the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame is proud to have them inducted into the Hall.

Mel Warner – Concert Promoter

Mel Warner was born in St. Kitts in the Caribbean and immigrated with his family to Vancouver in 1964.  For over 30 years as a concert promoter, Mel Warner has pioneered the way for reggae, ska, Latin and world music to Vancouver stages.  Warner can arguable be single-handedly credited for widening the musical tastes of the city, introducing new sounds and musical tastes by taking chances on booking what might be largely unknown acts that had no local audience.  Night by night, Mel Warner produced shows that not only answered the growing thirsts for local Caribbean music audiences in the 80’s but introduced folk, rock, punk and jazz audiences to music that widened and matured the tastes of Vancouver concert audiences.  Warner’s early successful reggae shows in Vancouver in the 80’s caught the attention of Commodore Ballroom’s impresario Drew Burns who then offered the ballroom as a venue for Melo Productions.

Terrance Kelly – Theatre, Film Television

Terence attended the UBC Extension Department Theatre Program in 1961, while still a student at Burnaby South High School, beginning a career that would see him graduating from the National Theatre School in 1965, then starring in a CBC production of: “15 Miles of Broken Glass”. He returned Home to Vancouver Playhouse for “The Threepenny Opera” and for the next 40 years he appeared in over 50 productions there, including “Philadelphia Here I Come, Skylight, She Stoops to Conquer, Oedipus,” and “King Lear” in which he played Glouster to his former teacher Powys Thomas’s King Lear, a memorable production.  He also performed at the old Arts’ Club on Seymour, the Freddie Wood Theatre in “The Caretaker”, and spent seasons at the Shaw Festival, the Stratford Festival, and the Toronto World Stage with Soulpepper Theatre, The Citadel in Edmonton, and Theatre Calgary. He founded The White Rock Summer Theatre, and served there as Artistic Director for many years, producing three plays in repertory every summer. In 1988 he co-designed and built a 300 seat portable theatre in the round for White Rock and changed the name to ”The Arena Theatre”, performing and directing there until 2003. He continues his stage work in 2019 with Western Gold Theatre. Numerous appearances on Television, Film, and Radio, in the early years, fills out his resume.

Media release provided by Bonnie Allan, Bonnie Allan PR.

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