Winston Rekert

Winston Rekert
Winston Rekert in 1986
Born1948 or 1949[1]
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Died (aged 63)[1]
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationActor
Years active1973–2012

Winston Houghton Rekert (June 10, 1949[2] – September 14, 2012)[1][3][4] was a Canadian actor. He was best known for starring in the television series Adderly and Neon Rider.[1][3][4]

Career

A Vancouver native,[1][3] Rekert started acting at age 12, appearing in an amateur production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.[1][3] After high school, Rekert spent a year working in a logging camp, then took a year off to try acting.[1] Rekert subsequently joined the Arts Club Theatre Company and in 1973 he landed his first television role on the comedy-drama The Beachcombers.[1]

In 1985 Rekert played the role of Detective Langevin in the American film Agnes of God.[1][3][4] In the same year, he received a Genie Award nomination for Best Actor at the 6th Genie Awards for his performance in the film Walls.[5]

From 1986 to 1988 Rekert starred as the lead character in the Canadian television series Adderly,[1][3][4] a comedy drama that was a spoof of the spy genre.[6] In 1987 Rekert won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Continuing Dramatic Role for his work on the series.[1][3]

Following Adderly's cancellation, Rekert's childhood friend, Danny Virtue, pitched him an idea for a television series that eventually became Neon Rider.[1][4] The series ran from 1990 to 1995 and starred Rekert as Michael Terry, a therapist who ran a ranch for troubled adolescents.[1][3][4] Rekert also worked on the series as a writer, director and producer.[4] Through the show Rekert became involved with a variety of youth groups and was named the national spokesman for Youth at Risk.[1]

In 2003 Rekert won his second Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series for his appearance on the television series Blue Murder.[1]

Over the course of his career, Rekert made guest appearances on many Canadian and American television series filmed in Vancouver, including Cold Squad, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1 and Battlestar Galactica.[1]

In April 2012 the Union of B.C. Performers awarded Rekert with the Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award—an annual award that "recognizes professional performers displaying humanity, artistic integrity and encouragement of new talent."[1][4]

Death

Rekert died on September 14, 2012, at the age of 63 after a three-year battle with cancer.[1][3][4]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1977 Prairie Landscapes
1980 Suzanne Nicky Callaghan
1980 Coming Out Alive Cab Driver
1981 Heartaches Marcello
1981 Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid Antonio Montoya
1981 The Littlest Hobo James (Episode "Photo Finish")
1982 Love John (segment "The Black Cat in the Black Mouse Socks")
1983 Dead Wrong Sean Phelan
1984 Walls Danny Baker
1985 Agnes of God Detective Langevin
1985 The Blue Man Paul Sharpe
1986 Toby McTeague Tom McTeague
1986 High Stakes Dorian Kruger
1999 Psi Factor Reed Callum
2000 The Last Stop Carl
2004 Savage Island Eliah Savage
2004 Eve's Christmas William Simon
2006 Honeymoon with Mom Larry
2006 Trapped Ashes Dr. Larry (segment "The Girl with Golden Breasts")

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Leiren-Young, Mark (September 14, 2012). "Neon Rider star Winston Rekert dies of cancer". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  2. ^ Obituary
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Irish, Paul (September 17, 2012). "Winston Rekert of Neon Rider fame dies at 63". The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Winston Rekert, 63, dies". The Province. CanWest MediaWorks Publications. September 16, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2014 – via Canada.com.
  5. ^ "Bay Boy reels in 11 Genie nominations". The Globe and Mail, February 15, 1985.
  6. ^ Britton, Wesley Alan (2004). Spy Television. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 175. ISBN 0275981630. Attempts to create new television spy spoofs in the spirit of GS [Get Smart] include Adderly, which appeared during the mid-1980s secret-agent revival as part of CBS's late night schedule.