Tag: Deceased

After the family immigrated from Calabria, Italy, to settle in Vancouver in the 1920’s, the Filippone brothers, Joe, Ross, Mickey and Jimmy founded the legendary Penthouse Nightclub in 1947, playing a significant role as vivid characters in the history of the entertainment business in Vancouver. They co-owned and managed the Palomar Ballroom, founding the BC…
Read more

Gaby, born Dorothy Fay Hammerton on September 26 1895, married to actor/producer David Clyde, appeared as a dancer on the British stage by the age of nine, and later turned to acting. Gaby Fay, who was the principal leading lady in many of the Players productions, bought a house for herself and David in Vancouver in 1930. From 1929…
Read more

Ann Watt was born Angela Jean Elisabeth Watt in Brandon, Manitoba. While still a small child, she moved with her family to the Grandview area of Vancouver, where she’d go on to spend much of her youth. At high school, she came into her own in the Glee Club, and in time was able to…
Read more

John Drainie, was called the “greatest radio actor in the world” by Orson Welles. He began his career in radio with CJOR, CKNW and CBU in Vancouver and was a major player in CBC’s Golden Age of Radio. John Drainie was most famous in Canada for the CBC radio role of Jake in W.O. Mitchell’s…
Read more

Sandy DeSantis, a popular band leader and trumpeter extraordinaire was born in Vancouver BC. He began his professional gig in the 1930’s at the Venice Cafe on Main and Keefer (544 Main Street). Himie Singer built the renowned Palomar Ballroom during that time, opening a spectacular new venue for music and dancing and he hired Sandy to…
Read more