Murray Westgate

Murray Westgate

Born: April 16, 1918
Died: August 27, 2018
in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Like most young men at the time with the outbreak of World War Two, Murray Westgate signed up to serve his country. He joined the Canadian navy and was posted to Halifax where he was trained as a wireless operator. On his discharge in 1945, he heard that a repertory company was being formed on the west coast and so he became a member of Vancouver`s first professional theatre company, Everyman Theatre, which had been formed in 1946 by Sydney Risk. A touring company resulted and Westgate and a group of young actors toured the West. He then joined the CBC in Vancouver and was cast in radio dramas for which the CBC Vancouver studios were famous. In 1949 he moved to Toronto where his voice was soon heard in many CBC network radio productions out of the Toronto studios, among them the long-running Sunday series which began as Stage 44, directed by Andrew Allan, and the Ford Television Theatre, produced by Allan Savage. Westgate won an ACTRA Award in 1979 for his work on the made-for-television movie, Tyler. He is probably best remembered by a certain age group for being the spokesman for Imperial Oil, appearing in commercials for 17 years, especially when they were a major sponsor of Hockey Night In Canada on the CBC. Westgate died at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

Movies for Murray Westgate...

Scanners II: The New Order
Title: Scanners II: The New Order
Character: George Kellum
Released: May 3, 1991
Type: Movie
A breed of humans with dangerously powerful telepathic abilities -- the scanners -- are being recruited by a corrupt police commander, John Forrester, in his crusade to take over the city.
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Heavenly Bodies
Title: Heavenly Bodies
Character: Coach Hudson
Released: February 1, 1984
Type: Movie
A small "Dance-ercize" studio fights for its existence against the unscrupulous owner of a rival club. The conflict boils down to a "Dance Marathon" to settle the score.
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A Matter of Sex
Title: A Matter of Sex
Character: 1st Union Man
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
Dramatization of the true story of the so-called Willmar Eight, a group of Minnesota bank workers who braved freezing conditions whilst picketing their branch in a struggle for union rights.
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Shock-Trauma
Title: Shock-Trauma
Character: Police Superintendent Grier
Released: October 27, 1982
Type: Movie
Dr. R. Adams Cowley, the Baltimore physician who pioneered medicine's first shocktrauma unit, fights hospital bureaucracy to gain recognition for his center.
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Honeyboy
Title: Honeyboy
Character: Doctor
Released: October 17, 1982
Type: Movie
Rico 'Honeyboy' Ramirez is a Puerto Rican from the South Bronx who finds fame and fortune as a middleweight boxer. But he soon learns that it's not all it's cracked up to be when he loses sight of his goals. He becomes romantically involved with his attractive publicist, and then he has to prove himself in the ring after learning that his biggest victory was rigged by his shady, mob-connected, promoters.
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Title: Knight Rider
Character: Technician
Released: September 26, 1982
Type: TV
Michael Long, an undercover police officer, is shot while investigating a case and left for dead by his assailants. He is rescued by Wilton Knight, a wealthy, dying millionaire and inventor who arranges life-saving surgery, including a new face and a new identity--that of Michael Knight. Michael is then given a special computerized and indestructible car called the Knight Industries Two Thousand (nicknamed KITT), and a mission: apprehend criminals who are beyond the reach of the law. The series depicts Michael's exploits as he and KITT battle the forces of evil on behalf of the Foundation for Law and Government.
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Happy Birthday to Me
Title: Happy Birthday to Me
Character: Gatekeeper
Released: May 15, 1981
Type: Movie
Virginia is proud that she belongs to a clique. The best students at a private school. But before her 18th birthday, a gruesome set of murders take place and her friends are the ones who are falling prey. Could it be her? She suffers from blackouts due to a freak accident one year earlier. We soon learn the truth behind her accident and what is going on.
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The Kidnapping of the President
Title: The Kidnapping of the President
Character: Archie Standler
Released: August 15, 1980
Type: Movie
A South American quasi-revolutionary/guerilla/terrorist and a misled, admiring girl compatriot manage to kidnap the U.S. President during a diplomatic visit to Toronto.
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F.D.R.: The Last Year
Title: F.D.R.: The Last Year
Character: Cordell Hull
Released: May 15, 1980
Type: Movie
Though visibly frail and weary, President Franklin D. Roosevelt runs for a precedent-setting fourth term. He also oversees plans for the D-Day Invasion and engages in tempestuous summit meetings with his wartime allies Stalin and Churchill.
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Fish Hawk
Title: Fish Hawk
Character: Billie Firman
Released: January 25, 1980
Type: Movie
A hardened and embittered man turns his life around with the help of a farm boy in this uplifting family tale. Down on his luck and dependent on booze, Native American Fish Hawk (Will Sampson) changes his fate when he accepts a job hunting down a bear that's been killing local livestock. His temporary residence with the Boggs family brings young Corby (Charles Fields) into his life, and the boy's friendship gives Fish Hawk a new reason to live.
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The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog
Title: The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog
Character: Mac
Released: January 20, 1980
Type: Movie
The story of a champion Eskimo sled dog named Kavik who survives a plane crash in the wilds of Alaska and is found and cared for by a young boy named Andy Evans. But the dog's owner finds Kavik and takes him back to his home in Colorado where the dog escapes and embarks on a 2,000-mile odyssey in search of Andy.
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Running
Title: Running
Character: Mr. Finlay
Released: October 30, 1979
Type: Movie
An Olympic hopeful marathon runner hopes his success will be the answer to his marriage woes and other personal problems.
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Crossbar
Title: Crossbar
Character: Carver
Released: July 21, 1979
Type: Movie
The story of an Olympic high jumper, played by Brent Carver, who loses his leg and yet doggedly persists in his pursuit of athletic glory. Released a year before Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, this made-for-Canadian-TV movie, which also stars Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall, has been described as a tear-jerker.
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Torn Between Two Lovers
Title: Torn Between Two Lovers
Character: Jack DeWitt
Released: February 7, 1979
Type: Movie
Diane is happily married. But, one day while travelling she meets a dashing architect. With some relief, she parts ways with him at the airport, her resistance to his alluring manner having been tested. She later discovers that she has his gloves, so she returns them in person, only to end up in bed with the man, and later falling in love. She now faces the toughest decision of her life.
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Tell Me My Name
Title: Tell Me My Name
Character: Thurmond
Released: December 20, 1977
Type: Movie
Based on the book by Mary Carter, "Tell Me My Name" is about a girl's visit to the woman who gave her up for adoption 19 years earlier. The adoption was a secret which now threatens to destroy the entire family.
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Rituals
Title: Rituals
Character: Pilot
Released: July 21, 1977
Type: Movie
Five doctors go camping in the remote woods of Northern Ontario. When their boots are stolen they begin to suspect they are being stalked.
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Sunday in the Country
Title: Sunday in the Country
Character: Conway
Released: November 22, 1974
Type: Movie
Three vicious thugs are on the run in rural America after robbing a local bank. They seek refuge at the home of a reclusive farmer, but he is prepared for their arrival and holds them at gunpoint. Unable to let them simply wait for the law, he decides to take them into into his cellar and torture them a little before the police arrive.
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Last Bride Of Salem
Title: Last Bride Of Salem
Character: Rev. Hiram Fletcher
Released: May 8, 1974
Type: Movie
A woman tries to protect her family from supernatural forces who are trying to take control.
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She Cried Murder
Title: She Cried Murder
Character: Sergeant Withers
Released: September 25, 1973
Type: Movie
Fashion model Sarah Cornell, from the front car of a subway, witnesses a man pushing a woman onto the tracks to her death. Hoping to dispel the presumption that the woman committed suicide, Sarah contacts the police. But when they arrive to take her statement, she recognizes one of the detectives as the killer. Can she get anyone to believe her before she becomes his next victim?
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Class of '44
Title: Class of '44
Character: Principal
Released: April 10, 1973
Type: Movie
During the last years of World War II, Hermie, Oscy, and Benjie are coming of age. They went their separate ways when they graduated from high school in 1944. Benjie joins the Marines as Hermie and Oscy enter college. There, Hermie falls head over heels for another freshman named Julie, and the two old friends deal with a troublesome fraternity president who is in charge of hazings.
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Tom Sawyer
Title: Tom Sawyer
Character: Coroner
Released: March 23, 1973
Type: Movie
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, two friends in a Mississippi River town, have one adventure after another - including attending their own funeral and being pursued by a murderer.
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The House Without a Christmas Tree
Title: The House Without a Christmas Tree
Character: Mr. Brady
Released: December 3, 1972
Type: Movie
A young girl named Addie, living in Nebraska in 1946 wants nothing more for the holidays than a Christmas tree, but her widowed father, is bitter and refuses due to events from the family's past.