Allan Royal (born August 17, 1944) is a Canadian actor, [1] who is also sometimes credited as Allan G. Royal and Alan Royal. He is known for playing the crime reporter Tom Kirkwood on the hit Canadian police drama Night Heat [2] from 1985 to 1989. He is also known for his recurring role on such programs as the American TV drama Falcon Crest as well as roles in numerous other TV shows, movies, and plays.
Royal grew up in a bilingual home His father was a French Canadian and his mother was of British ancestry. [3] He grew up in Montreal's West End. [4] He began performing while still in high school, and ultimately left Montreal to study acting in New York with Lee Strasberg. [5] He returned to Canada, performing on stage in Toronto beginning in the mid-1960s. He joined the Toronto Arts Production theater company, where he played a wide range of roles throughout the 1970s, in new plays as well as productions of Shakespeare and Molière. [6]
In 1985, Royal joined the cast of a new television production, Night Heat , which aired on both Canadian and American television. [7] Prior to the end of Night Heat, he had moved to Los Angeles, where he hoped to appear in more films. He instead portrayed novelist R.D. Young on Falcon Crest . [8] After playing the role for a year, he appeared in They Came from Outer Space from 1990 to 1991, and another TV series, Foreign Affairs, in 1992 and 1993. [9]
Throughout the late 1980s well into the 2010s, Royal has worked steadily, appearing in productions that were made in the US and several that were made in Canada, such as the 1988 film Switching Channels, a remake of the 1931 movie classic Front Page, which was filmed in Toronto. [10] In addition, he was in several made-for-TV movies, including a role as John Sculley in the 1999 production Pirates of Silicon Valley , and the role of Mark Roberts in the 1999 production of "Crime in Connecticut: The Story of Alex Kelly" (later renamed "Cry Rape"). Royal also portrayed Captain Braxton in two 1996 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager : "Future's End, Parts I and II". In addition, Royal appeared in other TV series, including Amerika, Forever Knight , Mutant X , Relic Hunter , The Practice , JAG, and The Border. He played Chief Constable Stockton in the Canadian detective show Murdoch Mysteries and Judge Phillip Hopkins in three episodes of Suits.
In 2011, he returned to the stage in Toronto, where he had not performed live since the early-1980s, to star in a one-man play, The Disappearing Act, which he also wrote. [11]
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
1971 | The Only Thing You Know | Scott |
1977 | Welcome to Blood City | Peter |
1979 | Fish Hawk | Will Fellows |
1979 | Title Shot | Dunlop |
1982 | Trapped | Leonard |
1987 | Tomorrow's a Killer | Conley Reid |
1987 | Taking Care | Dr. Barton |
1988 | Switching Channels | Obregon |
2006 | One Way | Edgar Rasky |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1973–75 | Police Surgeon | Chick, Les, Tony | 3 episodes |
1977 | The Man Inside | Nelson | TV movie |
1977 | The Fighting Men | Wayne Archer | TV movie |
1980–85 | The Littlest Hobo | Fanagan, Olivier, unnamed | 6 episodes |
1982 | Hangin' In | Roland, Mr. Glade | 2 episodes |
1983 | Vanderberg | Ryan Evans | TV movie |
1983 | Moving Targets | Lew Parker | TV movie |
1985–89 | Night Heat | Tom "Tommy" Kirkwood | Main cast |
1986 | Philip Marlowe, Private Eye | Lucky Landrey | Episode: "Blackmailers Don't Shoot" |
1986 | Hot Shots | Kirkwood | Episode: "All in the Game" |
1986 | Christmas Eve | Grodin | TV movie |
1987 | Amerika | President | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
1988–89 | Falcon Crest | Daniel Cabot | 8 episodes |
1990 | Dragnet | Lt. Hyde | Episode: "Requiem" |
1990–91 | They Came from Outer Space | Lt. Col. Tom Barker | Main cast |
1991 | Matlock | Howard Boggs | Episode: "The Parents" |
1991 | Street Legal | Captain McDonnell | Episode: "On Women and Independence" |
1992 | Jake and the Fatman | Mitchell Lazarus | Episode: "Last Dance" |
1992 | Foreign Affairs | Andrew Copeland | unknown episodes |
1992 | Life Goes On | Ben | Episode: "Consenting Adults" |
1993 | Beyond Reality | Bobby's Father | Episode: "Face-Off" |
1993 | Bakersfield P.D. | President Childs | Episode: "Cable Does Not Pay" |
1993 | E.N.G. | Mark Ulster | Episode: "And the Winner Is.." |
1994 | Mary Silliman's War | Judge | TV movie |
1994 | Forever Knight | Ronald Gault | Episode: "Undue Process" |
1994–95 | Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman | Jackson Tait | 2 episodes |
1995 | Kung Fu: The Legend Continues | Dante Carmel | Episode: "Citizen Caine" |
1995 | Bloodknot | Arthur / Father | TV movie |
1996 | Star Trek: Voyager | Captain Braxton | Episodes: "Future's End" Part I, Part II |
1997 | Any Mother's Son | Ben | TV movie |
1998 | JAG | Skipper | Episode: "Yesterday's Heroes" |
1999 | Party of Five | Andrew | Episode: "Fam-i-ly" |
1999 | Cry Rape | Mark Roberts | TV movie |
1999 | Pirates of Silicon Valley | John Sculley | TV movie |
2000 | Psi Factor | Dale Wilson | Episode: "GeoCore" |
2000 | The Avengers: United They Stand | Grim Reaper | Episode: "The Sorceress's Apprentice" |
2000 | The Practice | Dr. Bernard White, Dr. Dennis Murphy | 2 episodes |
2000 | Code Name: Eternity | Dr. George Keating | 2 episodes |
2001 | Relic Hunter | Dr. Alistair Newell | Episode: "Sydney at Ten" |
2002 | Doc | Ben | Episode: "Second Time Around" |
2002 | The Brady Bunch in the White House | Chief Justice | TV movie |
2003 | Mutant X | Dr. Nigel Rigas | Episode: "Hard Time" |
2003 | Soul Food | Professor Lecki | Episode: "Life 101" |
2003 | DC 9/11: Time of Crisis | Karl Rove | TV movie |
2004 | Reversible Errors | O'Grady | TV movie |
2004 | Kevin Hill | Bryce Graydon | Episode: "Snack Daddy" |
2004 | Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye | Mr. Blanton | Episode: "Simon Says" |
2006 | Monster Warriors | Mayor Mel | Episode: "The Giant Spider Invasion" |
2007 | 'Til Death Do Us Part | Dr. Gerald Clark | Episode: "The Airplane Murder" |
2008 | The Good Witch | Walter Cobb | TV movie |
2008–14 | Murdoch Mysteries | Chief Stockton | 4 episodes |
2009 | The Border | Cyrus Church | Episode: "Killer Debt" |
2011 | Skins | Judge | Episode: "Stanley" |
2011 | The Kennedys | Allen Dulles | Episode: "Bay of Pigs" |
2012 | Heartland | Mr. Walker | Episode: "Fool's Gold" |
2012 | The Firm | Judge Trott | 3 episodes |
2014 | Suits | Judge Phillip Hopkins | 3 episodes |
2015 | The Lizzie Borden Chronicles | Judge Franklin | 2 episodes |
2023 | Fall into Winter | Papa Joe McLeod | TV movie |
2023 | Essex County | David | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage and television. His accolades included an Academy Award, two Tony Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making him the only Canadian recipient of the "Triple Crown of Acting". He also received a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award.
The Odd Couple is a play by Neil Simon. Following its premiere on Broadway in 1965, the characters were revived in a successful 1968 film and 1970s television series, as well as several other derivative works and spin-offs. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates: the neat, uptight Felix Ungar and the slovenly, easygoing Oscar Madison. Simon adapted the play in 1985 to feature a pair of female roommates in The Female Odd Couple. An updated version of the 1965 show appeared in 2002 with the title Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple.
Falcon Crest is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California wine industry set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley, located northeast of San Francisco and modeled after the real Napa Valley.
Ana Alicia Ortiz Torres is a Mexican-American retired actress who performed in theatre and on television. After getting her television start by spending a year on the daytime soap-opera Ryan's Hope, she gained international recognition for her role as scheming vineyard heiress Melissa Agretti on the long-running primetime soap opera Falcon Crest which she portrayed for seven seasons from 1982 until 1988. She has also performed in few single episode guest-starring roles on various televisions shows or in television movies most years from the late-1970s to the mid-1990s.
Michael Anthony Claudio Wincott is a Canadian actor. His deep, raspy voice has often led to his being cast in villainous roles.
Saul Hersh Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer, and playwright.
Night Heat is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. Night Heat was the first Canadian original drama series that was also aired on a United States television network during its original broadcast. It was also the first original, first-run drama series to be aired during a late night time slot on a television network in the United States.
Katherine Elizabeth Vernon is a Canadian-born American actress. She is known for her roles as Lorraine Prescott on the CBS primetime soap opera Falcon Crest (1984–1985), the stuck-up and popular Benny Hanson in the comedy film Pretty in Pink (1986), Sophia in the 1992 film Malcolm X, and Ellen Tigh in the 2004 Syfy series Battlestar Galactica.
William Leonard Sean McCann was a Canadian actor and was in the business for over 55 years. He was best known for his roles as Lt. Jim Hogan in the 1985 CTV television drama series Night Heat (1985–1989), Frank Rittenhauer in the comedy film Tommy Boy (1995) and the Judge in Chicago (2002).
Lloyd Wolfe Bochner was a Canadian film, TV and voice actor. He appeared in many Canadian and Hollywood productions between the 1950s and 1990s, including the films Point Blank (1967), The Detective (1968), The Young Runaways (1968), Ulzana's Raid (1972) and Satan's School for Girls (1973), and the television prime time soap opera Dynasty (1981–82). Bochner also voiced Mayor Hamilton Hill in Batman: The Animated Series (1992–95) and its follow-up The New Batman Adventures (1997–99).
Jessalyn Sarah Gilsig is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Meredith Gordon in Heroes, Kayley in Quest for Camelot, Lauren Davis in Boston Public, Gina Russo in Nip/Tuck, Terri Schuester in Glee, and as Siggy Haraldson in Vikings.
Simon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale was a British actor, film director, writer, and producer. He spent much of his childhood moving around owing to his father's career as an officer with the Royal Air Force. Poor eyesight prevented him from following a similar career in the RAF, so he instead planned to become a theatre director. Training at Studio 68 of Theatre Arts in London, he started work as an actor, making his West End debut in 1974. He went on to appear in numerous roles in television, including the series I, Claudius and Jesus of Nazareth, before starring as Simon Doyle in the film Death on the Nile (1978). This proved to be a breakthrough role. He appeared in a variety of films and TV series including Quatermass (1979), The Riddle of the Sands (1979), The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) and Jaws 3-D (1983).
John Stephen Hirsch, OC was a Hungarian-Canadian theatre director. He was born in Siófok, Hungary to József and Ilona Hirsch, both of whom were murdered in the Holocaust along with his younger brother István. Hirsch survived after spending most of the Second World War years in Budapest, and came to Canada in 1947 through the War Orphans Project of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Arriving in Winnipeg, Hirsch was taken into the home of Alex (Sasha) and Pauline Shack. He remained close to the Shacks for the rest of his life, and although he lived in New York City and Toronto, maintained strong ties with the city of Winnipeg.
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Richard Jean Monette CM, DHum, LLD, was a Canadian actor and director, best known for his 14-season tenure as the longest-serving artistic director of the Stratford Festival of Canada from 1994 to 2007.
Gilles Renaud is a Canadian actor who has starred in cinema and television in Quebec.
Beverley Cooper is a Canadian actor, director, dramaturg, and playwright who works in film, radio, television, and theatre.
James Purcell is an American actor and filmmaker, who has worked predominantly in Canadian film and television. He is most noted for his starring role as Hector Stone in the television drama series Counterstrike, for which he won the Gemini Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series at the 8th Gemini Awards in 1994.