JOY'S JOURNAL
/by Joy Metcalfe
(click images to enlarge)
DINO ALBERTI WINS AGAIN!
Named Italian Canadian of the Year
Scoop! Scoop! Scoop!
I firmly believe that Dino Alberti was born with a tiny soccer ball in his hands!
DINO ALBERTI.
So the scoop is that the Confratellanza Italo Canadese has just announced that their countryman and former soccer star, Dino Alberti, has been chosen as their Italian Canadian of the Year!
The Confratellanza Ital-Canadese Society, a distinguished cultural organization founded by the late Judge Angelo Branca, has just announced that they will honour Dino Alberti as the Italian Canadian of the Year.
Dino is being honoured for his leadership, sportsmanship, values, service, and dedication.
The award will be presented on Saturday, October 5 at the Italian Cultural Centre. Guests will enjoy an evening totally dedicated to celebrate all things Italian! It was an outstanding sold out event last year. I was there and it was fantastic!
It will be a fabulous evening!...So do get your tickets soon!...
THE STARS CAME OUT THAT NIGHT
The B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame Inductees
And the stars came out to the sounds of cheers and applause and gratitude..
THE 2025 RECIPIENTS (from left) graham lee, danny filippone, susan pattee, and tom lavin. (KELLAN HIGGINS PHOTOS)
This was a very special evening for the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame (BCEHOF), where members gathered together to applaud and congratulate worthy new inductees. The reception was held in Coal Harbour’s Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) top floor outdoor gardens.
President of the BCEHOF, Bill Allman, looked so proud to be hosting this special evening while Howard Blank was a fun and effective emcee, introducing several new inductees like Tom Lavin, founder and leader of the talented Powder Blues band. Tom was there with his artist wife, Amelia Alcock-White.
Happily, Tom Lavin and the Powder Blues will finally have their star on Granville Street. It's long overdue and very well deserved.
Jackie Filippone and Leona Penner.
Danny Filippone, owner of the Penthouse Nightclub, was there with his wife, Jackie, who was delighted to see her husband honoured with a placement on the Standing Ovation Wall in the Orpheum Theatre alongside his uncles.
That special moment was made even more poignant by the fact that Danny had just lost his beloved mother the night before the presentation. We were all touched and saddened by this unexpected news.
Also attending the event was popular Graham Lee, concert promotor, philanthropist and venue owner/manager. He and his family were happily on hand as Graham received his Standing Ovation certificate.
The late Rob Pattee, manager, agent, career booster to the stars, was posthumously honoured with a Standing Ovation certificate and plaque which was accepted by his widow, Susan. Also spotted as part of the gala event that evening was pianist/singer Diane Lines, lightening up the room with her beaming smile, local author Aaron Chapman was surrounded by fans, while former singing star Judy Ginn Walchuk, was happily relaxed and enjoying the party.
THE WEST END JOURNAL’S EDITOR KEVIN DALE MCKEOWN (CENTRE) WITH DANNY Filippone (LEFT) AND AUTHOR AND HISTORIAN AARON CHAPMAN.
Nice to see The West End Journal's owner and editor (and my boss) Kevin Dale McKeown enjoying the evening's proceedings.
Adding to the evening's enjoyment was Kerry O'Donovan, playing the piano softly in the background.
It's always a pleasure to see those two very talented people we sometimes take for granted, Anna Hagan and Terence Kelly, the long married twosome who simply light up the set or the scene, no matter the story. They always add so much more to whatever scene they are playing. They are Vancouver treasures.
My thanks to the PAL people who made the event so pleasurable ...
SANTA AND MRS. CLAUSE RETIRE …
It's the end of an era. Long, long ago a richly talented woman arrived in Vancouver from England to teach us all how to relax, to sing and dance and to enjoy the world. But getting to that happy place took a great deal of guts and a get-up-and-go attitude.
It was July 16, 1966, when Gillian Campbell, her husband, Bryan, and their two little babies set sail for Canada. Gillian had been singing in various clubs around the English countryside and winning all the prizes, while Bryan was assistant manager to one of the top hotels in London.
One day, Bryan, decided, right out of the blue, to get out of England and try their luck in the "new country".
Mr. and Mrs. Claus, AKA EDWARD THOMPSON AND GILLIAN CAMPBELL.
Gillian was quite surprised when he announced this major move to Canada for his family but didn't object. So off they sailed on a huge liner. While on board, Gillian entered a "song gala" and won first prize handily. Even hubbie Bryan was impressed.
Once they settled into their new surroundings, Bryan took her to a club in Vancouver called Hector's, where she met a talent agent named Jimmy Brice, who instantly said those magic words, "She has to meet Fran Dowie."
Fran Dowie — who was a somewhat of an old-time cranky performer — often found jobs for various artists, and set her and the family into a small co-op while he searched for suitable jobs for Gillian and Bryan. After one evening of watching and listening to the pretty songbird, Fran decided to hire her for the entire summer musical program for Barkerville. It was to be held in the Palace Grande Theatre in Dawson City.
Gillian was thrilled and Bryan was not! In fact, he was very upset!
The idea that Gillian (with little Jason and Richard in tow) would be treated like a star for the entire summer up in the hinterlands, while he struggled alone in the big city, was not to his liking.
Fran Dowie came to her rescue, arguing about Gillian's positive prospects. Bryan gave in, warning that she could never, ever go away from him and the big city after this tour was finished. It was a wonderful summer and the tourists loved her performances.
She had an entirely new set of costumes, outfitted for her by her good friend, the talented Ray Buchanan of Watts Costumes, creating her gorgeous hats and spectacularly spangled gowns, perfect for wandering through the audience, teasingly wiggling her hips, inviting the male guests to come on stage and help her out.
As the summer season was winding up, Bryan began getting more agitated and nasty down in the city, demanding her return, despite the fact that she had already signed for the next season.
As Gillian prepared for her return to the Barkerville stage, banker Edward Thompson was there at the airport to pick up the CanCan girls and Gillian and her two sons. It was a fortuitous meeting.
In 1986, after the close of the Barkerville season, she left domineering Bryan. Somewhere in between Bryan, Fran Dowie and Ray Buchanan, the handsome banker Edward Thompson continued his successful pursuit of the lively star and they were wed in 1988.
Since then, not only did he marry Gillian, he became part of the Christmas show and made the perfect Santa Claus to Gillian's Mrs. Claus. They were booked at the Canucks’ intermission shows, various outdoor venues, performances, in parades, and for private parties. And they set up the Santa Company so you can rent your own cute and chubby Santa Claus.
But after all those years, the happy duo have decided that it's time for some new blood.
So, son Richard and wife, Dana, will be the new Santa and Mrs. Claus and run the Santa Company as well. You can find Gillian on stage as a little Christmas mouse or digging in her beloved flower garden...
COMING NEXT MONTH …
More next time about the passing of one of Vancouver's most popular hoteliers, Steve Halliday and his tribute at the Pan Pacific, more about GM's new slick Cadillac that almost drives itself, and even more about John D'Eathe's new book, Broadway Corridor - The Great Social Divide in an election year...
Happy Fall... Joy
