The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.[1] Organized and presented by the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists,[1] which represented performers, writers and broadcast journalists, the Nellie statuettes were presented annually until 1986.[2] They were the primary national television award in Canada until 1986, when they were taken over by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to create the new Gemini Awards,[3] although ACTRA continued to present Nellies in radio categories.[4]
| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1972 |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
The ACTRA Awards were then revived in 2003 as a local film industry award, separately presented by each of ACTRA's regional chapters to honour performances in local film and television production, since expanded to incorporate web series and video games.[1]
History
editACTRA began presenting the John Drainie Award for distinguished lifetime contribution in broadcasting in 1968,[5] before launching a comprehensive program for television and radio awards in 1972. The 1st ACTRA Awards that year only presented the Drainie Award alongside the new Earle Grey Award for actors and Gordon Sinclair Award for broadcast journalism,[6] with its roster of categories beginning to expand the following year.[7]
By 1978, there began to be talk in the industry of a "Nellie curse", as several broadcast personalities in the past couple of years had been fired or had their shows cancelled very soon after winning an ACTRA award.[8] The same year also saw the first widespread complaints about ACTRA's nomination criteria, which limited honours in most categories to ACTRA members; even if ACTRA members had collaborated with non-ACTRA members, then only the ACTRA member could be considered for nomination.[9]
That year further saw the public revelation of an unconfirmed but longstanding industry rumour that if Lloyd Robertson had won the award for Best News Broadcaster at the 4th ACTRA Awards in 1975, elements in the audience were planning to pie him in the face just to see if they could cause the normally unflappable Robertson to lose his composure.[8]
By 1980, the CTV network decided to boycott the awards, on the grounds that the members-only rule biased the awards in favour of CBC Television productions;[10] the issue arose because the CBC produced most of its programming directly, and thus nearly all CBC programming involved ACTRA members, while CTV broadcast far more programming from independent non-ACTRA producers. The boycott, which continued for several years thereafter, sparked discussions through the early 1980s about how to improve the management and delivery of Canadian television awards.
In this era, there was also significant concern about the fact that ACTRA only presented awards in categories such as acting, writing and journalism, but had no categories for television crafts such as cinematography or editing,[11] as well as a controversy when ACTRA rejected the CBC's proposal of Dan Aykroyd as host,[12] on the grounds that he was working in the United States and not an active ACTRA member.[13]
By 1983, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television's experimental Bijou Awards, which had been presented for the first time in 1981, were being proposed to replace the ACTRA Awards,[14] but this did not proceed at this time; ultimately, responsibility for presenting the Canadian television awards was transferred to the Academy's new Gemini Awards in 1986.[15]
Awards transferred to the Academy included the John Drainie Award, a lifetime achievement award for distinguished contributions to Canadian broadcasting, and the Earle Grey Award, which transitioned from ACTRA's award for best performance in a television film into the Academy's lifetime achievement award for acting.
Following the launch of the Geminis, the ACTRA Awards continued to honour radio programming.
Revival
editBeginning in 2002, ACTRA took management of the John Drainie Award back from the Academy, presenting it thereafter at the Banff Television Festival.[16]
On the 60th anniversary of the national union in 2003, now renamed the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists and representing only performers, the ACTRA Awards were resurrected in several of its branches across Canada as a local film and television award, presented by the organization's local chapters in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Maritimes to honour achievements in film and television within their own regions.[17] Depending on the level of production activity in their respective regions, some chapters of ACTRA present their awards annually, while others present their awards every two years.
However, the revived ACTRA Awards program also includes a national Award of Excellence, presented to an actor to honour their lifetime achievements;[18] the national award of excellence is most commonly presented to an actor who is working in Hollywood, and would thus not be eligible for a regional chapter's local award of excellence. However, the national award of excellence is not necessarily always presented annually.
Some awards are handed out for performances, while others are given for union activism and contributions to the industry.[19]
National ACTRA ceremonies
editNational Award of Excellence recipients
edit- 2003 — Leslie Nielsen[20]
- 2004 — Lloyd Bochner[21]
- 2005 — Tonya Williams[22]
- 2007 — Kiefer Sutherland[23]
- 2009 — Sandra Oh
- 2010 — Eugene Levy
- 2011 — Bruce Greenwood
- 2015 — Jason Priestley
- 2016 — Neve Campbell[24]
- 2017 — Kim Coates[25]
- 2018 — Molly Parker[26]
- 2019 — Jay Baruchel[27]
- 2020 — Catherine O'Hara[28]
Regional awards ceremonies
editUBCP/ACTRA Awards (Vancouver)
editACTRA Montreal Awards
editACTRA Awards in Toronto
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "ACTRA". The Canadian Encyclopedia, February 6, 2006.
- ^ "Canada's new TV award makes debut". Toronto Star, April 22, 1986.
- ^ "Last Nellie: Charlie Grant's War; Chaykin and Willoughby top actors in final ACTRAs". Montreal Gazette, April 3, 1986.
- ^ "CBC sweeps radio awards: CKO's Peter Varley sole winner in private sector". Toronto Star, December 3, 1986.
- ^ "Broadcasters Honor W.O. Mitchell". Calgary Herald, October 5, 1968.
- ^ Michael Walsh, "Let's hear it for Canada...". The Province, April 21, 1972.
- ^ "Murray, Pinsent win ACTRA awards". Red Deer Advocate, May 1, 1973.
- ^ a b Don Hammersmith, "Lights, Camera, ACTRA". The Globe and Mail, March 18, 1978.
- ^ Morris Wolfe, "Politics of exclusion seen cheapening ACTRA Awards". The Globe and Mail, March 15, 1978.
- ^ "CTV dropping role in ACTRA Awards". The Globe and Mail, December 31, 1980.
- ^ "Tonight's ACTRA Awards may be last". Owen Sound Sun-Times, April 16, 1983.
- ^ Sid Adilman, "Aykroyd willing to host show". Toronto Star, April 12, 1982.
- ^ Sid Adilman, "'Thanks a lot, ACTRA,' angry Aykroyd says". Toronto Star, April 15, 1982.
- ^ Lorne Parton, "TV trade looking at alternatives to the ACTRA awards". The Province, April 21, 1983.
- ^ Matthew Fraser, "New awards for TV films announced". The Globe and Mail, May 31, 1985.
- ^ "Suzuki recognized with award". Barrie Examiner, June 11, 2002.
- ^ "ACTRA: Paul Gross to receive ACTRA Toronto's Award of Excellence". Archived from the original on April 5, 2005.
- ^ "ACTRA awards make cameo this week". Calgary Herald, February 25, 2003.
- ^ "ACTRA National – ACTRA Awards". www.actra.ca.
- ^ "Leslie Nielsen receives ACTRA National Award of Excellence" (Press release). Toronto, Ontario: ACTRA. October 23, 2003. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Special ceremony held in Los Angeles honouring ACTRA Member Lloyd Bochner" (Press release). Toronto, Ontario: ACTRA. December 2, 2004. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Tonya Lee Williams to Receive ACTRA National Award of Excellence" (Press release). Toronto, Ontario: ACTRA. November 7, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Kiefer Sutherland presented with ACTRA National Award of Excellence" (Press release). Toronto, Ontario: ACTRA. September 20, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Neve Campbell honoured with 2016 ACTRA National Award of Excellence" (Press release). ACTRA. February 1, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "'Sons of Anarchy' star Kim Coates getting ACTRA National Award of Excellence". globalnews.ca. November 16, 2016. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ "Molly Parker to be honoured by Canadian performers with 2018 ACTRA National Award of Excellence" (Press release). Toronto, Ontario: ACTRA. November 15, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "Jay Baruchel gets award of excellence from Canada's performers' union, ACTRA". CTVNews.ca. January 14, 2019. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- ^ "Canadian actors' union to honour 'Schitt's Creek,' 'SCTV' star Catherine O'Hara". Times Colonist. January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ a b "UBCP/ACTRA Awards Past Recipients". UBCP/ACTRA. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ "Top BC Talent Honoured At The 2013 UBCP/ACTRA Awards In Vancouver". UBCP/ACTRA. November 24, 2013. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ "Top BC Talent Honoured At The 2014 UBCP/ACTRA Awards In Vancouver". UBCP/ACTRA. November 22, 2014. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ "UBCP/ACTRA Awards 2015". UBCP/ACTRA. November 7, 2015. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ "UBCP/ACTRA Awards 2017 – Winners announced". UBCP/ACTRA. November 18, 2017. Archived from the original on May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ "2018 UBCP/ACTRA Awards Winners". UBCP/ACTRA. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "UBCP/ACTRA Awards 2019". UBCP/ACTRA. November 23, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "John Cassini and Carmen Moore Among Winners of 9th Annual UBCP/ACTRA Awards". Broadway World, November 22, 2020.
- ^ "Past Winners — UBCP/ACTRA Awards". 3 July 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-07-03. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Past Winners — UBCP/ACTRA Awards". 3 July 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-07-03. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "ACTRA Awards in Montreal". UBCP/ACTRA. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "2019 ACTRA Montreal Awards winners". ACTRA Montreal. May 6, 2019. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Awards". ACTRA Montreal. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
- ^ "Gordon Pinsent honoured at ACTRAs". Waterloo Region Record, March 1, 2003.
- ^ "Diane D'Aquila, Brent Carver and Sonja Smits take home ACTRA awards: The TV adaptation of Timothy Findley's play Elizabeth Rex reigned at the ACTRA awards in Toronto Friday night"]. Toronto Star, February 22, 2004.
- ^ "ACTRA honours Gross". Calgary Herald, February 21, 2005.
- ^ "Tom McCamus, Samantha Weinstein win ACTRA Awards". The Daily Gleaner, February 25, 2006.
- ^ "Pinsent, late Len Carlson among ACTRA honorees". The Globe and Mail, February 26, 2007.
- ^ "ACTRA wins for Peterson and This Beautiful City". The Globe and Mail, March 1, 2008.
- ^ "Win for Campbell". Toronto Sun, February 21, 2009.
- ^ "Flashpoint, Guns stars win ACTRA awards". Ottawa Citizen, February 20, 2010.
- ^ "Late actors Maury Chaykin, Tracy Wright win ACTRA Toronto Awards: Chaykin, Wright win ACTRA Toronto Awards". Canadian Press, February 25, 2011.
- ^ "10th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto 2012 Winners Announced" (Press release). ACTRA Toronto. CNW Group. February 25, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "Winners Announced - 2013 ACTRA Awards in Toronto" (Press release). ACTRA Toronto. CNW Group. February 23, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "Winners Announced: ACTRA Awards in Toronto 2014" (Press release). ACTRA Toronto. CNW Group. February 22, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "The Winners of the ACTRA Awards in Toronto 2015" (Press release). ACTRA Toronto. CNW Group. February 20, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "O'Hara, Plummer win at ACTRA Awards". Halifax Chronicle-Herald, February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Two prizes for Kim's Convenience at ACTRA awards". London Free Press, February 28, 2017.
- ^ "Winners: The 16th annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto" (Press release). ACTRA Toronto. CNW Group. February 26, 2018. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "Winners: The 17th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto". ACTRA Toronto. February 25, 2019. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ Debra Yeo, "‘Schitt’s Creek’ claims ensemble prize at Toronto ACTRA Awards while individual acting awards go to ‘Anne With an E’ co-stars". Toronto Star, February 23, 2020.
- ^ "‘Schitt’s Creek’ earns third consecutive ensemble win at ACTRA Toronto Awards". Toronto Star, February 23, 2021.
- ^ "WINNERS: THE 20th ACTRA AWARDS IN TORONTO". Newswire (Press release). March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ Ahmed Dirie, "CBC’s Sort Of cast among ACTRA Award recipients". Playback, April 27, 2023.
- ^ Connie Thiessen, "‘Sort Of’ takes Members’ Choice Series Ensemble honour at ACTRA Toronto awards". Broadcast Dialogue, April 23, 2024.