Remembering Doreen Brownstone

The Winnipeg Arts Council is saddened by the passing of Doreen Brownstone. With a stage and screen acting career spanning six decades, Doreen was a legend in Winnipeg and across Canada.

When she was nominated for the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Making A Mark Award in 2013, the jury decided it was impossible to compare her career to any other before them, and it was then that Doreen was named the first – and to date, still the only – recipient of the Winnipeg Arts Council’s award for lifetime achievement in the arts.

Born in England, Doreen immigrated as a war bride to Winnipeg, where she met director John Hirsch. Hirsch cast her opposite Gordon Pinsent in MTC’s first production, A Hatful of Rain and, 16 years later, in the groundbreaking national TV series House of Pride. Throughout her career she worked at many and independent companies as well as the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Theatre Projects Manitoba, Prairie Theatre Exchange and Rainbow Stage, as well as companies across Canada including The Segal Theatre (Montreal), Belfry Theatre (Victoria), and Stage West Theatre (Edmonton & Calgary).

She toured with MTC’s production of Driving Miss Daisy at 83 years old and when she became the first Canadian stage actor to work past the age of 80, Canadian Actors’ Equity Association revamped their systems to cope with her trailblazing career. They also awarded her a Life Membership for her outstanding contribution to the performing arts, as did ACTRA, for distinction in the film and television industry.

Former Manitoba Theatre Centre Artistic Director Steven Schipper said, “Doreen always reminds us that there is a little girl deep within the nonagenarian, and that child-like curiosity, openness, and desire to learn have earned her the love of Winnipeg artists and audiences of all ages. They admire the length and breadth of her career, and her fine command of the craft, and she helps us all imagine how full our own long lives can be if we have her determination.”