We were shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Neil Hope, who made bifocals and feathery mullets sexy as Derek “Wheels” Wheeler on the original Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High series in the late ‘80s. Hope apparently passed away in 2007 from natural causes, but his death was only revealed to the public today (there is still no word on why it took so long for the information to become public). We don’t know much about Hope, but for many of us, Wheels (along with Joey Jeremiah, Snake, BLT, Stephanie Kaye and those twins) was a longtime fixture of our TV diets. He had many awesome, melodramatic moments (like almost getting molested while hitchhiking to Port Hope to visit his birth dad, or driving drunk and blinding Lucy in a car crash), but he was at his best as a member of The Zit Remedy, the most badass high school one-hit wonders to ever grace Canadian television.
Here, Wheels whales on the bass while The Zit Remedy plays their marquee hit “Everybody Wants Something” (the most aspirational song since Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”). Let’s take a moment to watch and remember the amazing TV legacy of Neil Hope (and you can go to neil-hope.com to learn more about the man who left us too soon).
The versatile and prolific screen and stage actor Peter Donaldson died this weekend at the age of 57 after a two-year battle with lung cancer. Though the acclaimed actor performed in films, on television and on stages across the country, he will be best remembered for his 25 years with the Stratford Festival. Donaldson debuted there in a 1977 production of Romeo and Juliet, and was still at the festival as recently as 2008, as Rufio to Christopher Plummer’s Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra. In Toronto, Donaldson appeared in Soulpepper’s production of Glengarry, Glen Ross last year.
Longtime anchor and voice of CityTV Mark Dailey has died at the age of 57 of cancer. Dailey joined CityPulse back in 1979 as a producer and assignment editor and worked the crime beat for 10 years, before his booming baritone voice became the trademark of the station.
To anyone who grew up watching Road to Avonlea or had children during the show’s seven-season run, the death of beloved actor Jackie Burroughs on Wednesday came as a shock. Burroughs, who lived in Toronto, was 71 and suffering from gastric cancer. In honour of the Canadian legend, we’ve compiled our favourite moments from her career.
Will Munro, the Toronto-based artist who helped redefine what “queer” meant in Toronto, passed away on Friday morning of brain cancer. Munro founded Vaseline (re-dubbed Vazaleen to dodge unhappy lawyers for Unilever), a monthly dance night at the El Mocambo and Lee’s Palace that helped launch such Canadian artists as Peaches and the Hidden Cameras to stardom. After the legendary party series ended, Munro went on to become the proprietor of the 
