According to a statement from his family, the actor passed away in his sleep on Saturday (February 25).
"Gordon Pinsent's daughters Leah and Beverly, and his son Barry, would like to announce the passing of their father peacefully in sleep today with his family at his side," Pinsent's son-in-law, actor Peter Keleghan, wrote on behalf of the bereaved [via CBC]. "Gordon passionately loved this country and its people, purpose, and culture to his last breath."
Born in Grand Falls, NL, Pinsent was a mainstay in Canada's media landscape for six decades, appearing in dozens of TV shows and films, including The Rowdyman, The Grand Seduction, The Shipping News, The Red Green Show, Due South and voicing Babar the Elephant from 1989 to 2015.
He's perhaps best known for portraying the US president in sci-fi cult favourite Colossus and his role in Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley's award-winning Away from Her, which he starred in at age 76. Pinsent also wrote screenplays for his films, including The Rowdyman and John and the Missus.
After getting his start in CBC radio dramas and theatre, the actor began appearing on soap opera Scarlett Hill and children's show The Forest Rangers in the early 1960s. He also joined the Stratford Festival in 1962, where he would later return as a leading player in the mid-1970s. In 1967, Pinsent created and starred in A Gift to Last as a CBC Television Christmas Special, which prompted a subsequent family drama series and a stage play based on its pilot episode.
The actor received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in 2007 and has received pretty much every major acting award in the country — in addition to going viral for a 2010 appearance on 22 Minutes where he read from some of Justin Bieber's memoirs.
In 2012, Pinsent teamed up with the Sadies' Travis Good and Blue Rodeo's Greg Keelor to release an album featuring his lyrics and poetry.
See some of the many tributes to his legacy below.
My pal Gordon Pinsent passed. I saw him a few weeks ago, his twinkle as bright as ever. I looked up to him as the Rowdyman but loved him as Porky Pinsent from Grand Falls. He cut the path the rest of us travelled. A household name based on Canadian work. The best there ever was
Gordon Pinsent was our North Star. A true renaissance man. Actor, writer, director, painter and one time dance instructor. Gordon beat the path and made it possible for all that followed. The epitome of class & one hell of a funny guy. The Rowdy Man is gone but never forgotten.
Gordon had an enormous capacity for joy in absolutely everything he did. It was infectious and educational. There wasn’t a moment without a twinkle of mischief and a determination to enjoy the moment.
