Pinsent, O’Hara among new stars on Canada’s Walk of Fame
The stars came out in Toronto on Saturday ó Catherine O’Hara, Gordon Pinsent and Jill Hennessy among them ó to have their names immortalized on Canada’s Walk of Fame in a glamorous annual event meant to celebrate the country’s biggest cultural success stories.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t start crying,” Hennessy, dressed in a gold-coloured gown and accompanied by her twin, Jacqueline, said on the red carpet as fans shouted for her autograph.
“This is so meaningful because this country’s given me so much. I am lucky to have been born here Ö I love the generosity and the humility and the talent of everybody here, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without this country.”
Seven stars were inducted into the Walk of Fame this year: Hennessy, O’Hara, Pinsent, rock band Nickelback, Maple Leaf goaltending legend Johnny Bower, Rick (Man in Motion) Hansen and CTV news anchor Lloyd Robertson, the first journalist to join the ranks. Hollywood film mogul Ivan Reitman, who was inducted in 2001, was also there to join the celebrations.
All were on hand on a brilliantly sunny afternoon in downtown Toronto to walk the red carpet and be honoured at a televised gala hosted by one of O’Hara’s longtime pals, fellow SCTV alum Eugene Levy. The show airs on CTV on Sunday night.
“It’s out of this world ó his name’s going to be permanently engraved in two cities,” Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman, said on the red carpet, referring to his father’s star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
When Jason Reitman, director of last year’s critically acclaimed Thank You For Smoking, was told he might one day join his father on Canada’s Walk of Fame, he replied: “Doubtful. But you know, my last name’s down there and that’s enough for generations.”
The celebrities themselves were just as star-struck in the presence of their fellow inductees as the fans who were cheering them from the sidelines outside the Hummingbird Centre.
“Catherine O’Hara is someone who I’ve always admired. I actually went to study at Second City in Toronto partially because of her,” said Hennessy, the star of Law and Order and Crossing Jordan.
“And Gordon Pinsent is, I think, one of the best working actors today, and he should be much more acknowledged on an international scale. I think he will be and I think he’s going to be nominated this year for Away from Her ó I have had a premonition.”
Pinsent, who was handed a white rose by a fan, returned the compliment to Hennessy, saying he “loved” the actress.
“I always thought that Jill was another kind of ambition of mine, but she’s got her man with her,” he quipped.
Leafs’ legend Bower honoured
But all of the male inductees, including Pinsent, said they were most excited to hob-nob with Bower, who helped lead the Maple Leafs to three Stanley Cup victories in the 1960s.
“Johnny Bower ó he played when we had Leafs, real Leafs,” Pinsent said wistfully. “Johnny was a crucial part of it all.”
Reitman recalled fondly taking in those winning Leafs.
“I remember watching the Maple Leafs with my father through the ’60s when he was the great goalie,” Reitman said.
Hansen agreed that meeting Bower, frail at 82, was a kick.
“On an emotional level as a kid growing up, you can’t help but feel close to Johnny Bower. The Leafs and the [Boston] Bruins were my team and Johnny ó he was there through all those Stanley Cup years when all of us looked at Canadian hockey in a really special way. He’s a class guy, he really is.”
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