Background:

Canadian actor Wayne Robson, born in 1946, died in 2011, had acted in television and film and on stage for four decades. He is perhaps best recalled for playing Mike Hamar, a former convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom “The Red Green Show” from 1994 to 2005 and in the 2002 film “Duct Tape Forever.” He received three Gemini nominations for his work on the series. Robson also won Gemini Awards for his scene stealing performances in the film “And Then You Die” (1987) and in the made for TV film “The Diviners” (1993) and was nominated for Genie Awards for his supporting roles on the films “The Grey Fox” (1982) and “Bye Bye Blues” (1989). Robson also had done a great deal of voice over works.

Robson had two children from his marriage to former wife Lynn Woodman (together from 1985 to 2005).      


Vancouver Native    

Childhood and Family:

In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Wayne Robson was born on April 29, 1946. He moved to Toronto, Ontario in the 1970s to further pursue his acting career.

Wayne was married to Lynn Woodman from 1985 until they separated in 2005. The marriage produced one son, Louis Robson, and one daughter, singer Ivy Robson.

On April 4, 2011, Wayne died at his home of an undisclosed cause. He was 64 years old at the time. He is survived by his two children.


And Then You Die

Career:

Wayne Robson began acting on stage in his native of Vancouver, Canada. In 1970s, he relocated to Toronto, in which he continued his stage career and appeared in Canadian television commercials. Robson made his first feature film appearance as a bartender in Robert Altman's Academy Award nominated drama, “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” (1971), which he followed with other small parts in “Popeye” (1980), also directed by Altman, and “Improper Channels” (1981), helmed by Eric Till. However, he did not receive attention until he was cast as Shorty (William) Dunn in “The Grey Fox”(1982), a Canadian biographical-Western film helmed by Phillip Borsos and written by John Hunter. He was nominated for a Genie Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance.

Robson continued on having small roles in several movies like “Finders Keepers” (1984), “Just the Way You Are” (1984), Gillian Armstrong's “Mrs. Soffel” (1984), Disney's holiday movie “One Magic Christmas” (1985, starred Mary Steenburgen and Harry Dean Stanton), “Bullies” (1986), “Dead of Winter” (1987), “Goofballs” (1987), “Housekeeping” (1987), Robert Frank's “Candy Mountain” (1988), “Something About Love” (1988), “Buying Time” (1989), “Justice Denied” (1989) and “Parents” (1989). In 1988, he won a Gemini in the category of Best Performance by a Supporting Actor for his role as Wally Degan in the crime/drama film “And Then You Die” (1987), directed by Francis Mankiewicz. He also received a 1990 Genie nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Pete in Anne Wheeler's “Bye Bye Blues” (1989)

During this period, Robson also appeared as a guest star in many television shows, including “The Littlest Hobo,” “The Edison Twins,” “ABC Weekend Specials,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” and “The Twilight Zone.” He contributed additional voices to the Canadian animated television series “Babar” (1989). Robson made his television movie debut in 1984's “Something's Afoot,” starring Jean Stapleton, Andy Gibb and Pam Hyatt, and his TV miniseries debut in 1988's “Chasing Rainbows,”  starring Hume Baugh, Claude Bede and Peter Boretski.     

From 1991 to 1992, Robson provided the voice of  Professor Calculus (English version) in the TV animated series “The Adventures of Tintin.” He played the recurring role of Shorty in the Canadian series “RoboCop” (1994). Early 1990s also saw guest spots in “The Campbells,” “My Secret Identity,” “Maniac Mansion,” “Street Legal,” “Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop,” “E.N.G.,” from which he netted a 1990 Gemini nomination in the category of Best Guest Performance in a Series by an Actor or Actress, “Mom P.I.,” “Sweating Bullets,” “The Ray Bradbury Theater,” “Avonlea” (as Amos Spry), “Beyond Reality,” “The Mighty Jungle.” His film credits during this period included “Love& Murder” (1990), “The Rescuers Down Under” (1990, voiced of Frank), “Lost in the Barrens II: The Curse of the Viking Grave” (1991, TV), “Bingo” (1991), “In the Nick of Time” (1991, TV), “Dark Horse” (1992), “Stand Off” (1993), the BBC film adaptation of Margaret Laurence's award winning novel, “The Diviners” (1993, TV), where he picked up a Gemini Award for his scene stealing role of Christie, “Double, Double, Toil and Trouble” (1993, TV), “Heads” (1994, TV), and “Sodbusters” (1994, TV).  

Robson's massive success arrived when he joined the cast of the Canadian television comedy series “The Red Green Show” in the main role of Mike Hamar, a career felon who joined Possum Lodge while on parole from federal prison. He was on the show from January 1994 until February 2005, and was nominated for the Gemini Award in the category of Best Performance in a Comedy Program or Series three times in 2000, 2001 and 2006.  

Robson continued to appear in many TV films and films throughout the mid to late 1990s, such as “Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story,” “Dolores Claiborne,” “When the Dark Man Calls,” “Derby,” “Senior Trip,” “Two If by Sea,” “The Haunting of Lisa,” “Getting Away with Murder,” “Captive Heart: The James Mink Story,” “Mother Trucker: The Diana Kilmury Story,” “Giant Mine,” “Marie Curie: More Than Meets the Eye,”  “Affliction,” “Cube,” “Pippi Longstocking” (as the voice of Bloom), “The Girl Next Door” (played Jack Hargrove), “Murder She Purred: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery,” “Babar: King of the Elephants” (voiced of Marabou/Sales Manager), “Rocky Marciano” and “Vendetta.” In addition, he appeared in a number of TV episodes, including “The Adventures of Sinbad,” “Strange Luck,” “Goosebumps,” “PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal,” “Cold Squad” and “Lexx.” He provided the voice of  Sage of Um in “Rupert.”

In the new millennium, Robson's voices could be heard as Matthew Cuthbert in “Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series” (2000), as Mr. Heron in “Franklin” (2004) and as Mr. Mantis in the made for TV film “Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids” (2003) and the series “Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends” (2004-2006). He also played roles on such films as “Redwall: The Movie” (2000, TV), “The Highwayman” (2000), “Harlan County War” (TV), “Sanctuary” (2001, TV), “I Was a Rat” (2001, TV), “Roughing It” (2002, TV), “Duct Tape Forever” (2002, as Mike Hamar), “Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road” (2002), “Charms for the Easy Life” (2002), “Wrong Turn” (2003), “Cold Creek Manor” (2003), “ Welcome to Mooseport” (2004) and “Cool Money” (2005, TV) and made guest appearances in television series “Relic Hunter” (2000), “The Zack Files” (2000), “Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science” (2001), “Tracker” (2001), “This Is Wonderland” (2004) and “Puppets Who Kill” (2004).   

From 2006 to his death in 2011, Robson maintained busy schedule with appearances in many movies, like “Candles on Bay Street” (TV), “In Between,” “Stuck,” “Bridal Fever,” “The Incredible Hulk,”  where he was featured as a boat captain, “The Timekeeper,” “Survival of the Dead,” “Fairfield Road” (TV) and “Servitude” (starred Joe Dinicol, John Bregar and Kristen Hager). Additionally, he appeared in episodes of “The Good Germany,” “Little Mosque on the Prairi” (as Tuffy Wilson) and “Murdoch Mysteries” as well as in the TV miniseries “Sea Wolf” and “Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town.”     


Awards:

Gemini: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, “The Diviners,” 1994
Gemini: Best Performance by a Supporting Actor, “And Then You Die,” 1988 Show Less