John Francis Dunsworth (April 12, 1946 – October 16, 2017) was a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He was best known for playing trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey, the antagonist on the comedy series Trailer Park Boys (2001–2018). His other roles included the mysterious reporter Dave Teagues on the supernatural drama series Haven (2010–2015) and Officer McNabb in the CBC film Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion (2003). He also had extensive experience in regional theater.

Early life John Francis Dunsworth was born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, on April 12, 1946, the son of Frances and Frank Dunsworth. He had one older sibling and eight younger siblings. He studied theatre at the University of Guelph, but dropped out in his fourth year when the university forced him to take a philosophy course against his wishes. Returning to his hometown, he drove a taxi for three years and worked on the CNR trains from Halifax and Sydney.

Career Dunsworth began acting in numerous CBC radio dramas after dropping out of university, and had starring roles in many stage productions at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax. In 1970, he leased an abandoned building on Halifax's waterfront and converted it into a playhouse called the Pier One Theatre; it became the city's first and most successful alternative theater. In the late 1980s, Dalhousie University hired him to produce the university's welcome show for new students at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, in which he also occasionally had an unseen voice-over role. In 1987, he founded the casting agency Filmworks Casting and garnered a reputation as Halifax's most successful casting director. In 1988, he starred in the documentary John Dunsworth: The Candidate, which followed his journey as an underdog political candidate for the New Democratic Party in the Halifax Bedford Basin electoral ward during the 1988 Nova Scotia general election. He came third in the election, receiving 19.3% of the vote (2,746 votes).

Dunsworth met director Mike Clattenburg in the mid-1990s when he auditioned for a small role in Clattenburg's short film One Last Shot. His role gradually transformed into a leading part that earned him the award for Best Performance at the Atlantic Film Festival. From there, he further developed the character into what would eventually become the villainous trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey in Clattenburg's comedy series Trailer Park Boys (2001–2018). While filming a scene in a school during the production of the film Pit Pony (1997), in which he had a small role, Dunsworth is said to have discovered 10-year-old actor and future Trailer Park Boys cast member Elliot Page; he managed to get Page a large part in the film, which became Page's first screen credit. He appeared alongside fellow Trailer Park Boys co-stars John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells in the film Virginia's Run (2002). He also starred in Haven (2010–2015), the television adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. He reunited with many of his Trailer Park Boys castmates in the new series The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour (2010)."The Boys are back and on drugs". The Globe and Mail, July 12, 2010.

Personal life Dunsworth lived in his native Nova Scotia with his wife, Elizabeth Bates, whom he married in 1974. They had a son named Geoff and three daughters named Zoë, Sarah, and Molly, the latter two of whom became actresses.

In contrast to his Trailer Park Boys character, Dunsworth rarely drank alcohol and usually used iced tea as a stand-in for alcohol on the show. He admitted to suffering from a gambling problem in his early years. As a result of his recovery, he had been active in trying to remove video lottery terminals from bars in Nova Scotia.Hooked for Life. The Globe and Mail. March 23, 2009. He was a boating enthusiast who frequently spent time on his yacht, Emerald Princess, and enjoyed building granite sculptures and structures with stone and concrete; he documented the latter on his YouTube channel. He was an avid bridge player and was regarded as a master of the game. He once appeared on stage with Guns N' Roses, with frontman Axl Rose describing himself as a fan of Trailer Park Boys and Dunsworth's character in particular.

Death On October 16, 2017, at the age of 71, Dunsworth died of an initially undisclosed illness in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In a statement, his daughter Sarah described the illness as "short and unexpected" and stated that Dunsworth was an "amazing husband, father, and grandfather". On May 26, 2021, a Facebook post by a fan page under the control of Dunsworth's surviving family and friends revealed complications from thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura as his cause of death. He is buried at St. Anthony's & St. Augustine's Catholic Cemetery in Simms Settlement, Nova Scotia.

Filmography Dunsworth had 70 credits to his name, some of which are listed below.Remembering John Dunsworth – NorthernStars

Film Year Title Role Notes 1978 So Long to Run 1992 Buried on Sunday 1998 One Last Shot Mr. Lahey 2001 The Shipping News Guy Quoyle 2001 A Glimpse Of Hell 2002 The Christmas Shoes 2006 A Bug and a Bag of Weed 2006 Trailer Park Boys: The Movie Jim Lahey 2007 Stuck 2008 Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys Jim Lahey 2009 Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day Jim Lahey 2011 Cloudburst 2011 Take This Waltz 2014 Trailer Park Boys 3: Don't Legalize It Jim Lahey 2014 Swearnet: The Movie 2014 Santa Quest 2014 Lizzie Borden Took An Ax

Television Year Title Role Notes 1997 Pit Pony Television film 1997 Lexx: The Dark Zone Mini-series 1999–2002 Lexx Lett s2 e18 'Brigadoom' 2001–2008 2014–2018 Trailer Park Boys Jim Lahey Season 12 was released posthumously 2001 Three Days Television film 2002 Trudeau Delegate Mini-series 2002 The Christmas Shoes Television film 2003 Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion Television film 2004 Reversible Errors Television film 2004 The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special Jim Lahey Television special 2005 Jesse Stone: Stone Cold Television film 2005 Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making Emery Beaulieu Mini-series 2005 Ambulance Girl Television film 2005 The Hunt for the BTK Killer Television film 2010–2015 Haven Dave Teagues 2010 The Gospel According to the Blues 2011 The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour 2012 Titanic: The Aftermath 2013 Forgive Me The Prelate 2019–2020 Trailer Park Boys: The Animated Series Jim Lahey Voice role Archive recordings Posthumous release 2020 Live at Red Rocks Jim Lahey Posthumous release Final appearance in Trailer Park Boys media

Notes Dunsworth is credited in Dolores Claiborne as a part of the crew but did not appear in the film.

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