Janet Wright (March 8, 1945 – November 14, 2016) was an English-born Canadian actress and theatre director."Theatre Review: Brighton Beach Memoirs" . Monday Magazine, Jul 29, 2013 She was best known for her role as Emma Leroy on the Canadian sitcom Corner Gas. She performed in many film and television shows, and she also acted in, and directed, dozens of theatre productions in Saskatoon, Vancouver, and at the Stratford Festival.
Early life and education Wright was born in Farnborough, Hampshire, England.J. Kelly Nestruck, "Janet Wright played wise-cracking matriarch on Corner Gas", The Globe and Mail. November 14, 2016. Wright grew up as the eldest of four siblings (the others being Susan, John, and Anne) who have all participated in Canadian theatre.
Career Wright, along with her sister Susan, co-founded the Persephone Theatre company in Saskatoon in 1974. Wright's first husband, Brian Richmond, became the theatre's director. Wright later worked at the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre where she appeared in and directed more than 40 productions."Janet Wright: A look back at the theatre years". Vancouver Sun, Cylla von Tiedemann She also appeared in several other productions in live theatre across Canada, and at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Her theatre work eventually led to television and film roles in Canada and the United States.
In 1991, she performed at the Stratford Festival with her sisters Anne and Susan in Les Belles-soeurs, to positive reviews. In 1995, she was the first woman to play the title role in King Lear, for Canadian Stage in Toronto."No gender rules for Rose's King Lear". Toronto Star, March 19, 1995. Wright acted in the film Bordertown Café, for which she received a best actress Genie Award in 1992. In 2003 she was named best supporting actress in a dramatic program or miniseries at the Gemini Awards for her role in Betrayed.
From 2004 to 2009, she played Emma Leroy in the television series Corner Gas. In this role she won a 2006 Canadian Comedy Award for Pretty Funny TV Female. The show also won a Gemini Award in 2007."Saskatoon arts icon, award-winning 'Corner Gas' star Janet Wright dead at 71", Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, November 14, 2016. She reprised her role in 2014 for Corner Gas: The Movie.
Wright continued her involvement with the Vancouver Arts Club Theatre, directing several contemporary American plays, including Katori Hall's The Mountaintop and Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced in 2015."DISGRACED". VancouverPlays, volume 135, September 2015. She continued acting from time to time at the Stratford Festival, lastly in 2011, when she played Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath.
Family Wright's sister Susan was killed in a fire in 1991 in Stratford, Ontario, along with their parents, Jack and Ruth (née Preston) Wright.
In January 2004, Wright's daughter Rachel Davis (aged 23) was fatally shot while intervening for a stranger who was being beaten in front of the Purple Onion bar in Vancouver, B.C. In July 2006, the shooter was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated assault. His first degree murder conviction triggered an automatic sentence of life imprisonment with no chance of parole until 2029.
Wright and her second husband, Bruce Davis, along with the rest of their family, started the Rachel Davis Foundation. The foundation presents an award to a young person (aged 17–23) who has demonstrated an outstanding act of kindness or compassion.
Death Wright died on the morning of November 14, 2016, in Vancouver, aged 71, from undisclosed causes.Lauren La Rose, "Actor Janet Wright, Emma from Corner Gas is dead at 71", thestar.com, November 14, 2016.
Filmography +Film Year Title Role Notes1969Obscene House1971McCabe & Mrs. MillerEunice1974Miss Mervin1978The Wiz SingersVoice, Uncredited1982Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous StainsBrenda1986LoyaltiesAudrey Sawchuk1987American GothicFanny1987Home Is Where the Hart IsJ.P.'s Wife1988Cowboys Don't CryPearl1991BingoWaitress1992Bordertown CaféMaxine1999 The Boondock SaintsAnnabelle MacManus2000Ethel Shatford2001Chasing CainSonia2001LolaMa Keller2002BlackwoodsMa Franklin2002RollerballCoach Olga2003EmileAlice2003Arbor VitaeSenior NurseShort film2003ThoughtcrimesZoyaTV movie2006Love and Other DilemmasJojo Ladro2010Ramona and BeezusGrandma Kemp2012Trish2014Corner Gas: The MovieEmma Leroy
+Television Year Title Role Notes1975Peep ShowLucyEpisode: "The Victim"1978Who'll Save Our Children?Television film1979Huckleberry Finn and His FriendsMrs. Judith LoftusEpisode: "The Rains Come"1979King of KensingtonEvelynEpisode: "Big Brother"1983Helen ArmstrongTelevision film1984 The Three Wishes of Billy GrierWoman in BarTelevision film1985Brotherly LoveHelen NearyTelevision film1986Woman NeighborTelevision film1987Deadly DeceptionDesk clerkTelevision film1987After the PromiseWaitressTelevision film1987DideeEpisode: "Disposable People"1987Christmas Comes to Willow CreekMartha JaneTelevision film1988Laura Lansing Slept HereTelevision film1988-1989WiseguyMillicent/MabelEpisodes: "Revenge of the Mud People" and "All or Nothing"1993-1994Street LegalDoris Banachowska/Jessica GrantEpisodes: "The Price"Episode: "Strange Bedfellows," "The Long and Winding Road,"1994Neon RiderMichelle PfeifferEpisode: "Where the Buffalo Roam"1996My Mother's GhostTelevision film1996Beyond the CallFranTelevision film1996We the JuryGladys McKenzieTelevision film1997Fast TrackCharlotte ScannelEpisode: "Triangle"1998Eerie, Indiana: The Other DimensionMrs. FloydEpisode: "I'm Okay, You're Really Weird"1998Mr. HeadmistressNaomi BascombeTelevision film1998Due SouthSgt. Sam ThornEpisode: "Mountie on the Bounty: Part 2"1998-1999Emily of New MoonAunt ThomEpisodes: "A Shadow in His Dream," "When the Bough Breaks," and "Bred in the Bone"1999More Tales of the CityVita KeatingTV miniseries1999RedwallConstance (voice)36 episodes1999LexxLorcaEpisode: "Love Grows"2000Redwall: The MovieConstanceTelevision film2000Mattimeo: A Tale of RedwallConstance/Ghost of Martin (voice)TV series2001Hostage Rescue TeamSimoneTelevision film2001LexxFirst Lady PriestEpisode: "Texx Lexx"Episode: "Stan Down"2001Dark AngelAnnieEpisode: "Proof of Purchase"2002FramedTelevision film2002EvieEpisode: "Farm Boys"2002MonkBonnie3 episodes2002TakenPattyEpisode: "God's Equation"2003BetrayedDr. FlemingTelevision film2003Jinnah: On Crime - White Knight, Black WidowFrostyTelevision film2003PhyllisTelevision film2003Phenomenon IIJeriTelevision film2004Kingdom HospitalLiz Hinton10 episodes2004-2009Corner GasEmma Leroy107 episodes2007WhistlerEpisode: "The Rules of Attachment: Part II"Episode: "Last Run"2008WisegalPatty Montanari's MotherTelevision film2009Memory LanesSarah DuggenTelevision film
Awards and nominations
YearNominated workEventAwardResultRef 1992 Bordertown Café Genie Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 2001 Chasing CainGemini AwardsBest Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series 2003 Betrayed 2004Corner Gas Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series Canadian Comedy AwardsBest Female TV Performance 2006 Gemini AwardsBest Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series 2007 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards Best Female TV Performance
References
External links
Corner Gas official website - Janet Wright bio Rachel Davis Foundation