In what is reportedly his only songwriting credit, Al Waxman wrote, ‘I am Canada/ I’m a lover of life/ I’m a dreamer of dreams’ in a 1978 song called Gotta Hear You Say It Too.

All that and a hell of an actor, too.

As the Canadian film, television and theatre communities continue to mourn the passing of the Canadian entertainment icon, his widow Sara Waxman’s home mailbox in Toronto is jam-packed with letters of support and condolences, many of which were sent by strangers. As she continues to sort through the mail, The King of Kensington’s widow says she’s ‘amazed’ by just how many lives her husband had touched in his 65 years.

‘People who say, ‘He shook my hand once,’ or, ‘He said hi to me once at a ball game’ – those are the kinds of letters coming to me and it’s amazing,’ she says.

Waxman’s life and achievements have been well-documented since his death on Jan. 18, following bypass surgery. Although he played dozens of different roles all over the world, many will remember him best as either Larry King on cbc’s The King of Kensington or as Lt. Bert Samuels on the American crime drama Cagney & Lacey.

Perry Rosemond, now the director of the cbc’s Royal Canadian Air Farce television series, created The King of Kensington in 1975 with Waxman in mind. Rosemond, who had known Waxman since the late 1950s (and introduced him to his wife), was reluctant to cast anyone else in the role, even when the actor wasn’t available to shoot the pilot episode. Waxman eventually accepted the part, and eventually created a bit of Canadian tv history in doing so.

‘I created Kensington, but he created King,’ says Rosemond with a laugh. ‘It was so much his persona. The integrity of the guy was definitely like Al. The bulldog determination with which [the character] went after everything was definitely like Al. It was almost like I culled as much of the character from Al as I did from my own imagination.’

Sara Waxman says her husband of 32 years was always very particular when choosing a role, and took his parts very seriously.

‘He never played a part that he didn’t like,’ she says. ‘It didn’t have to be a wonderful person either. It could have been a murderer or anything, but he had to see something in it that he could bring out and explore. He had to love something in that character. I think that is why people related to the characters he played.’

‘So often we have this kind of reticence or awkwardness about our success,’ says Rosemond. ‘We sometimes feel this country hates us for our failures but really resents us for our successes. Al charged through all that. He was a genuine Canadian star.’

Award-winner

For his efforts in entertainment, Waxman was well-decorated, winning Gemini and Emmy Awards for his various characterizations. He won the actra Earle Grey Award in 1981 and 1998 for his body of work and was named to the Order of Canada in 1997.

To do his part in bettering the industry, Waxman was elected chair of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television five consecutive times and served as vice-president of the Directors Guild of Canada for two consecutive terms. He also sat on the ofdc board of directors.

‘Al was a happy man, and happy with his work,’ says Sara. ‘There are things he still wanted to do and he was accomplishing them. It’s too bad he didn’t complete what he set out to do, but I think he had wonderful opportunities and a wonderful life, and he was happy to have it here in Canada.’

Rosemond says there is another element of Al Waxman that he hopes will not be forgotten.

‘As we remember his talent and his integrity, my only hope is we don’t forget his greatest asset, which was his massive capacity for love’When you get a guy like this who loves people, it crashes through on-screen. It’s the one thing we often forget about Al and it was his number one attribute.’ •