John Starcevic, known by the stage name John Stark, is a Canadian stage actor and producer most noted for his long-running one-man show which he performed in character as writer Stephen Leacock.[1] Originally from Rossland, British Columbia, he is an alumnus of Simon Fraser University,[2] He began performing as Leacock in the 1970s, and toured the show extensively throughout Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.[3] His show was also filmed for broadcast by CBC Television and PBS; his performance at the National Arts Centre was recorded for release on Tapestry Records in 1981,[3] and received a Juno Award nomination for Comedy Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 1982.[4]
In the 1980s, Stark moved into film production, trying for over ten years to produce a historical drama film about the Doukhobors.[5] His other film projects included a television film of Leacock's Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town,[6] and the theatrical films Chekhov and Maria and A Play on Words. He has also continued to produce and direct in theatre; he most commonly stages the plays of playwright Jovanka Bach, who was his wife for 28 years until her death in 2006,[7] but has also created the original autobiographical show Me Myself And I, by Himself.[8]
References
edit- ^ Carole Corbeil, "Stark as Leacock is skillful and witty". The Globe and Mail, April 23, 1980.
- ^ Rod Currie, "Leacock heads to Edinburgh". The Globe and Mail, July 28, 1981.
- ^ a b "Stark is successful". The Globe and Mail, September 22, 1980.
- ^ Liam Lacey, "McKenzies vs. Rush for best album Juno". The Globe and Mail, March 2, 1982.
- ^ "B.C. film is stymied by delayed funding, loss of director". Montreal Gazette, August 18, 1989.
- ^ "Movie maker says second feature film planned for Vernon". Edmonton Journal, November 10, 1989.
- ^ Mike Boehm, "Jovanka Bach, 69; Her Plays Were Staged in L.A., New York". Los Angeles Times, January 21, 2006.
- ^ "John Stark's 'Me, Myself and I, By Myself' opens 10/13 - Odyssey Theater". Broadway World, October 1, 2013.
External links
edit- John Stark at IMDb
- John Stark Productions (copy archived June 2019)