Brent Carver

Brent Carver (November 17, 1951 – August 4, 2020) was a Canadian actor best known internationally for performances in Kander and Ebb's Kiss of the Spider Woman. He played the central role of Molina in the premier production in Toronto (winning the Dora Award for best actor in a musical), in London's West End (nominated for an Olivier Award) and on Broadway for which he won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. A subsequent Broadway appearance in 1999 in Parade as Leo Frank, led to a second Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical. Most of his career, however, was spent on Canadian stages and in Canadian film and television, work which was greeted with much acclaim and many awards, including the Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

Early life Carver was born of Welsh and Irish heritage in Cranbrook, British Columbia, the son of Lois (Wills), a clerk, and Kenneth Carver, who was in the lumber business. He almost became a teacher, but continued participating in theatre. He attended the University of British Columbia from 1969 to 1972. He sang from an early age with his father, who played guitar. Carver's favourite actors were Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis. He portrayed Leonardo da Vinci in Leonardo: A Dream of Flight in 2002.

In 2003, Carver appeared in the Off-Broadway production of My Life With Albertine at Playwrights Horizons, where he portrayed older Marcel and the Narrator. The production received a nomination for the Drama League Award as Distinguished Production of a Musical.

In May 2014, Carver received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, for his lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre.

In 2016, Carver performed in a musical show titled Walk Me to the Corner at the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company in Toronto.

Death Carver died on August 4, 2020, at the age of 68 at home in Cranbrook.