Jan Rubeš

Jan Ladislav Rubeš

Life and career

Rubeš was born in Volyně, Czechoslovakia, to Ružena (née Kellnerová) and Jan Rubeš. Not long after World War II, he graduated from the Prague Conservatoire and joined the Prague Opera House as a bass singer. In 1948, he won first prize at the Geneva International Music Festival and emigrated to Canada at the end of the year to pursue a career in a wider sphere. Beginning as a singer with the Canadian Opera Company, he subsequently directed and became director of touring, before switching to radio and television, where he became well known as an actor and presenter in Canada. He is noted for his portrayal of Amish patriarch Eli Lapp in Peter Weir's major-market film Witness and Jan in D2: The Mighty Ducks.

Family On 22 September 1950, Rubeš married actress Susan Douglas. The couple had three sons: Christopher (died 1996), Jonathan, and Anthony. They remained married until his death in 2009. He is the great-uncle of Czech YouTuber Janek Rubeš.

Death On 29 June 2009, Rubeš died following a stroke at Toronto General Hospital.

Awards and recognition 1989: nominee, 10th Genie Awards, Best Actor, Something About Love 1990: winner, Earle Grey Award 1995: appointed Member, Order of Canada

Filmography

Motion pictures

1950: Forbidden Journey - Jan Bartik 1963: The Incredible Journey - Carl Nurmi 1975: Lions for Breakfast - Ivan 1980: Mr. Patman - Vrakettas 1981: The Amateur - Kaplan 1981: Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid - Psychiatrist 1983: Utilities - Mort 1985: Witness - Eli Lapp 1985: One Magic Christmas - Santa Claus 1987: Dead of Winter - Dr. Joseph Lewis 1988: Blood Relations - Andreas 1988: The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick - Augustus Glick 1988: The Kiss - Gordon Tobin 1988: Something About Love - Stan Olynyk 1989: The Experts - Illyich 1989: Cold Front - Zoubov 1989: Blind Fear - Lasky 1990: Divided Loyalties 1990: Courage Mountain - Grandfather 1990: The Amityville Curse - Priest 1991: Class Action - Pavel 1991: Deceived - Tomasz 1991: On My Own - The Colonel 1992: Don Gio - Journalist No. 2 1994: Boozecan - Pops 1994: D2: The Mighty Ducks - Jan 1994: Mesmer - Prof. Stoerk 1995: Roommates - Bolek Krupa 1996: Never Too Late - Joseph 1997: Bach Cello Suite #4: Sarabande - Dr. Kassovitz 1998: Music from Another Room - Louis Klammer 1998: The White Raven - Markus Strand 1999: Snow Falling on Cedars - Ole Jurgensen 1999: Nightmare Man - Evan Hannibal 2000: Believe - Jason Stiles 2001: Anthrax - Arthur Kowalski 2002: The Burial Society - Marvin Telekunsky 2003: The Republic of Love - Strom 2004: Daniel and the Superdogs - The Colonel

Television movies 1975: Deadly Harvest 1977: The Day My Granddad Died 1978: Catsplay 1985: Charlie Grant's War - Jacob 1985: Murder by Reason of Insanity - Giorgi Denerenko 1986: The Marriage Bed - Max Ehrlich 1988: No Blame - Dr. Bloomer 1988: Two Men - Michael Barna 1990: Descending Angel - Bishop Dancu 1992: Devlin - Vittorio Di Fabrizi 1993: Coming of Age - Tomas Havel 1994: The Birds II: Land's End - Karl 1994: Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio - Phantom 1995: Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story - Far 1997: Flood: A River's Rampage 1999: What Katy Did - Dr. Reinhart 2000: The Christmas Secret - Andree 2005: Our Fathers - Pope John Paul

Television series 1963: The Forest Rangers - Jaworski / Gregor Kowalski 1970: Castle Zaremba - Col. Kazimir Zaremba 1970: The Barbara McNair Show - Himself 1983: Vandenberg - Lewis Vanderberg 1975–1983: Guess What (host) 1985: Kane & Abel (miniseries) - The Polish Consul 1985: Murder in Space - Gregory Denarenko 1986: Kay O'Brien - Dr. Josef Wallach 1986: Crossings (miniseries) - Isaac Zimmerman 1988: Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show (as a special guest) - Jan Rubes 1989: War of the Worlds - (Episode, "Choirs of Angels") - Dr. Erik von Deer 1990: Street Legal (season 4, Episode 4X13 "Leon's Story") - Arthur Robinovitch 1990: Max Glick - Augustus Glick 1992–1993: By Way of the Stars (miniseries) - Hausierer Nathan 1996: The X-Files (Episodes Tunguska [uncredited] and Terma) - Vassily Peskow 1996–1998: Due South - Dr. Mort Gustafson 1997: The Third Twin (miniseries) 1999: The Beachcombers (Episode, "A Bearish Market") - Brink 1999: The Outer Limits (Episode, "Tribunal") - Robert Greene / Older Karl Rademacher 2000: Stargate SG-1 (season 3, Episode 21 "Crystal Skull") - Nicholas Ballard