Robert Jeffrey

Robert Latham Jeffrey (May 3, 1934 – September 17, 2004) was a Canadian singer, actor, director, producer and writer. He was known for his tenor range and lively interpretations for concert and musical stage.

Early life Robert Latham Jeffrey was born on May 3, 1934, in Winnipeg's North Kildonan neighbourhood, in Manitoba, to parents William & Nellie Jeffrey. He was the first born, later joined by two brothers; Donald and Martin. It seemed that Robert (Bob) Jeffrey had always been interested in singing. His vocal talent was appreciated at an early age when the eight-year-old Jeffrey was appointed head chorister at St. John's Cathedral in Winnipeg. His singing led to juvenile guest spots on CBC radio's "Sunday School of the Air."

By the time his voice changed and he was an up-and-coming tenor, the new medium of television had come to Winnipeg. Robert became a regular on CBC variety shows broadcast from his home town.

Emerging vocal artist: the 1950s In his late teen years he began a stage career with Winnipeg's new Rainbow Stage summer theatre company, performing in "Guys and Dolls", "Annie Get Your Gun" and taking the role of Lieutenant Cable in "South Pacific". He replaced David Holliday in Copenhagen and went on to plaudits, opposite Jill Martin as Maria, in Oslo, Goteborg, Stockholm and Helsinki.

In 1963, back in London, he appeared in the new musical "House of Cards", at the Players' Theatre.

Returning to Toronto in 1964, he appeared as Mr. Ringo in one of the early productions of Susan Douglas Rubeš' Young People's Theatre, "The Dandy Lion". This was his second stage appearance in the city. He had previously starred in a new Bernard Slade musical "The Gay Chaperone" (The Duenna) at Toronto's Crest Theatre in January 1961.

In 1968 Jeffrey joined a roster of Canadian musical comedy stars (including Jack Creley and Rita Howell) in the annual touring revue "Spring Thaw," established him as a stage presence across the country for the next three years (1968, 69, 70). These tours led to a return to Winnipeg's Rainbow Stage for two seasons, in "Finian's Rainbow" (1964) with Burt Wheeler and "Mame" (1972), in the role of Patrick Dennis, with Libby Morris.

In the summer of 1968 Jeffrey landed a role in the Toronto production of "Your Own Thing" at the Bayview Playhouse. In November he was back on that stage as one of the quartet of performers for the Canadian premiere of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" This led to directing (and performing in) another revival of the show for Marlene Smith and Strut Productions, at the Teller's Cage in Toronto (1975).

The 1970s were the years of cabaret in Toronto, and across Canada. Jeffrey was booked solid. After "Moon & June" in Toronto, he was invited to be part of Roderick Cook "One More Time"(1974) with Connie Martin and David Brown at the Colonial Tavern. This was followed by "In Gay Company" with Susan Keller at the Teller's Cage (1975).

In 1976 Jeffrey appeared in David Y.H. Lui's Vancouver production of Ben Bagley's "The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen through the Eyes of Cole Porter" with Ross Petty and Roma Hearn.

Back in Toronto in 1977 he directed and appeared in another revival of "Jacques Brel," with Barbara Collier, Nora McClellan and Rudy Webb, at the Bayview Playhouse. This production continued with an extended run at the city's Prince Hotel followed by performances at the Sly Fox Cabaret in Ottawa. In 1980 he directed "To Eternity through Noise & Smoke" for Magda Zalan's Podium Productions, which featured Nancy Palk, Sean Hewitt, Marcia Tratt and Joe Zeigler, at Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.

In 1979 Tony Lloyd, artistic director of Theatre Sudbury invited Jeffrey to direct Peter Mews, Marylu Moyer and Pam Hyatt in "Anne of Green Gables: The Musical"(1980). He had previously appeared in Sudbury in classical concerts and as Mack the Knife in "The Threepenny Opera" (1972) and was delighted to return. This directorial project was followed by Theatre Sudbury roles in 1982 productions of "Oliver!" (Mr. Bumble) and "The Sound of Music" (Max). This was followed in 1983 with the title role in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", with Grant Cowan and Marcia Tratt. In 1984 he appeared in "Flicks" and in 1986 he was Captain Andy in "Show Boat".

In the early eighties, he also returned to productions for Toronto's Young Peoples Theatre, where he had earlier success in "The Dandy Lion." He played a lively Tigger in 1973's "Winnie the Pooh" with Don Francks as Pooh, at the St. Lawrence Centre. In 1980 he was offered the title role in "The Popcorn Man" and in the next year returned for "The Threepenny Opera" with Salome Bey (1981). These last two productions were at Young People's Theatre's new venue on Toronto's Front Street.

Mr. Jeffrey's last stage appearance was in the Ontario Tour of Walter Learning and Alden Nowlan's "A Gift to Last" (1991).

Television Robert Jeffrey had been introduced to television in the 1950s in Winnipeg, as soon as the Winnipeg studios of CBC opened.

After 1958, during his Toronto studies, he appeared on CBC's "Hit Parade", with Robert Goulet and Giselle Mackenzie, recorded at the CBC Jarvis Street studios. Both of Guthrie's Gilbert and Sullivan productions for Stratford Festival had been adapted for television by Norman Campbell, in 1960 and 61.

When Jeffrey returned from Europe in 1964, he was interviewed by Fred Rogers for his new CBC children's show and made appearances on the new "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood". He followed this with guest spots on "Butternut Square" and then on Ernie Coombs' "Mr. Dressup." In 1972 he was invited to appear on several episodes of TVOntario's "Polka Dot Door."

He was frequently cast on variety shows such as "Music Album" and there were several appearances on Elwood Glover's Luncheon Date during the 1970s. In 1979 he undertook the title role of Dodi Robb and Pat Patterson's "The Popcorn Man" in a CBC children's music special. This led to repeating the role on stage.

Later years and legacy In his later years, passing the spotlight to the next generation, Robert Jeffrey joined with Sandy Stewart (producer), Pat Stewart and Paul G. Russell (1985) to adapt the classic television quiz show Reach for the Top for in-school play as "Schoolreach." Reach for the Top had launched the career of Jeopardy!'s Alex Trebek years before. Reach was privately produced by Sandy Stewart from 1985 to 1996.

In 1996, Jeffrey and Russell, as Paulus Productions Inc., acquired Reach for the Top. In the year 2000, they re-established "Reach" on television, first with Canadian Learning Television, then with Access TV (now CTV Two Alberta), Knowledge Network and TVOntario. The Reach Organization (Reach for the Top and Schoolreach) continues to sponsor student co-curricular play in the format made popular on television, across Canada.

To honour the 50th anniversary of the National Finals of Reach for the Top (2016), the estate of Robert Jeffrey contributed to the establishment of the Reach for the Top Foundation, offering cash awards to celebrate student achievement.

In the 1990s, Robert Jeffrey, through Paulus Productions Inc., was a founding member of PFG (the Paulus Film Group), which nurtured a younger generation of Canadian filmmakers whose output included feature films and award-winning videos for broadcast on the Bravo (Canada) network. Besides Jeffrey, PFG was made up of Daniel Hill, Robert Crossman, Drew Mullin, David Greene, Aaron Woodley and Paul G. Russell.

Robert Jeffrey served as executive producer on a number of these projects and was often cast in cameo roles by the directors. Several PFG films, such as "Bed & Breakfast," won recognition at film festivals in Atlanta, Columbus, Houston, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Chicago and Toronto.

Robert died of heart failure at his home in Toronto, on September 17, 2004. His archive is at the University of Guelph.