Edward James "Ted" Follows (November 30, 1926 – October 21, 2016) was a Canadian film, television and stage actor. He was best known for playing the role of Macduff in Macbeth at the Stratford Festival and the 1961 CBC Television film adaptation, and his television roles as the title character in the CBC drama series McQueen, as crown attorney Arnold Bateman in Wojeck, and as Charles Tupper, Minister of Railways, in The National Dream.

Early life and education

Follows was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1926 to Edward James Follows and Isabella (née Latimer) Follows, and had a younger brother, Jack. He was raised in a variety of locations across Canada as his father was a serviceman with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Ted Follows attended high school in Winnipeg. He studied psychology at the University of Toronto, also acting in Hart House theatre productions, and following his graduation he had his first professional acting role in 1945.

Career

Over the next number of years, Follows regularly toured Canada and the United Kingdom with the Canadian Players and the Canadian Repertory Theatre Company, before being invited to join the Stratford company in 1955.

In 2001, Follows directed a production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever in Gravenhurst, with a cast that included himself, his ex-wife Dawn Greenhalgh, all of their children and their children's spouses. They subsequently mounted a tour of the production to several Southern Ontario cities in 2003.

Personal life

He married actress Dawn Greenhalgh in 1958. The couple had four children, including actress Megan Follows and television writer and producer Edwina Follows, before divorcing in 1979. Follows later remarried to Susan Trethewey, a musician with the Stratford Festival Orchestra in 1988.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRole
1953Rob Roy: The Highland RogueDouglas MacGregor
1957Oedipus RexChorus
1973Paperback HeroCagey
1980VirusDr. Baines
1989Cold ComfortRoy

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1954Sunday Night TheatrePvt. BrownEpisode: "The Promised Years #2: The Good Partners"
1956–1961General Motors TheatreVarious roles12 episodes
1959Hudson's BaySam Gifford2 episodes
1960The UnforeseenCharlesEpisode: "Desire"
1960StartimeRaphaelEpisode: "The Zeal of Thy House"
1960–1962FestivalHurst / Mickser / Major4 episodes
1961MacbethMacDuffTelevision film
1961The Conquest of CobbletownFred CobbleTelevision film
1961QuestWu2 episodes
1961–1962PlaydateVarious roles6 episodes
1963The United States Steel HourSeatonEpisode: "The Troubled Heart"
1966SeawayDavid Miller / Darby3 episodes
1966–1968WojeckArnie Bateman20 episodes
1969Quentin Durgens, M.P.Cabinet ministerEpisode: "Master of the House"
1969–1970McQueenMcQueen14 episodes
1974The National DreamCharles TupperEpisode: "The Great Debate"
1974PerformanceImmigration OfficerEpisode: "Find Volopchi!"
1979The Spirit of Adventure: Night FlightLeblancTelevision film
1979The Great DetectivePercyEpisode: "Death Takes a Curtain Call"
1980–1982The Littlest HoboVarious roles5 episodes
1988War of the WorldsGeneral Arquette2 episodes
1992E.N.G.CommissionerEpisode: "True Patriot Love"
1992CounterstrikeUnknownEpisode: "Cyborg"
1992Wojeck: Out of the FireArnold BatemanTelevision film
1993MatrixMr. PrestonEpisode: "The Yellow Chamber"
1993Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney StoryAirplane ManTelevision film
1993JFK: Reckless YouthPatsy Mulkern2 episodes

External links