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Celebs from Montreal...
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NEW: *Take the MONTREAL CELEBRITY QUIZ at the bottom of this page.
Picture this...
You're having lunch in a cafe. You look around and you see stars Keifer Sutherland, Ben Affleck, Ethan Hawke, and that girl from 24. You must be in Beverly Hills, 90210, right?
You return home... your neighbors are Leonard Cohen, William Shatner, and Mario Lemieux. You live in a Bel Air mansion and play tennis with celebs, right?
Wrong, in both cases!
You are on vacation in Montreal!
During the Christmas 2004 holiday, my Dad's friend, Mark was enjoying some Boxing Day shopping, fresh air, and special culture of Montreal! And so were the likes of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg,(and probably many, many, more!).
How do I know? My spies!
Mark saw them at Indigo Bookstore, downtown -- they were in town, they told Mark, filming a Hollywood movie. A Hollywood movie in Montreal? Very tricky, Steven!
It only gets more exciting from there...
A day later my friend Phil spotted Ethan Hawke enjoying a smoked meat sandwich at Schwartz's. What is it about Schwartz's that attracts Hollywood Celebs like bees to honey?
We later found out that Ethan Hawke was cheating on his wife, Uma Thurman with Montreal model (and my best friend's high-school classmate) Jen Perzow.
And once the summer festival season started, forget about it...
celebs were popping up faster than photographers could load their film.
Where should you go in Montreal for the highest chance of seeing a celebrity?
Well, to rub shoulders with
1) Sexy Celebs, go to the Montreal Grand Prix; one of the most exciting and loud places you'll ever be.
You're guaranteed to see many of Hollywood's most rugged, car crazed men like Jay Leno, Russel Crowe, Nicolas Cage, and Paul Newman.
If you don't know who Paul Newman is, ask your mom or even grandmother and watch them go weak in the knees.
Paul Newman at the Montreal Grand Prix
Women who crave the spotlight and the parties, like Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton, come every year.
2) Random Stars: It doesn't get any better than Schwartz's, a very unhealthy and famous Montral restaurant. Recently, my waiter told me that in 2006 alone he personally served actress Halle Berry, the band The Rolling Stones, football players from the San Fransisco 49ers, the band Aerosmith, former Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin, and Hollywood nice guy Tom Hanks. Click here to read about my recent trip to Schwartz's and the people I met there.
Celebs seem to find Montreal a really cool place to visit. But there are also many famous Montrealers. The celebs who were born here. Who learned their craft. Who conquered the world.
Here's a list of the...
Top 10 Most Famous Montealers
TIP 1: Try to identify them all before you scroll down to the bottom of the page for the answers. This will help you decide who you think is the Most Famous Montrealer of them all.
Ok, here we go...
1)
Born March 22nd 1931, this famous Montrealer was, in many ways, ahead of his time...
He used
- a cell phone
- a personal computer
- over-acting
Long before these things were widely used.
Also, he took part in the first interracial kiss shown on television.
In the 1990's, the students at McGill Univisity named their student union building after him.
Yes, more than anyone, this Montreal celeb went where no man has gone before...
2)
Born September 21st, 1934.
He is a poet. He is a novelist. He is a singer. He is a songwriter. He is a Buddhist monk. He is an observant Jew.
He is the most famous Montrealer still living in Montreal.
This person is known to be a ladies man, someone obsessed with both the sacred and the profane.
His poems and songs have touched millions:
silence
and a deeper silence
when the crickets
hesitate.
or
There is a crack
in everything
that's how the light
gets in.
But as he would say: "Poetry is not an occupation, it's a verdict."
Well, my verdict is in.
He's someone to be cherished.
3)
Born October 10, 1925 - Died September 7, 2003.
Do you know who this is?
He was Montreal's strongman; someone you'd want as a bouncer at your wedding!
He's also a celeb that other celebs were frightened of...
He is claimed to have gone to work with a pick and shovel at the age of 6 and to have been able to uproot trees with a cable around his neck by age 12 (an anecdote that is not confirmed).
He first made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1952 by pulling a 433-tonne train 19.8 metres. He would later make it into Guinness by pulling four city buses loaded with passengers. He could also wrestle 18 men at once and juggle 6 people on his shoulders.
He weighed 465 pounds (211 kg) and stood about 6 foot 4 inches (1.93 m). His suits were size 90, and his shoes size 28.
His landlady accused him of shattering toilets, and he claimed to own the world's biggest rocking chair (2 metres by 4 metres).
He could eat 25 chickens or 10 steaks at one sitting.
As the photo illustrates, he was a strong man with a weak sense fashion!
4)
Born December 28, 1763 - Died January 1836.
Don't let his flirtatious smile and ruby red cheeks fool you...
This Montrealer is the culprit behind drunk driving, accidental courtships, and many-a-drinking game.
He's the Montreal celeb that other Montreal celebs get drunk with...
He founded Montreal's oldest beer brewery.
The company that bears his name lives on in our college fridges and major sports arenas.
Everything you regret saying at a party...
Can be traced back to him!
His company made one of the most defining Canadian commercials. A classic.
Watch this, it's hilarious..
Concordia University's school of business is named after him. But unlike Captain Kirk, he had to pay for the honor.
5)
Born 1979
Is it a pizza pie, is it a pie chart, is it a pomegranate?
No. It's the most popular board game ever invented.
If this photo didn't transport you back to the 1980's, I'm not doing my job...
Because Trivial Pursuit, invented by two Montreal celebs, is all that and more!
Sometimes called "Jeopardy for the layman," Trivial Pursuit took Jeopardy and made the questions answerable!
The result? Hours and hours of fun and millions and millions of dollars for its creators.
The game was conceived by a sports editor for the Canadian Press and a photo editor at the newspaper the Montreal Gazette.
The questions are organized into themes, such as "sports," "entertainment," and "science."
Here's a Trivial Pursuit question: Can you name 10 famous Montrealers?
If not, keep reading...
6)
Born August 15, 1925
Was he Montreal's answer to Jazz?
The snow came alive around his feet. He is considered by some critics as one of the greatest piano players of all time.
FUN FACT: As a child he played trumpet but by the age of seven, after a bout of tuberculosis, he concentrated on the piano.
In 1993, he suffered a serious stroke that weakened his left side and sidelined him for two years. However he has overcome this setback and is today still working on a limited basis.
Is there such a things as Canadian Jazz celebs? Here's living proof.
7)
Born 18, 1919 - Died September 28, 2000.
This is a photo of Canada's coolest Prime Minister performing an impromptu pirouette behind Queen Elizabeth II's back.
How popular was he...
Think 'JFK.'
But unlike JFK, he was prime minister over the span of three decades.
And was he able to accomplish anything?
Think JFK's potential, had John F. Kennedy not been murdered...
In the 60's he raised some eyebrows when he changed divorce laws and liberalized laws regarding abortion and homosexualty. When explaining his decisions, he told reporters: "The State has no place in the bedrooms of the nation."
That's more than George W. Bush has done so far!
And unlike George W. Bush, he was an incredible speaker.
Watch this video about the 1970 FLQ Crisis, when cabinet ministers were abducted at gun point. It's fascinating...
Pretty powerful stuff, eh?
But that's not all he accomplished...
- He bridged the gap between English Canada and French Quebec by promoting two offical languages in Canada.
- In 1980 he fought and won a democratic war to keep Quebec in Canada.
- He wrote the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- He made being a Prime Minister fashionable when he married a gorgeous 22 year old flower child, and then made divorce seem ugly when his wife slept with celebs the Rolling Stones!
Honorable Mentions: Many of Montreal's current political celebs were born in Montreal, including current Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, current NDP leader Jack Layton, current Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, and recent Prime Ministers of Canada Paul Martin, and Brian Mulroney.
8)
Hockey Celebs:
Born August 4, 1921 - Died May 27, 2000
Et Le But!
Translation: He Scores!
Nicknamed "The Rocket" because of his bone crushing speed and power, this Montreal celeb was the most exciting hockey player to ever lace up his skates.
Many French Canadians talk about the Rocket as if he was a French Canadian Martyr in a sea of English, but for my dad...
The Rocket was an excuse to slink away from the Passover table and crowd around the radio with his cousins to hear a playoff game.
He was the first to score 50 goals in one season (the 1944-45 NHL season), doing so in 50 games, and the first to score 500 goals in a career.
He won more Stanley Cups than anyone in his era.
He's a Montreal legend...maybe the most loved of all Montreal celebs.
Honorable Mentions: Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau, Patrick Roy, and perhaps the greatest hockey player of all time...Mario Lemieux.
Interestingly, Lemieux means "the best" in French. Coincidence?
9)
Singing Montreal Celebs:
Born March 30, 1968
What does Titanic, shattered glass, and Las Vegas all have in common?
Give up? Common, think...
They all share a connection with thiswoman.
Along with Leonard Cohen, she is Quebec's most famous singer.
If the Beatles were "Bigger Than Jesus," she's at least bigger than the French Catholic Church...
She famously sang "My Heart Will Go On" in the film Titanic, but if I had to listen to her sing for a full hour my heart will not want to go on.
In fact, I'd probably have a heart attack.
She now sings to other celebs in Las Vegas.
I'll spare you a video clip of her.
In fact, I'll even give you the answer: it's Celine Dion.
10)
Born October 18, 1980
And last but certainly least...me!
Yah, yah, I couldn't resist. Besides, this list needs some 'filler.'
I know I'm not one of Montreal's most famous celebs -- heck, I'm lucky if I crack the top 1 million Montreal celebs, but I'd really appreciate it if you can grant me this self subscribed honor...
Josh (me) has appeared on numerous CTV broadcasts, has been the topic on morning radio show CJAD, is a published poet and writer, is involved with the Make-A-Wish-Foundation (all true), and is the owner and editor of Visiting-Montreal.com, which has become one of the most popular websites for info, tips, and reservations for planning a trip to Montreal.
If you don't think I should be in the Top 10 Montreal Celebs list, you can email me here.
Answers to Mystery Montreal Celebs:
Top Montreal Celebs
1) William Shatner
2) Leonard Cohen
3) The Great Antonio
4) John Molson
5) Scott Abbott and Chris Haney
6) Oscar Peterson
7) Pierre Elliot Trudeau
8) Maurice "Rocket" Richard
9) Celine Dion
10) Josh from Visiting-Montreal.com
Now it's your turn to vote on your favorite. Which of the Montreal Celebs has had the biggest impact on your life?
Please click on the radio button of your favorite Monreal Celeb. When you click the My Favorite Montreal Celeb Vote button, I will show you how everyone else voted.
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