Eric Christmas

He began a long association with Canada's Stratford Festival in 1957, performing in 12 seasons and 21 Shakespearean productions until 1970. It was Christmas and a group of veteran actors like William Hutt, Tony Van Bridge, Jean Gascon, Douglas Rain, Amelia Hall, and Mervyn Blake (among others) who helped define Stratford in its early years.

He was artistic director at the Ottawa Repertory Company in 1954 and ran the Peterborough Summer Theatre that year.

His own show "Christmas is Coming" toured Canada in the 1950s.

After moving to Canada in 1948, he started a long association with television comedians Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster, playing the character Madam Hooperdink.

He was also the father of Stephen Christmas, born in London, England, February 12, 1947. Haemophilia B was first diagnosed in Stephen when he was five, and the disease was first named Christmas disease after the boy. Stephen was treated with blood transfusions and other blood products throughout his life, and eventually was infected with HIV, which killed him in December 1993.

Christmas trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, gained experience in English repertory theatre in 1936, and had a principal role in the London production of Noël Coward's "Bitter Sweet" in the 1930s. During the Second World War, he was a member of Royal Air Force production units and performed in the RAF's Gang Show.