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BC’s Star Attractions: Film & Television Stars

While many actors head to Hollywood North to appear in a variety of film and television productions, British Columbia can lay claim to some of its own high profile names.Here’s a list of ten such stars with notable Vancouver ties:

Pamela Anderson
Born July 1st 1967, 100 years to the day after Canada entered Confederation, this former Baywatch icon made her television debut in 1984, guest starring opposite Scott Baio in the cheesy TV show Charles In Charge. In recent years, Pamela Denise Anderson has been featured in numerous scandal papers for her high profile and rocky marriage to rock star Tommy Lee.On April 15th, 1999 the mother of two had her notable breast implants removed.Anderson was born and raised in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island.

Gil Bellows
“Why do therapists always have to talk about sex?” asks Gil Bellows as Billy Thomas in the hit TV series Ally McBeal.Before rising to fame opposite Calista Flockhart, the Vancouver born Bellows appeared in close to a dozen projects including the 1994 feature film The Shawshank Redemption.In 1994, Bellows married actor Rya Kihlstedt.

Sarah Chalk
Raised in North Vancouver, Sarah Chalk hit the spotlight when she took over the role of Becky Conner in the TV series Roseanne.Chalk still works on a number of Vancouver projects and has starred as Gloria McIntosh in the TV series Nothing Too Good For a Cowboy.

Tommy Chong & Family
One half of the pot smoking characters Cheech and Chong, Alberta- born Tommy Chong has appeared as a hardcore stoner in more than a dozen feature films.But long before that, he hit the 1960s' music scene as a guitarist in the sextet Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers.Two of Chong’s four actor children, Rae Dawn and Robbi Chong, were born in Vancouver.

William B. Davis
While many associate William Bruce Davis with the X-Files’ Cancer Man, the former Canadian national water-skiing champ gave up smoking in the late 1970s.Davis smokes herbal cigarettes in the X-Files and campaigns against smoking for the Canadian Cancer Society.He’s widely seen as one of Vancouver’s strongest acting talents and is the founder of the William Davis Centre for Actor’s Study.Davis still takes time to teach advanced acting classes.

Michael J. Fox
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Michael J. Fox grew up in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby.The 5’4” star of TV’s Family Ties (1982-1989) has appeared in close to 50 television and film projects.In December of 1998, Fox shocked the world when he revealed he had beendiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991.Fox has been married to actor Tracy Pollan since 1988.They have three children.

Chief Dan George (1899-1981)
One of Canada’s best-known icons, North Vancouver-born Chief Dan George was the first Native Indian nominated for an Academy Award (that was for his supporting role opposite Dustin Hoffman in 1970’s Little Big Man).The retired longshoreman turned to acting late in life and managed to change Hollywood’s stereotype of Native Indians.He appeared in close to a dozen feature films and made numerous television appearances.At least one British Columbia public school has been named after Chief Dan George.

Corey Haim
While born in Toronto, Corey “Space Ace” Haim maintains his talent representation in Vancouver. While starring in numerous B-grade teen and horror films, Haim might be best known for his leading role as a nerdy high school boy fighting for acceptance in the 1986 film Lucas.

Jason Priestley
Chosen in 1991 as one of People Magazine’s most beautiful people, the Vancouver-born Jason Bradford Priestley is best known for his role as Brandon Walsh in TV’s Beverly Hills, 90210.As an unknown actor, Priestley appeared as a bit-player in 1986’s well-crafted Vancouver-shot film The Boy Who Could Fly.In late 1999, Priestley was busted on suspicion of drunk driving after crashing his car into a pole in California.He claimed he swerved to miss a deer.

Dorothy Stratten
Born in Vancouver in 1960, Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten’s story is one of the most heartbreaking tales out of British Columbia.Dorothy Stratten’s short-lived fame grew rapidly after she became a Playboy Playmate of the Month in August 1979.While in Hollywood, the fresh-faced girl from Vancouver appeared in five terrible, low budget films before landing the role of Dolores Martin in the Audrey Hepburn romantic comedy They All Laughed.That film was released in 1981 after Stratten’s death.Her husband, Paul Leslie Snider, murdered Dorothy Stratten on August 14th 1980.