B: 1934 in Newfoundland
Now and again we’re confronted by a minor issue of nationality. Burnell Tucker is one such case. You would think being born in Newfoundland would qualify him as Canadian, but he was born in the mid-1930s, some 15 years before the British colony became a Canadian province and even then by a slim vote. In the first referendum only 41.1% of the vote was for confederation with Canada. That increased to only 52.3% in the second and final referendum in July 1948. Newfoundland officially joined Canada at midnight, March 31, 1949. Tucker’s career began in England and he appeared, usually in small, often uncredited roles, in some of the most popular movies ever made, including Dr. Strangelove, a couple of Star Wars features, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the first two Superman movies and more. Many of his early credits were in the era of live drama on television. We have listed those productions as made-for-TV movies, and the title of the main series follows the year of broadcast. |
Features & TV Movies: The Stone Faces (TV-1957, BBC Sunday-Night Theatre) The Caine Mutiny Court Martial (1958, BBC Sunday-Night Theatre) The Key (TV-1962, Drama 62) Mr. Forbush and the Penguins (1972) Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) The Affair (TV-1995) U.S. Seals (VR-2000) TV Series – Cast: TV Series – Guest appearances: Suspense (1962) Codename (1970) Tales of the Unexpected (1983) The Paradise Club (1990) I Shouldn’t Be Alive (2006) Doctor Who (2012) |
