Manitoba, eh?!

Tell us about some of the visitors/guests/celebrities/dignitaries
who have come to our province.

[Some statements below are subject to verification.]

Please send your corrections/additions to paul-armstrong@shaw.ca

Your comments will appear beside the name or at the bottom of this page
under 'Viewers' Comments" .

-- Stage Performances --
    At Winnipeg's Pantages/Playhouse Theatre :

  • Buster Keaton                 Will Rogers                        Stan Laurel
  • Jack Dempsey                Spencer Tracy                  Paul Robeson
  • Lawrence Olivier              Mills Bros.                        Anne Murray
  • Sara Vaughan               Cheech & Chong                 Vladimir Horowitz
  • Buddy Rich                    Ella Fitzgerald                    Ray Eldridge
  • Loretta Lynn                 Donald O'Connor                 Tina Turner
  • Dizzy Gillespie                Three Stooges                 Jascha Heifitz
  • Johnny Cash                   Hank Snow                      Wayne & Shuster
  • Basil Rathbone              Albert Spalding            -- others to be researched --
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Winnipeg's Auditorium :

  • Paul Robeson                 Glenn Gould                        Trapp Family Singers
  • Marian Anderson                Petula Clark                   Yehudi Menuhin
  • Margot Fonteyn              Artur Rubenstein               
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Winnipeg's Bijou Theatre :

  • Charlie Chaplin -- see 'Sidelights' below
                    -- others to be researched --           
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Winnipeg's Orpheum Theatre :

  • Jack Benny                 Sophie Tucker                        George Jessel
  •                 -- others to be researched --           
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Winnipeg's Walker Theatre :

  • Groucho Marx                 Ethyl Barrymore                        Lillian Russell
  •                 -- others to be researched --           
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Winnipeg's Amphitheatre :

  • John Philip Souza               
  • -- others to be researched --           
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Winnipeg's other venues (to be researched) include:

  • Marx Bros.
  • Boris Karloff
  • Sarah Bernhardt -- where?
  • Fatty Arbuckle -- bouncer -- later to be a Hollywood star
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Houdini -- escapes (to be researched)
  • Dean Gunnarson -- performing escape routines
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Bob Hope -- many live stage performances -- see 'Sidelights' below
  • Rod Stewart
  • Céline Dion
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Mick Jaggar & the Rolling Stones -- in concert
  • Paul McCartney & Wings -- in concert
  • "Buffalo Bill" Cody and his Wild West show
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • The Beach Boys
  • Diana Ross of the Supremes
  • Elton John
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Sophia Loren
  • ZsaZsa Gabor
  • U2
  • Joe Montana
  •                        -- others to be researched --
    -- Movie productions --
  • Harrison Ford -- filming 'K-12, The Widow Maker(?)' in Gimli
  • Robin Williams -- filming of movie'The Big White' (2004)
  • Jennifer Lopez -- filming of movie 'Shall We Dance'(2004)
  • Kevin Pollak -- filming of movie '7 Times Lucky'(2004)
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Brad Pitt -- filming 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' in Winnipeg [2006]
  • Ellen Burstyn -- filming of The Stone Angels.
  • Kate Beckinsale -- movie making
  • Jeff Daniels -- movie making
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Dennis Quaid --movie making -- performed with his band
  • Ziya Zhang --movie making
  • Diane Keaton -- movie filming
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Susan Sarandon -- filming of movie 'Shall We Dance'
  • Richard Gere (2003) -- filming of movie 'Shall We Dance'
  • Shirley MacLaine -- TV movie
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Russell Crowe -- filmed 'For the Moment' in Brandon --performed with his musical group in Winnipeg
  • Ben Affleck -- visiting Jennifer Lopez on set
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman :
    (1) while playing the title role in the movie Capote.
    (2) for this movie, he won the 2006 Best Actor award at the 2006 Academy Awards.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Reports of visitors/hunters [to be confirmed] to Delta Marsh include:

  • Clark Gable
  • Robert Taylor
  • Fred McMurray
  • Prince Edward (later King Edward VIII) hunted at Delta Marsh in 1919 as a guest of George Galt.
  • The Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V)
  • a list of other possible visitors appears under "Visitors' Comments" below
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Winnipeg's Manitoba Theatre Centre :

  • Kathleen Turner -- 'Travesties' & 'The Seagull'
  • Keanu Reeves -- 'Hamlet' [1995]
  • William Hurt -- 'Richard III' [2003]
  • Judd Hirsch -- 'Death of a Salesman' [1997]
  • Eric McCormick of 'Will and Grace' -- 'Falstaff' [1989]
  • Gordon Clapp of 'NYPD Blue' -- 'Death of a Salesman' [1979]
  • Paul Gross of 'Due South' -- 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' [1990]
  • Andrea Martin of 'SCTV' -- 'Salvation' [1971]
  • Al Waxman of 'King of Kensington' -- 'Proposals' [1999]
  • Efram Zimbalist Jr. & Stephenie Zimbalist -- 'Night of the Iguana' [2004]
  • Len Cariou to be researched
  • Gordon Pinsent -- 'A Hatful of Rain' [1958]
  • Zoe Caldwell -- 'Playboy of the Western World [1961] & 'Brecht's Mother Courage' [1965]

  • -- Politicians/Dignitaries --
  • Winston Churchill -- guest speaker (where?)
  • Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip -- several visits
  • Prince Charles -- several visits
  • King George VI & Queen Elizabeth - 1939 visit
  • Princess Anne -- to be researched
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Pope John II -- papal visit in 19??
  • Prince Albert of Monaco -- guest of the Manitoba Club
  • Prince Hussein of Jordan -- guest of the Manitoba Club
  • David Wilkins , American Ambassador to Canada, visiting Churchill, MB. [2005}
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Prince Fushimi , a brother of the Emperor of Japan
  • Rudyard Kipling -- guest speaker
  • Victor Yushchenko -- President of the Ukraine
  • Mother Theresa -- recipient of the St. Boniface Hospital Research Foundation Award in 1982
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Mark Twain -- guest of the Manitoba club
  • William T. Sherman possibly, a guest at the Manitoba club
  • Bill Clinton -- guest speaker (where?)
  • Klaus von Kluzing -- Nobel laureate -- guest speaker (where?)
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Rudy Guiliani , the former mayor of New York City.
  • Paul Rusesabagina -- was the subject of the movie Hotel Rwanda, an true story of one man's heroic effort to save 1000 people from genocide.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Charles Lindbergh visited Churchill, Mb
  • Martha Stewart visited Churchill, Mb
  • Arthur Conan Doyle attended a seance at the home of Thomas Glendenning Hamilton during his visit to Winnipeg in 1923. Dr. Hamilton was conducting research into psychic phenomena. The home is located on Henderson Highway & is known locally as the 'Hamilton House'.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger after his term as Governor of California
    -- Performing in Sports --
  • Jack Nicklaus -- played in men's senior golf tournament
  • Hank Aaron -- member of the Eau Claire Braves
  • Lefty Grove -- pitched at Osborne Stadium
  • Tony Hawk [2006] is considered the pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Steve Carlton -- a member of the 1950's 'Winnipeg Goldeyes'
  • Willie Wells -- coach of the Winnipeg Buffaloes -- member of the Coopertown's Hall of Fame -- played in the Negro Leagues
  • Leon Day -- pitcher for the Winnipeg Buffaloes -- member of the Coopertown's Hall of Fame -- played in the Negro Leagues.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Ted (Double Duty) Radcliffe -- a member of the 1950's 'Winnipeg Goldeyes (Buffaloes?)'
  • Stan Musial -- exhibition game in Winnipeg
  • Satchel Paige -- exhibition game in Brandon
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Mark Spitz swam at the 1967 Pan-Am Games.
  • Mark Tewksbury -- to be researched.
  • John L. Sullivan was the first world's heavyweight boxing champion.
    -- Other Categories --
  • Archie Delaney -- known as 'Grey Owl' -- lived for ? years in Riding Mountain Nat'l Park
  • Martha Stewart -- opening a new Sears store
  • Richard Burton -- trainee pilot in Dauphin area
  • Buster Crabbe was one of those who played Tarzan in the movies.
  • Henry Morton Stanley was the famed African explorer of "Mr. Stanley, I presume." fame.
  • Steve Nash -- NBA star -- recipient of the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation's 2011 International Award
    -- Sidelights --
  • Charlie Chaplin , while in Winnipeg, received a telegram offering him a Hollywood career.
    --------
  • Bob Hope , it is claimed, played his first game of golf in Winnipeg.
    --------
  • Sitting Bull :
    (1) Strong Currents: A History of Sturgeon Creek by Laurel Porth, claims that Sitting Bull came to Manitoba on two occasions. It is claimed that he camped on Sturgeon Creek.
    (2) Gordon Wasteste, a Dakota Sioux historian, claims that the remains of Sitting Bull is buried in a secret location in the Turtle Mountain region of Manitoba. He states that it was moved from two other locations in the U.S.A.
    (3) A map in the Moncur Gallery in Boissevain states that in that area was a "temporary Sioux encampment following victory at Battle of Little Big Horn July 25, 1876". -- see 'Viewers' Comments' below

Viewers' Comments

Phyllis Hallett [Boissevein]

Before the boundary between Canada & the USA was established and even after, the territory of the Plains First Nations (Sioux and others) extended North into Canada. When the "Indian Wars" were being fought in the US, the Sioux & others sought refuge by crossing the "medicine line" (border) into Canada. Queen Victoria was reigning at the time & the natives referred to Canada as the Grandmother's Land.

"In 1886 one section of land on the northern slope of the Turtle's Head was finally surveyed and ownership assigned to the families of Hadamanie's band. This reserve (IR #60) was also created by an order-in-council. Even more unusual, it was not created as common land in the manner of most Native reserves. Instead it was subdivided into 80 acre plots. with each plot assigned to one family head." Hadamanie's band had been in occupation for 25 years, and yet all the Federal government would permit was a temporary arrangement of individual plots. From 1886 until 1909 pressure was maintained on the band to sell the plots and move to one of the other Dakota reserves, usually Oak Lake or Sioux Valley" (Turtle Mountain Tales : The Council Stones" by J. A. M. Ritchie c) 2001 Moncur Gallery - Peoples of the Plains).

The Battle of the Little Big Horn, 1876, was ten years prior to the establishment of IR #60 but Councils were held on Turtle Mountain long before the reserve was established and the Sioux (Dakota) and many other Nations frequented the Turtle Mountains and the plains to the North.

Boissevain & Morton Regional Library has an extensive collection of books documenting the history and spirituality of the Plains Natives which are available on interlibrary loan.

Glen Suggett [?]

The Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V, hunted at Delta in 1901. Lord Minto, Governor General at the time, hunted at Delta in 1900 and 1901. In 1919, Edward Prince of Wales (son of George V and briefly King of England himself in the 1930s) hunted at Delta with George Galt at Lake Francis Lodge. In 1938, Clark Gable hunted at Delta with Jimmy Robinson, a writer with Sports Afield magazine, before he began filming Gone with the Wind. (Some stories about this hunt, including one written by Jimmy Robinson, incorrectly state that Gable visited Delta after filming Gone with the Wind. They didn’t start shooting with the major actors until January 26, 1939, a few months after Gable’s September 1938 hunt at Delta. Also, Gable only hunted at Delta once – he was not a regular visitor.

There were lots of others who hunted at Delta at various times, so it depends on how you define celebrity. The Richardson and Eaton families have or had hunting lodges at Delta. James Ford Bell, founder of General Mills, had a lodge at Delta, still owned by his family. Wally Schara, the astronaut, Michael Landon, Hubert Humphrey, etc, etc. also visited and or hunted at Delta. Aldo Leopold, father of wildlife management in the US, and Al Hochbaum, noted author and artist, founded the Delta Waterfowl Station at Delta. It is quite a list, and I’m sure there are more that I’ve overlooked at the moment.

I don’t have any information to either confirm or deny that Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers, Ginger Rogers, Don Ameche or Howard Hughes visited Delta. If you have anything to confirm that they were at Delta, I’d be interested in seeing it. I have a vague recollection that Fred McMurray was at Sports Afield Lodge, but can’t put my hands on anything to confirm that at the moment. Another actor who was big at the time, Robert Taylor, hunted at Delta with Jimmy Robinson. Robert Stack hunted with Jimmy Robinson in the states, but I’m not sure if he made it to Delta or not. For additional info, contact the Winnipeg Public Library for:
(1) 'One Theatre Way: Winnipeg Theatres & Vaudeville Houses' -- VHS 971.2743 One.
(2) to be researched