Monday, April 8, 2013

RIP Greg Kramer

We are very sorry to hear of the passing of Greg Kramer.
Please share your own memories of Mr. Kramer in the comments section below.

7 comments:

  1. I met Greg many years ago at the Theatre Centre in Toronto. Creative, lovely man with a wicked sense of humour. My heart goes out to his family and friends, collaborators, accomplices and fans.

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  2. The man simply gave productions he was in weight.

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  3. Official statement from The Segal Centre:

    “We mourn the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Greg Kramer. We cherish the time we spent with Greg, an inspired and talented actor, director, writer, musician and magician. Greg devoted his life to his art. We honour his memory and legacy by continuing on with his final gift to the world, his Sherlock Holmes.”

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  4. Greg Kramer was the impetus to launch The Riverbank Press with his first novel, The Pursemonger of Fugu. He was a generous, funny, kind, massively talented man and a pure joy to work with. We spent hours over the dining room table discussing his manuscripts - conversations fuelled by caffeine and his wit, and filled with laughter over his outrageous imagination and love of words.

    A review of Wally, his novel about the theatre: http://www.straight.com/article/wally-by-greg-kramer

    His positive outlook on life and his wonderful creativity will be missed.

    Attila Berki

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    1. Attila, I believe we met briefly once when I was in Canada visiting Greg.

      Everything you said is true. He also encouraged others' creative pursuits.

      It seems strange knowing I'll never receive another outrageously funny message from him... I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach although his reply to that would likely be to take an anti-acid and get on with life.

      Libby A. Smith (formerly Smith Singleton)
      Arkansas, USA

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  5. From his agent's press release:

    Greg Kramer, actor/ writer/ director, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 51. He was pronounced dead Monday April 8th, in his Montreal apartment.
    Greg Kramer was a highly respected member of Canada's theatre community and one of Montreal's top actors. Primarily known for his work as an actor, director, playwright and novelist, he was also a talented magician, singer, pianist and visual artist. There was seemingly nothing he couldn't do and do well.
    Greg was to play the role of Inspector Lestrade in his newest adapted play Sherlock Holmes this May at The Segal Centre. But, he never made it to the first day of rehearsals. He was also in the midst of recording voices on a new video game at Ubisoft.
    Greg had a lot yet to accomplish. Recently, he appeared in SideMart’s The Haunted Hillbilly, for which he was nominated for a Best Actor MECCA award. As a director his production of Sade was nominated for Toronto’s Dora award (Outstanding Production) in 1991. As a novelist, his first novel, The pursemonger of fugu, was shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award.
    Greg was also an accomplished musician and singer. While playing the role of Mississippi Gene in the adaptation of Kerouac's On the Road, Greg made up a song as he shot his scenes. Director Walter Sales and producer Francis Ford Coppola liked so much they kept it in the film. His rendition of Sweet Sixteen can be heard on the films' original soundtrack.
    His agent and long time friend for Mollye Reisler was deeply affected by his passing: ''Greg was an extraordinary talent with a far reach, a man of the theatre. This is a tragic loss to the community. He was too young to go, though he struggled with health issues in the past. He was a bright star that will continue to shine on all of us. ''
    Greg Kramer was a two time cancer survivor and had been living with HIV for years. Despite his multiple health battles, no one expected his passing as he seemed to be doing well.

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