Talk:List of famous British Columbians

Lowry, Karloff, Harding and others

OK, I admit that Lowry shouldn't (maybe) have been there either... but I suggest that a sublist of "Notable people from Vancouver or with ties to Vancouver" should be made (I got that section heading from the Bellingham, Washington page), as the bios of people like this are linked to the city, and at least in Lowry's case are also tied to its cultural history (Under The Volcano was written while Lowry was living in his squat on the Maplewood Mud Flats, and his October Ferry To Gabriola is a classic account of expat life/culture in BC in the 1940s. As for Karloff, I'll refer you to the article in yesterday's Vancouver Sun First 'Bride of Frankenstein' was a B.C. woman which recounts how Karloff's career as an actor was launched in BC while he was a British immigrant to Canada; not born here (neither was Jack Webster, for instance) but an immigrant nonetheless, and his career started out here etc (read the article for details, many of which should be added to the Boris Karloff article). Harding, on the other hand, was from BC and should be re-added to the list, except that there's no article for her yet....then there's Mitzi Gaynor and Bob Goulet, whose careers and lives are deeply linked to the post-war Vancouver nightclub/entertainment scene; and until recently at least Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn and others who have become, at least temporarily, denizens of the vainest city on earth....I don't think we can not include such people, although the section heading should indicate (as suggested above) that these are only people LINKED to British ColumbiaSkookum1 20:47, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

A sublist of "Notable people with ties to BC" sounds like a good idea. Neither Karloff nor Lowry could reasonably be called "British Columbians," having lived here no more than a couple of years (Karloff lived in Canada for a total of three years). We should probably place some criteria on the "List of famous British Columbians," don't you think. While Webster wasn't born here, he lived here most of his life and I'm sure would be seen as a British Columbian by most. So one of the criteria would be to have lived here a certain length of time. Other criteria? Sunray 05:15, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Webster's a case in point of one of my own favorite themes in BC history: the adoption of British Columbian identity, despite any audible or visible ethnic culture; I've developed a chance coffeehouse acquaintance with Doug Abbott, another famous local-openliner, and he remains indisputably Irish but also British Columbian....

As far as a List of notable people with ties to BC goes, by that title or another, or as a subsection of the list overleaf, criteria for inclusion we should probably work out in advance. Probably best to exclude those who habitually holidayed here, generally discreetly; I'm thinking of Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, some of the Ratpack, all of whom frequented Painter's Lodge and the like, as well as the various and lengthy list of big-game hunting clients and skiing guests and more. I'm also not sure about parachuted politicians like John A. Macdonald, who represented a Victoria riding without ever seeing the place (until later), or even John Turner, despite the latter's "Vancouver roots" he was pretty much a political carpetbagger in '84.

But then there's those like the Russell-Hawns who made it their adopted home for a while, or as previously mentioned Mitzi Gaynor and other entertainers who so habituated the place that they were part of the local scene. Mark Vonnegut (Kurt Jr's son) lived in Kitsilano, as recounted in his autobiographical novel about his schizophrenia; not a Vancouverite, but Vancouver was an indelible part of his experience. Religious leaders of various kinds and qualities, ranging from Brother Twelve to Peter Verigin and others, come to mind in terms of the list overleaf, but uwu

Then there's distinguishing between local celebrities/notables. Where's Joe Mock if Valdy is there? WOT? Valdy's not there?? Tommy Chong may be Edmontonian, but it was Vancouver he went weird in, IIRC. If Jim Byrnes is on the list, then I'd expect Jerry Doucette to be, too; and Koko Taylor (although I think she's already there; in fact there's a number of soul/blues musicians who should be on the list who probably aren't). Jimi Hendrix also deserves mention as someone with links to Vancouver, and not in a small way. The main list needs serious research/expansion; I've been meaning to write Hugh Pickett and Mart Kenney bios (Dal Richards is there already I think); Kazuyoshi Akiyama should be there, though he's no longer the conductor of the VSO, and so on.

Secluded-property holders; Robert Redford, the guys from Yes, Tom Selleck, and others, all have had large estates in BC for many years, and there's others since. Van Damme hangs out in Vancouver, among other B-grade stars. Don't even get me started on porn stars....and a Notable Folks list couldn't be complete without David Duchovny, Ken Wahl, whatsisname from Highlander, Peter DeLuise and not a few others who worked or are working here so much they are (or were) locals.

So let's start some proper definitions/guidelines; I'll try and start some in the morning, unless you want to first: