MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. – Actor Donnelly Rhodes, best-known in Canada for his roles in “Sidestreet” and “Da Vinci’s Inquest,” died Monday of cancer. He was 80.
A news release from the talent agency Northern Exposure says Rhodes died at the Baillie House Hospice in Maple Ridge, B.C.
The Winnipeg-born actor received numerous accolades, including a Gemini award for his leading role in the drama “Da Vinci’s Inquest” in 2002 and a Gemini Earle Grey Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2006.
Rhodes was also recognized by the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame with a star on Granville Street’s Star Walk in Vancouver.
Rhodes, who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as an airman-mechanic before settling into his career as an actor, was also known in the U.S. for his role as the dim-witted escaped con Dutch in the ABC soap opera spoof “Soap.”
He studied at the Manitoba Theatre Centre and was a member of the first graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada in 1963.
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