Michael Burgess was a Canadian actor and singer best known for his role as Jean Valjean in more than 1,000 live stage productions of Les Misérables at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theater, and on tour throughout Canada.
Burgess also appeared on the Canadian television productions Friday's Curse, Bordertown and PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, all of which also aired in the U.S. Additionally, he had roles in the television movies The Sandy Bottom Orchestra, H.M.S. Pinafore and You Must Remember This.
In 1995, PBS’s Great Performances filmed “Les Misérables in Concert” live at the Royal Albert Hall. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the musical, the television special featured Burgess and dozens of other Jean Valjeans from different nations, all singing parts of “Do You Hear the People Sing” in their native languages.
Michael Burgess was a Canadian actor and singer best known for his role as Jean Valjean in more than 1,000 live stage productions of Les Misérables at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theater, and on tour throughout Canada.
Burgess also appeared on the Canadian television productions Friday's Curse, Bordertown and PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, all of which also aired in the U.S. Additionally, he had roles in the television movies The Sandy Bottom Orchestra, H.M.S. Pinafore and You Must Remember This.
In 1995, PBS’s Great Performances filmed “Les Misérables in Concert” live at the Royal Albert Hall. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the musical, the television special featured Burgess and dozens of other Jean Valjeans from different nations, all singing parts of “Do You Hear the People Sing” in their native languages.
He was also notably the first person to sing the Canadian anthem, “O Canada,” at a World Series baseball game, in Atlanta in 1992.
Burgess died September 28, 2015, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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