# Joy Coghill

Joy Dorothy Coghill-Thorne, CM, (May 13, 1926 – January 20, 2017) was a Canadian actress, director, and writer. Her obituary in The Vancouver Sun described her as having had "a seven-decade run at the top of the Vancouver theatre world."

## Early life and education

Coghill was born in Findlater, Saskatchewan, Canada on May 13, 1926, the daughter of J.G. Coghill and Dorothy Pollard Coghill. Her father was a Presbyterian minister. She was educated at King's Park Secondary School and Queen's Park Secondary School in Glasgow, Scotland. After returning to Canada, she attended Kitsilano Secondary School and began performing in school theatre productions. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia in 1949 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1951.

## Career

Coghill and Myra Benson founded Canada's first professional touring children's theatre, Holiday Theatre in 1953. From 1967 to 1969, Coghill was the artistic director of the Vancouver Playhouse. She was the first woman to hold that position. In 1994, Coghill founded Western Gold, a theatre company for senior professional actors in Vancouver. She also served as a director for the National Theatre School's English drama section in 1960. She held honorary degrees from Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia.
Her best-known work is Song of This Place, a play about the Canadian artist Emily Carr. In addition to her writing, Coghill has made guest appearances on Da Vinci's Inquest as Portia Da Vinci and as the dying human host Saroosh/Selmak on the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Tok'ra, Part 1 & 2".
Coghill received four Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for her theatrical accomplishments in Vancouver, British Columbia: Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance Award (1988–1989), Community Recognition Award (1989–1990), Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (1990–1991), and Unique Mandate and Contribution to the Theatre Community (1998–1999).
Other awards include a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, the Gemini Humanitarian Award, the Dominion Drama Festival acting award and a Canadian drama award. On October 25, 1990, she was made a member of the Order of Canada and cited as "a champion of Canadian talent and quality and as "a continuing inspiration to her colleagues in theatre throughout the country."

## Personal life

Coghill was married to John Thorne, a producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. On January 20, 2017, Coghill died of massive heart failure at St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was 90. She was survived by three children and two grandchildren.

## Plays

* Song of This Place

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1975 | Shivers | Mona Wheatley |
| 1978 | Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang | Mistress Fowl |
| 1984 | Change of Heart | Edna |
| 1987 | Blue Monkey | Dede Wilkens |
| 1994 | Andre | Betsy |
| 1998 | The Sleep Room | Mrs. Olson |
| 1999 | Double Jeopardy | Neighbor In Garden |
| 2000 | A Day in a Life | Dorthy |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1955 | General Motors Theatre | Sally | Episode: "Never Say No" |
| 1959 | Studio Pacific | Alice | Episode: "Anyone for Alice" |
| 1980, 1985 | The Beachcombers | Gertie | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Nobody's Child | Patient #1 | Television film |
| 1986 | Red Serge | Ruby Burris | Episode: "Apron Springs" |
| 1987 | Airwolf | Reverend Mother | Episode: "Flowers of the Mountain" |
| 1987 | Christmas Comes to Willow Creek | Charlotte | Television film |
| 1989 | Unsub | Mrs. Gleason | Episode: "White Bone Demon" |
| 1991 | 21 Jump Street | Mrs. Dixon | Episode: "Coppin' Out" |
| 1991 | Omen IV: The Awakening | Sister Francesca | Television film |
| 1991 | Street Justice | Rosemary Lyttle | Episode: "Sanctuary" |
| 1991 | My Son Johnny | Anna Cortino | Television film |
| 1993 | Miracle on Interstate 880 | Sister Mary | Television film |
| 1993 | Sherlock Holmes Returns | Ms. Baker | Television film |
| 1993 | Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica | Earlen | Television film |
| 1994 | Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story | Dr. Jorgenson | Television film |
| 1994 | The Commish | Mrs. Dawson | Episode: "Revenge" |
| 1995 | The X-Files | Linda Thibedeaux | Episode: "Aubrey" |
| 1995 | The Other Mother: A Moment of Truth Movie | Sister Vincent | Television film |
| 1995 | Sliders | Mrs. Ezra Tweak | Episode: "Summer of Love" |
| 1995 | My Life as a Dog | Auntie Auntie / Astrid Árnesson | 6 episodes |
| 1996 | Color Me Perfect | Jennifer | Television film |
| 1996, 1997 | Poltergeist: The Legacy | Elizabeth Baker / Mrs. Blake | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Viper | Mother Grace | Episode: "Echo of Murder" |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Jean | Episode: "The Vaccine" |
| 1998 | Stargate SG-1 | Saroosh / Selmak | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Crow: Stairway to Heaven | Laura Stansbury | Episode: "Before I Wake" |
| 1998–2003 | Da Vinci's Inquest | Portia Da Vinci | 6 episodes |
| 1999 | Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy | Violet Hutchison | Episode: "Deja Vu All Over Again" |
| 2000 | The Christmas Secret | Old Woman | Television film |
| 2002 | Living with the Dead | Mrs. Ziff | Television film |
| 2003 | Betrayed | Mabel Stewart | Television film |