# Sean McCann (actor)

William Leonard Sean McCann (September 24, 1935 – June 13, 2019) was a Canadian actor and was in the business for over 55 years. He was best known for his roles as Lt. Jim Hogan in the 1985 CTV television drama series Night Heat (1985–1989), Frank Rittenhauer in the comedy film Tommy Boy (1995) and the Judge in Chicago (2002).
A recipient of the Earle Grey Award for his lifetime achievement in television, Sean McCann appeared in over 150 movies, television programs and plays.

## Early life

Sean McCann was born in Windsor, Ontario, on September 24, 1935, to Alta (née Tobin) and Jack McCann.

## Career
### Notable roles and awards

McCann was in The Law of Enclosures, with Sarah Polley and Diane Ladd. He appeared with Meryl Streep (...First Do No Harm), Nick Nolte (Affliction) and Chris Farley (Tommy Boy). He shared screen time with Brenda Fricker and Miranda Richardson in Swann (for which McCann received a Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Genie nomination), Nicolas Cage in Trapped in Paradise, Kevin Bacon in The Air Up There, Sam Waterston in A House Divided, Peter Weller and Judy Davis in Naked Lunch (which garnered a National Film Critics Society award), Brooke Shields and the late Al Waxman in What Makes a Family, and Kurt Russell in Miracle. He appeared in the movie Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave (made for Canadian TV, December, 1980).
In 1980, he starred in the second season of the nationally syndicated American situation comedy, The Baxters. On the series, McCann played Jim Baxter, a middle-class father of three children living in a suburb of St. Louis. Originally produced by Norman Lear in its first season, the series was the first "interactive sitcom" of its kind, wherein the first half of each 30-minute episode presented a vignette dramatizing the events in the lives of the Baxter family, and the second half was an "instant analysis" talk show segment, giving a live studio audience and guests an opportunity to express their opinions about the topic being presented that week.
In 1999, he won a Gemini Award for Best Guest Actor in a Series for Power Play. McCann was twice nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Pre-School Series, for 1998's beloved Noddy as Grandpa Noah Tomten. McCann was singled out at the 1987 Gemini Awards with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his recurring role in Night Heat. McCann also starred in Robert Lepage's Genie-award winning Possible Worlds, and appeared in the Golden Globe-nominated Small Sacrifices with Farrah Fawcett. In addition, McCann worked with such legendary directors as Sidney Lumet, Ken Russell, David Green, Paul Schrader and David Cronenberg.
In 1988, he took on a role he spoke of most fondly - Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in The King Chronicle. Directed by the renowned Canadian documentarian Donald Brittain, the mini-series was a 6-hour CBC and NFB co-production that aired to great popular and critical acclaim. One year later, McCann joined the ranks of such celebrated performers as Lorne Greene, Kate Reid and Gordon Pinsent, when he won the Earle Grey Award.
He also appeared in the Toronto Fringe Festival production of Bad Skater, Good Hands written by Gregor M. Robinson.

### Other interests

McCann studied at St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario to prepare himself for the priesthood.
A baseball fan since the days of his youth, McCann served as an amateur Associate Scout with the Toronto Blue Jays since their early years, spoke often about baseball to professional organizations, and was named to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
McCann ran as an Ontario Liberal Party candidate in the 1977 Ontario general election, against Roy McMurtry in the electoral district of Eglinton.

## Personal life

From 1968 until his death in 2019, he was married to Andrée Paquet for 51 years, and he had five children.

### Death

McCann died on June 13, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 83 from heart failure brought about by a heart disease he had suffered through most of his life.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | A Quiet Day in Belfast | Peter O'Lurgan | |
| 1975 | Sudden Fury | Polanski | |
| 1976 | The Far Shore | Cluny | |
| 1977 | The Uncanny | Inspector | Segment: "Hollywood 1936" |
| 1977 | Starship Invasions | Carl | |
| 1978 | Three Card Monte | Car Salesman | |
| 1979 | Title Shot | Lieutenant Grace | |
| 1980 | Nothing Personal | Jake | |
| 1980 | Hog Wild | Colonel Warner | |
| 1980 | Atlantic City | Detective | Credited as Sean McCaan |
| 1980 | Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave | Jack | |
| 1981 | Death Hunt | News Reporter | |
| 1981 | Tulips | Roger | |
| 1981 | Silence of the North | Man on Soup Line | |
| 1982 | I Know a Secret | Six-Toed Jimmy | Short film |
| 1984 | Hockey Night | Mr. Kozak | |
| 1985 | One Step Away | Building Manager | Short film |
| 1986 | The High Price of Passion | John Benedict | |
| 1986 | Flying | Jack Crew | |
| 1986 | In This Corner | Joe Dunne |
| 1988 | Criminal Law | Jacob Fisher | |
| 1994 | The Air Up There | Ray Fox | |
| 1994 | Trapped in Paradise | Chief Bernie Burnell | |
| 1994 | Heritage Minutes: Agnes Macphail | The Warden | |
| 1995 | Tommy Boy | Frank Rittenhauer | |
| 1995 | Iron Eagle IV | Wilcox | |
| 1996 | Swann | Homer | |
| 1997 | Affliction | Evan Twombley | |
| 1998 | Simon Birch | Chief Al Cork | |
| 1999 | Woman Wanted | Kevin | |
| 2000 | Possible Worlds | Inspector Berkley | |
| 2000 | The Law of Enclosures | Hank | |
| 2002 | Chicago | Judge | |
| 2004 | Miracle | Walter Bush | |
| 2005 | The River King | Ernest Grey | |
| 2012 | Let the Daylight Into the Swamp | Donal St. Jules | |
| 2014 | The Big Fat Stone | Defense Lawyer Simon Trumble | |
| 2015 | No Deposit | Hostage Negotiator | |
| 2017 | Born Dead | Father McKenna | |
| 2019 | Goalie | Red Storey | |
| 2021 | Defining Moments | Shopkeeper | Final role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Performance | Multiple | Episodes "The Middle Game", "The Captain of Köpenick" |
| 1982 | Off Your Rocker | Lou Carmen | Television movie |
| 1985–1989 | Night Heat | Lieutenant Jim Hogan | 96 episodes |
| 1988 | The King Chronicle | Mackenzie King | Miniseries |
| 1989 | Small Sacrifices | Russell Wells | Television movie |
| 1991 | Scales of Justice | Malcolm Robb | Episode "Regina v Stewart" |
| 1994 | Wild C.A.T.s: Covert Action Team | Marlowe (voice) | Episodes: "Pilot" and "Cry of the Coda" |
| 1995–2001 | Little Bear | Grandfather Bear (voice) | Appears in 18 episodes (22 segments); referenced in an additional 2 episodes (2 segments) |
| 1996 | Gang in Blue | Clute Mirkovich | Television movie |
| 1998 | Dogboys | Pappy | Television movie |
| 1998 | Evidence of Blood | Theodore Warfield | Television movie |
| 1998–2000 | The Noddy Shop | Noah Tomten | 66 episodes Nominated - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series (1999) Nominated - Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Pre-School Program or Series (2000) |
| 1998 | Power Play | Ray Malone | 3 episodes |
| 2000 | A House Divided | Rutherford | Television movie |
| 2000–2001 | George Shrinks | Russell Copeland (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | The Day Reagan Was Shot | Donald Regan | Television movie |
| 2003 | The Pentagon Papers | John Mitchell | Television movie |
| 2005–2006 | Naturally, Sadie | Dr. W.S. Finch | 7 episodes |
| 2011 | Haven | Dom Novelli | Episode: "Roots" |
| 2014 | Best Christmas Party Ever | Arthur Tyrell | Television movie |