Michael Burgess, a star who gave back offstage
Best-known for Les Misérables, sports-loving tenor also sang anthem at Leafs, Jays games
The gaggle of scruffy-looking men auditioning for a part in Toronto’s Les Misérables in 1988 were all sporting whiskers.
Awaiting his turn to sing was “just one of the guys over here with a beard,” as Michael Burgess described himself.
The Canadian tenor won the greatest role of his career — the hounded ex-convict Jean Valjean — and would forever be linked to the musical in the minds and hearts of Canadians. Not long after the yearlong Mirvish production of Les Miz opened in 1989 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, he was a star.
He also played important roles in Man of La Mancha and Blood Brothers onstage and spent years touring Canada giving concerts.
Burgess, who died of cancer Sept. 28 at age 70, was the kind of person who remembered birthdays, inquired after ill relatives and picked friends up from the airport. He would invite the junior stage hand to join the cast for dinner after a show and mentored many younger singers, giving some the biggest breaks of their careers.
“I have a term for people like Michael: They are philanthropic artists. Michael was the epitome of a philanthropic artist. He gave and he gave and he gave and he didn’t always get back,” says Adrian Luces, executive director of the PAL Canada Foundation, which supports senior and disadvantaged professional artists, and helped arrange palliative care for Burgess at the end.
“You go to any charity in this city and they all have a connection to Michael somehow,” he added, citing Sick Kids and Princess Margaret Hospitals, and alma mater St. Michael’s Choir School, among others.
A loyal friend of the Mirvish family, Burgess sang at the 2011 dedication ceremony for the Ed Mirvish Theatre even though he was ill at the time.
David Mirvish says Burgess “was a warm and gentle man who would do whatever he could to help someone. He sang at many shows and benefits.
“But there were also smaller, personal acts. When my parents were ill, he’d ask after them. And also after my father-in-law.”
Next to music, the biggest love of Burgess’s life was sport. He would announce the Maple Leafs score from the stage during concerts and often sang anthems at games. When Leafs greats were honoured with special events, they asked for Burgess to sing the anthem.
He became the first person to sing “O Canada” at a World Series baseball game on Oct. 17, 1992, when the Toronto Blue Jays faced the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the series at the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
“Some seasons, he performed at a dozen or more games, others only a few and, from time to time, he performed at other sports. But regardless of where he sang or how often he appeared, he was and shall always remain the Maple Leafs’ anthem singer,” says Leafs spokesman Mike Ferriman.
Not surprisingly, Burgess liked to play a game of shinny himself when he had the chance.
“A lot of people don’t realize he was a fine, fine hockey player. He played with the NHL Oldtimers and he probably could have had a professional hockey career had he gone in that direction,” says his close friend and accompanist David Warrack. “He was also an amazing golfer.
“He was one of the two or three that I’ve ever worked with where people almost physically wanted to touch his garment,” Warrack says. “There was a magic about Michael I guess that was quite compelling.”
The blond, blue-eyed charmer wowed a 12-year-old Cynthia Dale and her older sister Jennifer when they were all cast in a CBC drama about the life of Canadian painter Emily Carr. The1972 production The Wonder of it All, created by Norman Campbell and Don Harron, “had a beautiful man in the story and he was a beautiful man,” says Dale. “His voice rang in the halls. We were all in love with him.”
Although she never worked with Burgess again, their paths crossed repeatedly in the small world of Canadian entertainment. And each meeting warranted a special welcome. “He was a hugger and a kisser,” she says.
Burgess, who grew up in the Kingsway area of Toronto, was the eldest of seven children in a sporty Catholic family that often went fishing together.
“We played a lot of baseball and football. My dad built skating rinks in the backyard,” his younger sister Missy Burgess says, recalling Michael (who changed his name from Walter) and brother Wayne wearing telephone books as hockey pads.
At the age of 8, he was sent to St. Michael’s Choir School, where he boarded during the week. He was lonely there, Missy recalls.
“In a way, we kind of lost him. I used to miss him a lot. It was pretty tough for an 8-year-old. He was very lonely even though he came home on weekends. He was a very introspective child.”
He later became one of the school’s greatest ambassadors, says school director Stephen Handrigan. “He gave generously of his time and talents.”
The singing skills he learned at the famed choir school (it also produced baritone Russell Braun and tenor Michael Schade) gave him technique that would hold him in good stead throughout his career.
Rebecca Caine was performing in The Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages Theatre when she popped in to see Les Miz.
“It was a world-class performance led by Michael. It was blazingly perfect. It’s the equivalent of King Lear in musicals; he is never off the stage. It is a huge role to do every night. But he had a terrific instrument and he used it very well. He had been classically trained.”
Caine, a soprano, toured numerous times with Burgess, most recently in 2013 along with Warrack. The three of them crossed Canada doing the big songs of their careers.
“It was massive, it was old school,” Caine says.
As they sang the last high note of the evening, Burgess would put his arm around her waist and squeeze when he wanted to stop so they would end together.
Going to the pub for a gin and tonic after a show was a tradition, as was his reporting the hockey scores.
Longtime agent Ronda Cooper says Burgess was always late for everything, just making the show by the skin of his teeth. However, he made up for this by being funny and considerate.
“When he was staying at my house, there were flowers there every day. And he was neat. He made the bed and did the dishes.”
The many acts of kindness ranged from giving time to fans and singing at public events to giving a young singer the break of her career.
Singer/songwriter Amy Sky had worked on a CD with him in1995 and the two sang a duet, “I Will Take Care of You.”
Burgess was later in London, where the show Blood Brothers was being readied for a 1996 Toronto run. It starred David Cassidy and Burgess, and featured guest pop singers playing the role of Mrs. Johnston. Petula Clark and Kiki Dee had already tackled the role and Helen Reddy was scheduled next when she suddenly had to cancel.
Burgess suggested the unknown Sky for the role.
“Really what happened is a Cinderella story,” says Sky. “I got so much attention billed with David and Michael. Michael was so proud of me, thrilled with me. He was very much a mentor.”
It was getting the job in Les Mizthat gave Burgess his star power.
Louise Pitre, who went on to star in many shows including the ragingly popular Mamma Mia!, was Burgess’s partner when they both landed roles in Les Miz: he as Valjean, she as Fantine.
“It was a wonderful opportunity, and he was taking it and running with it. He was meeting people and building relationships. He was building his entourage.”
(Pitre left the show and was replaced by Susan Gilmour, who married Burgess. The two later divorced.)
David Mucci, Burgess’s understudy, remembers the sickening feeling he had standing behind the opening curtain when an audience at the National Arts Centre learned he was replacing the lead.
“I heard the largest collective sigh of disappointment ever by an audience.”
While audiences first came to see Les Miz, they returned for Burgess, says Mucci, who is now managing director for Mirvish Productions.
“He was brilliant for the role, leading the company with a stellar work ethic. He was in the right place at the right time. He became Michael Burgess. He built that, he created that.”
Mucci was one of the bearded actors at that tryout in 1988, which was the beginning of a long friendship.
“You can play big roles, but that doesn’t mean you become a star. He became a star.”
“It was a world-class performance led by Michael. It was blazingly perfect.” REBECCA CAINE ON BURGESS AND LES MIZ