‘A man with a big heart to match his big voice’
Les Miz star Burgess celebrated as a caring man who ‘just could not say no’
A capacity crowd gathered to remember the late Michael Burgess, the Canadian tenor who immortalized the role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, was known for his stirring rendition of “O Canada” at Leafs hockey games and touched thousands of Canadians through his support for charitable causes.
Among the luminaries at Toronto’s Church of the Blessed Sacrament for the mass Monday in celebration of Burgess’s life, who died at 70 of cancer on Sept. 28, were singer Louise Pitre, singer/songwriter Tom Cochrane, theatre impresario David Mirvish, federal cabinet minister Julian Fantino, Sen. Pamela Wallin and hockey legends Bobby Orr, Darryl Sittler, Paul Coffey and Sean Burke.
Burgess, who was also known for his role as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha and for touring Canada as both a theatre and concert performer, will be interred later in a private ceremony at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Sarnia, Ont.
Rev. Patrick Fitzpatrick, who delivered the homily, remembered Burgess as “a man with a big heart to match his big voice.”
“He is gone from us but his memory lingers on. We give thanks for what he meant in our lives. So once more, Michael, you gather us together. A full house says thank you, a full house prays for you, remembers you and wishes you Godspeed,” Fitzpatrick said.
“Michael had so many great friends, sports celebrities, musicians and art- ists, business and community leaders, many of whom held Michael as a dear friend,” said long-time friend Bruce Bowser, chief executive of AMJ Campbell Van Lines.
“He would give the shirt off his back or, as he so often did, the voice in his throat to help anyone who needed help. He always answered the call of friends and just could not say no,” Bowser said. “Michael gave endlessly of his time and lent his voice to countless charities to raise money for so many good causes.”
He noted Burgess sang the national anthem when Queen Elizabeth and other world leaders visited, at sporting events, including Blue Jays games, and at Toronto’s Brazilian Ball for 25 years.
Singer/actress Jackie Richardson, a friend of Burgess for 25 years, sang during the service.
“(Michael) was just a beautiful guy and every time he sang, he made me cry. He was just wonderful to be around,” Richardson said.
Paul Henry, who attended St. Michael’s with Burgess, said one of the great pleasures of life at the choir school “was just waiting to hear the excellence of his voice because you knew that you were getting a great treat.”
“(Michael) talked about bouncing along the street past Massey Hall everyday when he was an 8-year-old and dreaming that someday he would be on that stage,” Henry said, noting the singer achieved his goal, starring in the Gemini award-winning CBC special, Michael Burgess at Massey Hall, in 1993.
Sports commentator Rod Black said Burgess “touched the lives of millions of Canadians.”
“It’s a sad, sad time but it’s a wonderful time. It was such a beautiful ceremony. It’s a day of remembrance,” Black said.