Second City co-owner Len Stuart dead at 73
Len Stuart, co- owner and co- chairman of Second City, passed away on Sunday at age 73. According to his business partner, Andrew Alexander, Stuart was surrounded by f riends and family, and died peacefully following a brief illness.
In 1976, Stuart personally financed seven episodes of Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV that starred many Canadian actors who went on to become household names in this country and abroad, such as John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Martin Short and Harold Ramis.
A native of Edmonton, Alta., Stuart had been with Second City since 1973. During that time, he received two Emmy awards, 13 Emmy nominations and an Actra Award for a lifetime of achievement.
A wildly successful entrepreneur, Stuart got his start in the business world when he opened a small lottery printing company in Edmonton in 1970. He began his operations with j ust three employees.
Over the years, he kept his gaming business going and developed it into an international manufacturing brand with over 2,000 employees and $200 million in sales. He also developed and opened several charity casinos across Canada.
One of his most notable roles in the gaming industry was as the owner of The Star of Fortune, a 1,300 passenger riverboat casino (the largest of its kind in Canada). Stuart was a leader in the gaming industry for 20 years, and during that time his casinos are believed to have raised over $50 million per year for charity. After selling the Star of Fortune, Stuart went into business with Toronto Maple Leafs owner, Larry Tannenbaum. Together, Stuart and Tannenbaum developed and sold four casinos in British Columbia.
Alexander, whose official titles are that of CEO and executive producer, is often seen as the public face of Second City, while Stuart was the man behind the scenes. He told the Chicago Tribune that Stuart was instrumental in their negotiations to buy Second City from its original founder, Bernie Sahlins.
In a statement published on the Second City website, Alexander writes, “Over the course of four decades, Len has helped support the company through many defining challenges, including the most critical initial financing of the first seven episodes of SCTV. 185 episodes later, SCTV went on to become a seminal TV show garnering 13 Emmy Nominations and winning two. Len was thrilled with the current expansion of the Chicago Second City Training Center and The Harold Ramis Film School and recognized the importance that this initiative would mean to young actors and future filmmakers ... He was a brilliant entrepreneur, loving father and loyal friend. He will be greatly missed.”
Stuart is survived by his wife Angelika, son D’Arcy and daughter Jessica. A funeral service will be scheduled to take place in Fort Lauderdale later next week.
A BRILLIANT BUSINESSMAN, LOVING DAD AND LOYAL FRIEND.