Candy Palmater | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1968-12-04)December 4, 1968 Point La Nim, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | December 25, 2021(2021-12-25) (aged 53) |
| Spouse | Denise Tompkins[1] |
| Comedy career | |
| Medium | Stand-up,television |
| Website | thecandyshow.com |
Candy Palmater (December 4, 1968 – December 25, 2021) was a Canadian actress, comedienne, and broadcaster.[2] She was the creator and writer of her own national television show forAPTN,The Candy Show,[3] and hosted the daily interview seriesThe Candy Palmater Show onCBC Radio One in summer 2016.[4]
Palmater was born December 4, 1968, inPoint La Nim,New Brunswick,[5] and grew up the youngest of seven children.[1] She attended Dalhousie Regional High School, where she was active in sports.[6] Her father was Mi'kmaq and her mother was white. She was a member of theEel River Bar First Nation.[7]
After high school, she attended Fredericton'sSt. Thomas University and then completed a legal secretary's course at Maritime Business College.[6]
She was inspired by the legal failures of theDonald Marshall Jr. case and in 1996, she went toDalhousie University in Halifax to study Law atDalhousie Law School, where she graduated in 1999 as the valedictorian of her class. She was the first Aboriginal law student in Canada to bevaledictorian of her graduating class, and was president of the Dalhousie Aboriginal Law Students Association.
She got a job with the now-defunct law firmPatterson Palmer Hunt Murphy, but soon realized she didn't want to practice corporate law,[3] and subsequently left her job and began working for theNova Scotia Department of Education.
She was a regular contributor toCBC Radio'sDefinitely Not the Opera, a regular columnist on The Next Chapter, and an interim host ofQ, and was a columnist for the now defunct Halifax newspaperThe Daily News, where she wrote a series forMi'kmaq History Month.
CBC Newsworld did a one-hour documentary on Palmater titledThe Candy Show. It was produced and directed by Mary Munson in Halifax. The executive producer was Renée Pellerin.
The Candy Show is also the title of a regular comedy series that airs onAPTN. Palmater was also a regular performer on thecomedy club circuit in Canada, as well as a frequent host of entertainment galas and events.
Palmater produced her first film,Building Legends: The Mi'Kmaq Canoe Project, in 2011.
As an actress, she had roles in the television seriesForgive Me,Sex & Violence, andTrailer Park Boys.
Her daily CBC Radio summer seriesThe Candy Palmater Show debuted on May 30, 2016.[4] Following the end of that show's run, she did another stint as guest host ofQ for several weeks in September and October, between the departure ofShad and the debut of permanent new hostTom Power. In 2017 she was a panellist onCanada Reads, advocating forKatherena Vermette's novelThe Break.
She was also a frequent guest panellist on theCBC Radio One comedy series,Because News, hosted byGavin Crawford, and narrated the documentary seriesSkindigenous.[8]
Palmater had a recurring role in the CBC Television sitcomRun the Burbs, broadcast posthumously.[9]
Palmater died at her home in Toronto on December 25, 2021, at the age of 53. Shortly before her death she received several weeks of medical treatment at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto after being diagnosed witheosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.[10]
Her memoir,Running Down a Dream, was published posthumously in 2022.[11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Forgive Me | Agnes | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Sex & Violence | Louella | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Trailer Park Boys | Candy | 9 episodes |
| 2022 | Run the Burbs | Candy | 3 episodes |
She was nominated for anEast Coast Music Award for Media Person of the Year in 2013.The Candy Show was also nominated for aCanadian Screen Award for Best Direction in a Variety or Comedy TV Series, for director Trevor Grant. For her work on the television seriesForgive Me, she was nominated for an ACTRA Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2017, Palmater was presented with the Bonham Centre Award from The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto, for her contributions to the advancement and education of issues around sexual identification.[12]
