Joy Coghill

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title: "Joy Coghill" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1926-births", "2017-deaths", "actresses-from-saskatchewan", "canadian-women-dramatists-and-playwrights", "canadian-film-actresses", "canadian-television-actresses", "canadian-voice-actresses", "writers-from-saskatchewan", "20th-century-canadian-dramatists-and-playwrights", "20th-century-canadian-women-writers", "canadian-stage-actresses", "members-of-the-order-of-canada", "canadian-artistic-directors", "canadian-theatre-directors", "canadian-women-theatre-directors", "university-of-british-columbia-alumni", "governor-general's-award-winners"] description: "Canadian actress, director and writer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_Coghill" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Canadian actress, director and writer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Joy Coghill
image	Joy-coghill-7994_resize.jpeg
occupation	Actress, director, writer
birth_date
birth_place	Findlater, Saskatchewan, Canada
death_date
death_place	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
other_names	Joy Coghill Thorne
years_active	1950–2003
spouse	John Thorne
children	3
website	{{URL
education	University of British Columbia (BA)
Art Institute of Chicago (MFA)
::

| name = Joy Coghill | image = Joy-coghill-7994_resize.jpeg | caption = | occupation = Actress, director, writer | birth_date = | birth_place = Findlater, Saskatchewan, Canada | death_date = | death_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | other_names = Joy Coghill Thorne | years_active = 1950–2003 | spouse = John Thorne | children = 3 | website = {{URL|http://www.joycoghill.com | education = University of British Columbia (BA) Art Institute of Chicago (MFA)

Joy Dorothy Coghill-Thorne, CM, (May 13, 1926 – January 20, 2017) was a Canadian actress, director, and writer. Her obituary in The Vancouver Sun described her as having had "a seven-decade run at the top of the Vancouver theatre world."

Early life and education

Coghill was born in Findlater, Saskatchewan, Canada on May 13, 1926, the daughter of J.G. Coghill and Dorothy Pollard Coghill. After returning to Canada, she attended Kitsilano Secondary School and began performing in school theatre productions. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia in 1949 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1951.

Career

Coghill and Myra Benson founded Canada's first professional touring children's theatre, Holiday Theatre in 1953. From 1967 to 1969, Coghill was the artistic director of the Vancouver Playhouse. She was the first woman to hold that position. In 1994, Coghill founded Western Gold, a theatre company for senior professional actors in Vancouver. She also served as a director for the National Theatre School's English drama section in 1960. She held honorary degrees from Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia.

Her best-known work is Song of This Place, a play about the Canadian artist Emily Carr. In addition to her writing, Coghill has made guest appearances on Da Vinci's Inquest as Portia Da Vinci and as the dying human host Saroosh/Selmak on the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Tok'ra, Part 1 & 2". ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Joy_Coghill_CTM_Interview_2010.jpg" caption="Joy Coghill in 2010"] ::

Coghill received four Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for her theatrical accomplishments in Vancouver, British Columbia: Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance Award (1988–1989), Community Recognition Award (1989–1990), Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (1990–1991), and Unique Mandate and Contribution to the Theatre Community (1998–1999).

Other awards include a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, the Gemini Humanitarian Award, the Dominion Drama Festival acting award and a Canadian drama award. On October 25, 1990, she was made a member of the Order of Canada and cited as "a champion of Canadian talent and quality and as "a continuing inspiration to her colleagues in theatre throughout the country."**

Personal life

Coghill was married to John Thorne, a producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Plays

• Song of This Place

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table title=""]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Shivers	Mona Wheatley
1978	Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang	Mistress Fowl
1984	Change of Heart	Edna
1987	Blue Monkey	Dede Wilkens
1994	Andre	Betsy
1998	The Sleep Room	Mrs. Olson
1999	Double Jeopardy	Neighbor In Garden
2000	A Day in a Life	Dorthy
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	General Motors Theatre	Sally	Episode: "Never Say No"
1959	Studio Pacific	Alice	Episode: "Anyone for Alice"
1980, 1985	The Beachcombers	Gertie	2 episodes
1986	Nobody's Child	Patient #1	Television film
1986	Red Serge	Ruby Burris	Episode: "Apron Springs"
1987	Airwolf	Reverend Mother	Episode: "Flowers of the Mountain"
1987	Christmas Comes to Willow Creek	Charlotte	Television film
1989	Unsub	Mrs. Gleason	Episode: "White Bone Demon"
1991	21 Jump Street	Mrs. Dixon	Episode: "Coppin' Out"
1991	Omen IV: The Awakening	Sister Francesca	Television film
1991	Street Justice	Rosemary Lyttle	Episode: "Sanctuary"
1991	My Son Johnny	Anna Cortino	Television film
1993	Miracle on Interstate 880	Sister Mary
1993	Sherlock Holmes Returns	Ms. Baker
1993	Whose Child Is This? The War for Baby Jessica	Earlen
1994	Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story	Dr. Jorgenson
1994	The Commish	Mrs. Dawson	Episode: "Revenge"
1995	The X-Files	Linda Thibedeaux	Episode: "Aubrey"
1995	The Other Mother: A Moment of Truth Movie	Sister Vincent	Television film
1995	Sliders	Mrs. Ezra Tweak	Episode: "Summer of Love"
1995	My Life as a Dog	Auntie Auntie / Astrid Árnesson	6 episodes
1996	Color Me Perfect	Jennifer	Television film
1996, 1997	Poltergeist: The Legacy	Elizabeth Baker / Mrs. Blake	2 episodes
1997	Viper	Mother Grace	Episode: "Echo of Murder"
1998	The Outer Limits	Jean	Episode: "The Vaccine"
1998	Stargate SG-1	Saroosh / Selmak	2 episodes
1998	The Crow: Stairway to Heaven	Laura Stansbury	Episode: "Before I Wake"
1998–2003	Da Vinci's Inquest	Portia Da Vinci	6 episodes
1999	Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy	Violet Hutchison	Episode: "Deja Vu All Over Again"
2000	The Christmas Secret	Old Woman	Television film
2002	Living with the Dead	Mrs. Ziff
2003	Betrayed	Mabel Stewart
::

References

References

1. (24 January 2017). "Queen of Vancouver theatre, Joy Coghill, dead at age 90".
2. (January 24, 2017). "Queen of Vancouver theatre, Joy Coghill, dead at age 90". Vancouver Sun.
3. (2017-01-25). "Acclaimed actor, director and playwright Joy Coghill-Thorne dead at 90".
4. (1972). "Creative Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Creative and Performing Artists". University of Toronto Press.
5. (1972). "Creative Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Creative and Performing Artists". University of Toronto Press.
6. (January 22, 2017). "Director, actor, producer, and humanitarian Joy Coghill dies". The Georgia Straight.
7. (2017-01-25). "Acclaimed actor, director and playwright Joy Coghill-Thorne dead at 90".
8. Robert, Veronique. (1986-03-10). "Putting a generation on the stage". MacLeans.
9. "Joy Coghill biography". Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation.
10. [https://books.google.com/books?id=T196lU-jXI8C&dq=joy+coghill+stargate&pg=PA185 Approaching the Possible: The World of Stargate SG-1] p.185, Jo Storm
11. "The 7th Annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards".
12. "The 8th Annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards".
13. "The 9th Annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards".
14. "The 17th Annual Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards".
15. "(award citation)".
16. (January 24, 2017). "Acclaimed actor, director and playwright Joy Coghill-Thorne dies at 90". The Globe and Mail.

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