It has come to my attention that theatre extraordinaire and actress Joy Coghill has passed away at age 90. The cause of death is attributed to heart failure and she is survived by three children and two grandchildren. Coghill, along with Myra Benson, established Canada’s first professional touring children’s theater in 1953, called Holiday Theatre. In 1994, she also established a theatre company called Western Gold, which specialized in plays led entirely by senior citizens. It seems that Coghill believed in the arts and believed that everyone should be able to explore that same passion. What a wonderful woman!
Though she is most known for her accomplishments in performing arts theatre, the Vancouver native appeared in a number of independent dramas, television shows… and, of course, horror and science fiction films. Joy Coghill can be seen as Mona in Shivers (1975) opposite Lynn Lowry and Barbara Steele and as Sister Francesca in Omen IV: The Awakening (1991) as well as other roles in Jacob Two-Two Meets Hooded Fang (1978), William Ruet’s Blue Monkey (1987) and Living with the Dead (2002). She appeared in two episodes of “Poltergeist: The Legacy” and “Stargate SG1” and held recurring roles in out of genre favorites like “My Life as a Dog” and “Da Vinci’s Inquest” from 1998 to 2003.
Her last credited roles were in short film dramas Regarding Sarah (2006) and Amma (2008).
Thank you for your contributions to horror and the art of performing in general!
R.I.P. Joy Coghill
May 13, 1926 – January 22, 2017
