Rita Lafontaine

Q: When did Rita Lafontaine die?

Rita Lafontaine died on April 4, 2016.

Q: How old was Rita Lafontaine when they died?

Rita Lafontaine was 76 years old at the time of death.

Q: What was Rita Lafontaine's cause of death?

The cause of death of Rita Lafontaine was complications following surgery.

Rita Lafontaine OC OQ (8 June 1939 – 4 April 2016) was a Canadian theatre, film, and television actor. Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. She has been described as the muse of playwright Michel Tremblay and director André Brassard. Her career spanned over fifty years and left an "indelible mark on Québec theatre, film and television". She is a four-time recipient of the Gémeaux Award; three times for Best Lead Actress and once for Best Supporting Actress. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005 and an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2011.

Early life

Lafontaine was born on 8 June 1939 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.

Career

In the 1960s, Lafontaine joined the Mouvement Contemporain and worked closely with playwright Michel Tremblay and director André Brassard. In 1966, the trio produced Cinq, an early version of En pièces détachées at Le Patriote-en-Haut in Montreal. Their first professionally produced show was Les Belles-sœurs which premiered at the Théâtre du Rideau Vert in 1968. It remains the group's most popular and translated work. Gaëtan Charlebois from the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia noted that the play "changed much of what was believed to be Quebec culture; language, the form of theatre, which plays should be done at which theatres, the displacing of the Old Guard."

Later that year, Lafontaine performed in L'École des bouffons, directed by Brassard and written by Michel de Ghelderode, at the Centre du Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui. Other notable shows include Double Jeu by Françoise Loranger at Théâtre de la Comédie-Canadienne in 1969, and Le Pays du dragon by Tennessee Williams at the Théâtre de Quat'Sous in 1972.

She was a very down-to-earth ordinary person who truly inhabited a role with great authenticity. She could make you cry and laugh, and she didn’t seem to be trying. She made the line between actor and character disappear. That is a rare gift.

— Pat Donnelly, theatre critic, Montreal Gazette

In 1991, she won the Prix Guy-L'Écuyer for L'homme de rêve.

In 2010, Lafontaine assisted in establishing a certificate program in theatrical interpretation at l'Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.

Personal life and death

Lafontaine married Jacques Dufour and together they had a daughter, Elsa Lessonini, who died of cancer in 2013. Lafontaine died on 4 April 2016 from complications while undergoing surgery for an intestinal condition.

Filmography

1970 : Situation du théâtre au Québec
1972 : Françoise Durocher, Waitress (short film) : l'une des Françoise Durocher
1973 : Kamouraska : une servante
1973 : O.K. ... Laliberté
1974 : Le Grand Voyage
1974 : Once Upon a Time in the East (Il était une fois dans l'est) : Manon
1975 : The Mob (La Gammick) : l'épouse du directeur
1975 : The Vultures (Les vautours) : Madame Sansfaçon, une voisine
1976 - 1979 : Grand-Papa (TV series) : Martine
1976 : Let's Talk About Love (Parlez-nous d'amour) : la grande admiratrice de Jeannot
1977 : Bernie and the Gang (Ti-mine, Bernie pis la gang...) : Linda
1977 : The Late Blossom (Le Soleil se lève en retard) : Gisèle Lapointe
1978 : The Machine Age (L'Âge de la machine) (short film)
1982 - 1985 : Les Moineau et les Pinson (TV series) : Marie-Madeleine Moineau
1985 : Manon (TV series) : Juliette Labelle
1988 : The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) : Madame Beaumont
1990 - 1993 : Cormoran (TV series) : Zénone Veilleux
1992 : Phantom Life (La Vie fantôme) : Claire
1992 : La Montagne du Hollandais (TV series ) : Léonie Grandmont
1994 : Soho
1994 : My Friend Max (Mon amie Max) : Madame Brabant
1996 - 2001 : Le Retour (TV series) : Rose Landry
1996 : The Ideal Man (L'Homme idéal) : la mère de Lucie
1998 : Streetheart (Le Cœur au poing) : Rita
2000 : Le Monde de Charlotte (TV series) : Reine Langevin
2001 : Les Parfaits (TV series) : Étiennette Labelle
2001 : Les Boys 3 : la mère de Ti-Guy
2002 : Les Super Mamies (TV series) : Monique Durand
2003 : Seducing Doctor Lewis (La Grande Séduction) : Hélène Lesage
2003 - 2016 : L'Auberge du chien noir (TV series) : Nicole Provencher
2004 - 2006 : Un monde à part (TV series) : Reine Langevin
2009 : Noémie : Le Secret : Madame Lumbago
2010 : A Life Begins (Une vie qui commence) : la grand-mère

Honours and awards

1990 : Gémeaux Award for Best Supporting Actress – Drama (Michel et François, Avec un grand A), Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT)
1992 : Guy-L’Écuyer Award (L’Homme de rêve), Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois
1992 : Gémeaux Award for Best Lead Actress – Drama (L’Homme de rêve), ACCT
1995 : Nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role – Play (Large Theatre)
1999 : Gémeaux Award for Best Lead Actress ‒ Television Drama (Le Retour), ACCT
2000 : Gémeaux Award for Best Lead Actress ‒ Television Drama (Le Retour), ACCT
2005 : Officer of the Order of Canada
2007 : Prix hommage, Gala des Femmes du cinéma, de la télévision et des nouveaux médias
2009 : Tribute, Théâtre Espace GO
2009 : Honorary doctorate, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
2011 : Officer of the National Order of Quebec