Montreal playwright and actor Harry Standjofski dies at 66

Montreal actor and playwright Harry Standjofski died this week at the age of 66, his agency has confirmed.

Active on the Montreal stage since the early 1980s, he left his mark on the city's French and English theatre scenes, skillfully navigating between the two languages. 

"A great artist who leaves us much too soon at just 66 years of age. Our most sincere condolences to his loved ones," wrote Montreal's Théâtre Duceppe on its Facebook page. 

Standjofski has appeared in three productions on the theatre's stage: Une maison face au nord (2009-2010), Les chroniques de Saint-Léonard (2014-2015), and, most recently, Docteure (2023-2024). 

"A great man of the theater, as exceptional in Molière's language as in Shakespeare's ... He was also a formidable guitarist," added Théâtre Duceppe. 

The Union des artistes (UDA), an organization that represents musicians and other performers in the province, also offered its condolences to the family of the late artist.

"His warm voice and unique presence left a mark on the audience," wrote the UDA on Facebook.

Standjofski also took part in television and film projects and has even lent his voice to characters in cartoons and video games, including Assassin's Creed. Some of his recent stage roles at Montreal's oldest English-language theatre, Centaur Theatre, include Hellfire Pass and Don Quixote. 

And he played the role of Tom Cohen in Radio-Canada's French television series À Nous Deux.

Since 1986, he has taught at Concordia University, for which he has directed many plays.

In a Facebook publication, Montreal-based actor Terence Bowman says he joined the Narroway Theatre Troupe on Montreal's West Island at the age of 16 and performed in plays, all directed by the late playwright, between the ages of 16 and 20.

Bowman said he was in a state of shock after hearing the news of his passing. 

He recalls that Standjofski wrote roles for the actors in the troupe based on their personalities "as he saw them." 

"Those scripts were surreal, poignant, offbeat and funny all at the same time," wrote Bowman.

"Harry was something of a genius. He had a significant presence during some of the most pivotal years of my life. It seems like a million years ago and yesterday at the same time ... Over the years, I would often run into Harry at auditions, parties and even on set once in a while. He was always as charming and as energetic as ever."