Manor Park Notable – Robert “Bob” Roy Gardiner (1929-2025)
Famously debonair and astute, Bob’s life in the arts spanned more than seven distinguished decades
Bob Gardiner was born in Winnipeg at the start of the Depression. He was deeply proud of his Manitoban roots and of his Scottish ancestry. His Edinburgh-born father was Charlie Gardiner, a Chicago Blackhawks Hall of Fame goalie, who tragically died when Bob was just five years old.
Enrolled in law at the University of Manitoba, Bob was active in university theatre productions. There, a bit part in Street Railway Switchman (a nine-minute, 1953 National Film Board documentary), forever changed the trajectory of his life. Looking tall and stylish for all of six seconds, Bob delivered drinks and a sandwich to someone at the bar. Smitten, he knew that neither the ice rink, nor the courtroom, was in his future. His career lay in the arts, where he went on to wear many hats — writer, actor, journalist, director, producer, playwright and teacher.
Bob thought of himself first and foremost as a writer — beginning as a journalist in Winnipeg before moving east for a job as night editor and columnist for the Kingston Whig-Standard. He worked with Kingston’s Domino Theatre, writing World Worth Thy Winning, a play that won the Dominion Drama Festival. Bob was the first to bring performances into Kingston Penitentiary where he used his talents to help inmates edit their own newspaper.
Arrival in Ottawa
Work as a night editor and television critic took Bob and his young family to Ottawa, initially to Glasgow Crescent in Manor Park, then to the west end. He freelanced for CBC, first in radio, then in television during its infancy in Canada.
His debonair style and distinctive voice were his calling card, and were well suited for broadcasting. Working out of CBC Ottawa’s television studio, he hosted the community affairs show Four for the Road and wrote a centennial show and documentary history of flight, hosted by Patrick Watson.
In the 1970s, Bob wrote the beloved CBC Ottawa production Hi Diddle Day, a national children’s television series. He also appeared on-air as the famous Mr. Post and worked alongside puppet master Noreen Young.
An award-winning playwright, Bob immersed himself in the local arts community, writing the musical theatre play Glengarry Days which premiered in 1973. He was a key figure in Ottawa’s Little Theatre, Orpheus Musical Theatre and the Dominion Drama Festival.
At Orpheus, his life took another significant turn. Playing the role of Fagan in the 1972 production of Oliver, Bob met his second wife (and soulmate) Marnie Edwards, a dancer in the chorus — the love of his life for 51 glorious years.
A move back to Manor Park
Bob and Marnie married in January 1974; four years later they bought their ‘forever’ home on Braemar Avenue. In love with Manor Park, they enjoyed long walks in the Mile Circle and the company of wonderful neighbours. Their home was Bob’s refuge; his large home-office, his creative retreat.
Bob loved tending to ‘his garden of benign neglect’ with its lush borders and water features — the setting for much of his writing and the large, annual gatherings for family and friends that he and Marnie loved to host.
A pillar of MacKay United Church, Bob was known for his powerful readings and, in the early 2000s, for his annual outdoor production of Bethlehem in the Burg — a nativity play that for years was the highlight of the holiday season.
Bob’s filmmaking career took him all over the globe: Italy, Cyprus, the Middle East and Northern Canada. He made video documentaries and training films for National Defence and CSIS and worked on CBC documentaries including Flight – the Passionate Affair and the ACTRA-nominated The Golden Triangle.
Lecturing at the School of Journalism at Carleton University and at Algonquin College where he taught radio broadcasting and documentary filmmaking, Bob was a mentor for many who aspired to a career in the arts.
A full life
A true renaissance man, Bob lived life to the fullest — at work and at play. There wasn’t much Bob didn’t do. He obtained his private pilot licence and also his commercial licence at the Rockcliffe Flying Club. An accomplished chef, Bob wrote The Taste of History cookbook, featuring recipes created in his Braemar test-kitchen and the cultural histories behind those dishes.
A talented and entertaining raconteur with a story for every occasion, he was always working on a ‘big project’ and loved languages, studying French, Japanese, Italian, German, Arabic and Chinese up until his passing at home in his 96th year.
Bob loved and is survived by his wife Marnie, his children Jessica, Rob and Fred Gardiner, his five grandchildren and his great-grandson.
With kind appreciation to Marnie Edwards and her niece, Caitlin Fisher.
— A Manor Park Notable is a snapshot of an individual (now deceased) who lived in the Manor Park area, and who made a difference either through career or community involvement. Please send your suggestions for candidates or submissions to manorparknotables@gmail.com.
