Actress Janet Wright, who was best-known for her role as Emma Leroy on the hit comedy series Corner Gas, has passed away. She was 71.
The series put out a press release yesterday, saying: “The producers and cast of Corner Gas, CTV, The Vancouver Arts Club Theatre, and Stratford Festival extend its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of distinguished actress and director Janet Wright. Wright passed away this morning in Vancouver at the age of 71… “Janet was like no other person I’ve ever met. She had a giant wit, a giant heart, and was one of the strongest human beings to ever stride around this planet,” said Brent
Butt, Creator and Executive Producer of Corner Gas. “She was so great to work with. When you looked at the call sheet in the morning, and saw you were doing scenes with Janet, you knew you’d be laughing that day, and probably at something terribly inappropriate. We had this running thing, where if there was a scene with just our characters, I’d write it at the kitchen table, with our characters eating macaroni and cheese. We were both trying to watch our weight, but she said if ‘our characters’ were
eating the stuff, it wasn’t really us. I truly, honestly loved her. We all did.”
In honour of Janet’s memory, CTV will rebroadcast Corner Gas: The Movie on Saturday, November 26th at 8pm.
Photo: Jensenne Roculan/Verite Films