Preface

AuthorC. Ian Kyer
Pages15-17
xv
PREFAC E
ofwaythisbookcou ldbesaidto traceitsroots toina
waitingloungeatNewYorksLaGuardiaairportItwastherethatI metthe
noted acting couple Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. When they walked into
theareaIwasstandingtalkingtoJeanneBekerthehostofFashionTelevision,
andPeter Goddard af riendand client who wasthe entertai nmented itor
of the Toronto Star. Cronyn and Tandy were on their way to Toronto to be
interviewedbyBekersoofcoursetheycameovertosayhelloIwasthrilled
tomeet Hume Cronyn  whomI had rst seen onstage in the Stratford
Festivalsproduction of Hadrian V II — but my interest went beyond
his acting. I had long been fascinated w ith the Humes, the Cronyns, and
theBlakes threefa milieswho hadarrived inCanada togetherinthe early
nineteenth centu ry and had seled in London Ontario The fam ilies had
inter marr ieda ndmany membersli keCha ncell orWill iamHu meBla ke and
hisson SamuelHume Blakewerenamed using twoormore ofthe family
names. I assumed that the actor Hume Cronyn was the product of such
intermarriage, and now that I had the opportun ity, I asked him. He replied
byinqui ringwhet herthe fact thath ismiddle name wasBlake mightg ive
me a hint. We both smiled. He quickly added that I likely knew more about
his ancestry than he did; being the black sheep, he had not kept in close
contac t with his family. They had expected h im to become a lawyer like his
father and grandfather, and to then get involved in either the Carling brew
ery (his mother’s family business) or in Canada Trust (his father’s family

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