Preface

• Author: C. Ian Kyer
• Pages: 15-17

xv

PREFACE

ofwaythisbookcould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friendandclientwhowastheentertainmenteditor

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 VII — but my interest went beyond

his acting. I had long been fascinated with the Humes, the Cronyns, and

theBlakesthreefamilieswhohadarrivedinCanadatogetherintheearly

nineteenth centu ry and had seled in London Ontario The fam ilies had

intermarriedandmanymemberslikeChancellorWilliamHumeBlake 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 opportunity, I asked him. He replied

byinquiringwhetherthefactthathismiddlenamewasBlakemightgive

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