Remembering “Anne of Green Gables” Star Patricia Hamilton

Colleen Dewhurst and Patricia Hamilton as Marilla Cuthbert and Rachel Lynde in “Anne of Avonlea” — Image Source: Sullivan Entertainment

Patricia Hamilton was a Canadian actress born on April 27, 1937. She passed away three days after her 86th birthday, on April 30, 2023. She had one particular long-running role that was a special favorite of mine, which I’ll get into in a moment. She also had many other acting credits on screen, as well as a long stage career. First, let me talk about how I got to know (and love) Patricia’s work.

NOTE: You may wonder why I’m writing this a full month after her passing. It’s primarily because the day she died my laptop died, too. It was in the shop for over two weeks, and I’ve been playing catch up on projects ever since. Now that that explanation is out of the way, onward…

When I was a kid in the 1980s here in the United States I watched a lot of educational TV shows on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), which still exists today. PBS was divided into regional stations. Mine was (and still is) called WGBH. Back in the day, WGBH would hold fundraising telethons about twice a year. At telethon time for many years in a row WGBH aired a mini-series starring Megan Follows. The first part was Anne of Green Gables (1985). The second was Anne of Avonlea (1987). The mini-series/pair of movies was directed by Kevin Sullivan, filmed in various parts of Canada, and based on the books written by beloved author L.M. Montgomery. It…