December 23, 2025 • 31 mins
As we celebrate 10 years of #ElderWisdom, we’re reflecting back on an extraordinary conversation with Diane Dupuy, founder of the internationally renowned Famous People Players — a groundbreaking black-light theatre company where all performers are developmentally disabled.
Hosts Kathy Buckworth and Evelyn Brindle welcomed Diane to the Green Bench to explore the profound bond she shared with her mother, Mary Thornton, who lived to be 103 at The Village of Humber Heights. Mary recognized Diane’s imagination from a young age and nurtured her gifts, encouraging her to create, dream, and express herself through puppetry and performance.
“My mother built me a puppet theatre when I was a little girl. She told me not to be afraid, as the puppets will do the talking for me.” – Diane Dupuy
“As long as your imagination makes the world a better place.” – Mary Thornton
Famous People Players is built on this foundation of creativity and compassion. By using black light technique, Diane ensured the focus was always on the art — not the disabilities of her performers — allowing their talent, hard work, and magic to shine.
With support from fellow Humber Heights resident Freida Griffiths, Diane expanded the company’s educational programs, touching countless lives through performance, mentorship, and opportunity.
Diane and Evelyn also share personal reflections on navigating cancer, offering wisdom about resilience, hope, and continuing to move forward even in the hardest moments.
From puppetry to global stages, from mother-daughter creativity to decades-long advocacy, Diane’s story is a testament to imagination, inclusion, and love.
🎧 Listen back and be inspired by Diane’s vision, Mary’s wisdom, and the magic of Famous People Players.
Learn more at: famouspeopleplayers.com
Discover more at: elderwisdom.ca
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Life without. Laughs is not life.
We've got to breakdown the barriers between the
generations, there's there's no doubt about that.
(00:25):
Pray to the Lord for strength invoke on it.
Welcome to Elder Wisdom Stories from the Green Bench.
This is episode #53 and our fifth season of this podcast.
My name is Kathy Buckworth and as always, I have the pleasure
of sharing the bench with my Co host Evelyn Brindle, who lives
(00:48):
at the Village of Aaron Meadows in Mississauga, just one of the
Schlegel Village retirement and long term care residences.
And she lives there alongside her husband David.
Today, Evelyn and I are welcoming our special guest,
Diane Dupuis, who is the founderof the Famous People Players, an
internationally celebrated blacklight theater company where the
performers are all developmentally disabled.
(01:09):
Diane is not a resident at Schlegel Village, but her
mother, Mary Thornton, who livedto 103 who and she was very
involved in Famous People Players was a resident.
But before Evelyn, Diane, join me, I'd like to remind you what
this podcast is all about. It's the brainchild of the
Schlegel family. It's long been founder Ron
Schlegel's belief that the greatest untapped resource in
(01:30):
Canada, if not the world, is thecollective wisdom of our elders.
And today, we have some great wisdom to be shared from Diane
Dupuis as she tells us about theFamous People Players and what
she learned from working with her mother, Mary, and the wisdom
that Mary imparted to her. Hi, Evelyn, Are you ready for
today's guest? Hi, Kathy.
(01:51):
I sure AM. And I'm excited to learn about
our guest's mother, Mary Thornton.
She passed away a few years ago at 103 years of age and she
lived in the village of Humber Heights.
What I find so fascinating is that while her daughter Diane
(02:13):
Dupree founded the Famous PeoplePlayers, which we'll hear about
in a while, Mary worked in the company designing and building
these incredible props. Over 22,000 of them actually.
And if we're the theatre company, it certainly was a
(02:36):
mother daughter relationship, though back and forth them, they
didn't always agree, but they, Mary particularly would do what
Diane wanted. And she made a point of being a
very good help to Diane. So I'm interested to hear not
(02:59):
only about Mary's contributions to the success of this company,
but how they made that mother daughter working relationship
last for so many years, almost 50.
I'm so interested to hear about that as well.
Diane Dupuis, welcome to the program.
Well, I love my mom and you know, it's, it's there's so many
(03:22):
wonderful stories about her. I guess I really should begin
from the time I went to Grade 1 and how she sat up all night,
right up to 1:00 in the morning,making me a beautiful dress,
black patent shoes, and told me I was going to make all kinds of
new friends and it was going to be wonderful to go to school.
(03:43):
And I was so excited. And she dropped me off at the
doors of the classroom and I went in and I, I just couldn't
sit still. I ran around the classroom.
I got on the teacher's nerves. I, I, you know, I thought I was
having fun. I, I didn't know really what I
was doing, what was wrong. I didn't understand why you had
(04:04):
to put your hand up. And I went out in the recess
yard and I thought I'm all the kids are going to run with me,
but they didn't. And a lot of the kids didn't
like me. They thought there was something
wrong with me or I was crazy. And then I went back into the
classroom and the teacher kept with their pointer, kept tapping
me on the head to concentrate. And I really couldn't
(04:28):
concentrate. I didn't know what to
concentrate on. And when she said the
blackboard, it was black. And I didn't know what what
there was to be interested in that for her.
And so I would gaze out the window and I'd imagine myself
riding a White Horse. I was going to save the world.
I was going to grow up and be The Lone Ranger.
(04:51):
And I went on to the recess yardagain and I would pretend to
saddle on my horse and gallop. And the kids screamed and one
called me a retard. And it really upset me.
And I remember going home that night and my mother could see I
was very, very sad. And she just said, isn't it
(05:12):
wonderful you found a good friend your horse while you can
invite your horse for dinner andwe'll do something nice for the
for silver. And she understood me.
And she played the CBC show, radio show on The Lone Ranger.
And I love the sound of the hoops.
And I would go back to school every day.
(05:34):
I did not do well. And by the time I got to grade
three, I failed the whole year and it was marked failure on my
report card and I had to come home.
I was born and raised in Hamilton, ON, so the school was
on the mountain and we live beneath the escarpment.
And I didn't ride my horse home that day.
(05:54):
I cried all the way and and finally got home and my mother
wanted to see my report card andI was so scared to see it
because I thought you wouldn't love me anymore.
And instead she said now let's just she didn't even bring up
the word failed on it. She just says, let's go down
here and see what cooperation says 0 You got a good mark in
(06:21):
cooperation. That's the most important thing
it. Sounds like your mother was able
to hone in on what you could do rather than what you struggled
with like cooperation, and she really nurtured your
imagination. You may not have had all the
grades, but you did excel in imagination and creativity Is
(06:47):
anyone who has ever seen the famous people players wouldn't
really understand. I understand too that you fell
in love with puppets and puppetry thanks to her as you
were growing up. This was 1 area that she tried
(07:09):
to encourage your education. While she was because my mother
built me a puppet theater when Iwas a little girl and gave me
pen puppets and told me to go behind the box.
Not be afraid because the puppets will do the talking for
me. They won't know anybody's behind
the box. They won't even know who's
there. They're going to think they're
real. So they're real to you.
(07:30):
And don't you forget that. And you know, I, the puppets
could say anything, do anything.And you know, as I went on in
life, my mother would saddle up my puppet box on her little
Volkswagen and take me to for gigs at birthday parties and
magic places to entertain bar mitzvahs with a friend of mine
(07:53):
who was a magician exploring being a magician.
And you may not remember him, Heended up becoming the world's
greatest magician. And that was Doug Kenning.
And there we were from Hamilton doing this.
And it was so wonderful. And then I from there I got a a
(08:14):
my mother just kept encouraging me to to explore my imagination.
As long as the imagination that you come up with makes this
world a better place. So Dan, what you did was make
the world a better place, obviously with famous people
players and for people who don'tknow, who hasn't heard of them,
I think we all have. But for people who don't know
what famous people players is all about, can you tell me about
(08:36):
how it started and and and really the unique features of
it? Well, I went to a place to
perform. It was the Orillia Institution
and it was also Surrey Play Center.
And we were labeled mentally retarded back then.
And I did this show and I got totell you I was scared to do it
(08:58):
because people called me that. And I thought what was going to
happen? And all of a sudden a girl in
the audience had a seizure, and everybody in that room went to
help her, and nobody laughed andscreamed and made fun of her.
And I thought to myself of a quote that I once read that
(09:19):
Einstein said that great spiritsalways encounter violent
opposition from mediocre minds. And my mother was there with me
every step of the way, and she made my puppets.
And then I thought at that time I went to the man at the
institution and I said to him, you know, when you lock people
down like this and you put them in a room with no doors in the
(09:41):
washroom, no forks and knives toeat with, they're they're going
to become more disability, more handicapped.
But if you integrate them into society, they would normalize
themselves. And he says, well, I believe
that. I just don't know how to do it.
And I says I do. And that's how I found it.
Famous people, players. And it was all I, I chose the
(10:06):
black light technique. My mother was my partner, my
supporter all the way. And I black light technique.
Nobody would see the players andwho they are, so they can't be
afraid of them. And the puppets would be, well,
of course, was Liberace, becausethat was my mother's.
Oh, hero. My mother loved Liberace.
(10:28):
And So what was nice about Liberace?
Liberace had the piano, he had the Candelabra.
There was musical notes and you,there was so much magic that
that in black light, everything floats.
Everything defies gravity beforeyour eyes.
It's it's like seeing the movie Pinocchio.
It's a live cartoon on cartoon on stage.
(10:49):
When we performed at Radio City Music Hall, the New York critic,
I think his name was Gene Shalit, said This is like seeing
Fantasia perform live before your eyes.
And my mother made all, she madeall those puppets.
For those of you who can't visualize it, you really do need
to see it to believe it. It's a very interesting
(11:12):
experience. You can go to the Famous People
players website, famouspeopleplayers.com and see
the photos, and you can also gettickets to the shows while
you're there. Oh yes, and please join our
Instagram or Facebook. Come on, let's we'll get with
(11:32):
the program here. But you it, it was so wonderful.
And then Liberace did discover us and saw us perform, not
knowing anything about the groupand signed us on the spot to
open for him in Las Vegas. And we were part of Liberace's
company for 10 years with a wonderful relationship.
(11:54):
I like to hear that the performers are gaining so much
from the experience, including their independence.
Are there any educational programs offered and can you
tell us a little bit about them?Well, we do, and that is our
educational program is funded from a bequest that came from a
(12:18):
Schleckel Village resident. Her name was Freda Griffiths and
she left her estate to us and she left it when COVID started
and I thought we were going to have to shut the company down
and Freda Griffiths threw her bequest from her will, who she
(12:39):
loved the players, so she wantedit to be for education.
We have marvelous school shows. We have the Freda Griffiths
Master of Imagination and Entrepreneurship program for
high schools. We have an awful lot.
And now we're starting the starsof tomorrow.
(13:00):
These are people who 32% have quit high school.
They're wandering the streets. Maybe they have an individual
educational plan. They were like me in school.
If I was in school today I wouldhave been diagnosed with ADHD.
But for me, ADHD really means awesome dreams with high drama.
(13:25):
So these young people are not the lost generation, they are
explorers. They're trying to find their way
out of this darkness. So they would join the Stars of
Tomorrow program, which is a full time program and they'll be
a certified teacher there to getthem their their their subjects
(13:46):
for everyday life. Not algebra, where you're not
going to be interested or Moby Dick to do a story on, but to
learn English by writing your own own story, by coming up with
your own fantasy, taking your your, your book and and and
going to the prop shop and designing the cover and then
(14:08):
becoming an entrepreneur to signit.
You can learn your math very easily by being in the culinary
arts dream program that we have because you got to do measuring.
You got to know how to divide, multiply, subtract when you're
doing menus for different numbers of people on the recipe,
the breakdown out of it, it is really fascinating.
(14:30):
And these are things I've learned as I went along with the
company. And now we're 49 years old,
hoping we're going to see our 50th birthday because we are.
So this is the most important program, and the world needs us
more now than they've ever needed us before.
And and Diane, you certainly walk the talk.
(14:51):
You've written best selling books like Dare to Dream, Throw
Your Heart Over the Fence, Daring to Dream, and you and and
your mother have won several awards.
Can you tell us a little bit about those?
Well, when we were discovered byLiberace, of course, and and won
rave reviews on Broadway, the Government of Canada bestowed
(15:12):
the Order of Canada because we were The Pioneers that brought
integration to the forefront of the world for people with
disabilities. And my mother has won many
awards, the Gardner Award, there's just been so many too
numerous to mention for her art form.
And one of the biggest thrills my mom had in her career was
(15:35):
when Clyde Barnes, that tough New York critic at the New York
Post, came out and said the showand the props, you know, he just
raved about it. And that was my mother.
So, and that was your mother andshe again lived to 103.
She lived at the Humber Village,Schlegel Village, where you are
recording this from right now. And so I understand.
(15:58):
But she gave you life lessons, obviously that lasted a long
time. What are some of the key lessons
that. Well, you know, my mother lived
always by the the letter C and Iwrote when she passed away, not
when she passed away. I wrote it in celebration of her
100th birthday. The Magic of the Seas, The
Children, a children's book Where Mary the Tree is, she's a
(16:21):
tree and she's a little tree that gets planted and then it
gets bigger and bigger and children climber and they
learned lessons, the letter C for creativity, for compassion,
all kinds of of wonderful words that you know, courage to take
the courage to do things. And she, the tree challenges
(16:44):
them on these words. And then one day there's a a a
violent storm outside and the lightning strikes the tree down
and they cry and they miss theirMary.
But Mary in the spring comes back and she's more beautiful
than ever. And people from all over the
(17:05):
world come at the end at the book, carrying a word that is
that the letter C is for. And you know, like, cool.
And it's, it's, it's a wonderfulstory.
And my mother would always say that the letter C will get you
everywhere. Am I right, Diane, in thinking
that your mom and you didn't always get along perfectly?
(17:27):
Oh no. And when it came to creativity,
I wanted an elephant and I wanted the elephant to be very
large and I wanted it to be pink.
Am I go and get the prop? When she made it and it was very
small and it was blue. And I was so upset about it.
And I did. Oh, yeah, I want it and I want
(17:49):
it. I got to have it.
I got to have it. And my mom stayed up all night
and gave me when I want. And then let me tell you what
happened. It was so big, I couldn't fit it
through the door. My mother was right.
So here you go, you know, And I used to get so annoyed when she
was right and all we were like my mother would say if she was
in this interview. My daughter and I are like the
(18:11):
George Burns and Walter Matthallmovie Sunshine Boys.
We couldn't live with each other.
We couldn't live without each other when we were creative
artists together and I had the the vision and the dream and
everything else, but I couldn't have done it without my mother.
So that was it. Just so, so wonderful a part of
(18:35):
my life that she is and she's still with me today.
I've had so many magical momentswhere I know that she's been
there. I went swimming and I always
take my ring off my my ring thatshe got for me, a sapphire
diamond thing. And I zip it in my bag and, and,
(18:57):
and when I got to work and I unzipped my bag, it was gone.
And I went was mortified, just mortified.
I called the Columbus Center that's in Toronto, and the girl
went looking for it. She says, what was your locker
number? And I says, well, I use a
different locker everyday. I don't know.
I was so distraught. She says I'll find it.
(19:18):
And she went and I prayed. I prayed so hard to Saint
Anthony, who is the patron Saints of finding things.
And then my friend came up and said, no, pray to your mother,
pray to your mother. And I said mom, and I'm crying.
I can't. I have to have you with me.
I need the ring. And I remember the time you got
(19:39):
it for me and how we laughed andwe had so much fun.
And the next thing you know, thelady called and she had found
it. But she said she went in the
locker room, she didn't know where to start.
And all of a sudden it was as ifsomebody was pulling her hand,
took her way down to the back, turned to the left and there it
was sitting right on top of the bench.
(19:59):
And she said I cleaned it and sparkled it and.
And she said it was a spiritual affect it had on her.
And when I got to my car to drive back home, what do you
think is on the mat of the car in the front is a dime.
And they say that when people pass away, sometimes they leave
Dimes around for you to find, tolet you know that they're still
(20:21):
with you. Oh, and your mother was
certainly with you at a hard time in your life, Diane, when
you were diagnosed with breast cancer and you were a bit afraid
to tell your mom about that. Why was I was, I was so scared
to tell her, 'cause I, I just, Ididn't know how she would take
it. And when I sat down with her, I
says I have something to tell your mom.
(20:43):
And I'm almost afraid to tell you this 'cause I know how
heartbroken you're going to be and everything.
And she said, well, what is it? And finally I said, I have
breast cancer. And she said she took my hand.
She says, oh, is that all? You know?
You got lots to give to this world.
Don't stop and lie in bed and feel sorry for yourself.
(21:06):
I won't allow it. Yes, I would say that is good
advice. When you first hear that or are
told that by the doctor that you're facing this and then
going through it, it's not easy and you might tend to sort of
wallow in your own pity kind of situation, but that can't last.
(21:34):
You really do have to get back to life, look at yourself every
day, accept what has happened and try to make the best of it,
to overcome it as much as possible.
Realize that you do have other things to live for and to keep
(21:56):
on living, to be as happy as youcan, because the people around
you love you a lot and they'll always be there for you.
So I guess that's your mother's advice in mine.
Thank you. So anyway, with the PICC line in
(22:16):
my arm is how I built that dine and Dream Theater in Toronto.
And if you go on our website andclick on dining, you will see
the most fantastic picture of the dining room.
And that's my mother, her ribbons up there on the ceiling
that she made the whole ceiling into beautiful colorful ribbons.
(22:38):
My mom worked with the interior designer on this, how she
envisioned everything. My mother was just the most
creative person and she'd be there late at night.
She worked, she worked a lot. And she also carried 3 jobs at
the same time. She when I was a little girl,
she was a cleaning lady, She wasa salesperson and she was a
(23:00):
dressmaker. She did not stop.
She had a really strong work ethic.
And I think, yeah, I read, I think there's a funny story
about when you and your brother were young and maybe the yard
got a bit. Messy.
Well, you see, because my motherwas working three jobs, we were
left with babysitters or we wereleft at home.
And this lady who lived next door to us in Hamilton, she
(23:25):
lived at #38 and her name was Missus Arms.
And of course, my brother and I would go, oh, it's 38 arms, look
at her. And she came over 1 morning and
scolded us for the worst yard and the front lawn had not been
mowed. There's no flower.
You have no flowers. This is a nice St.
(23:47):
And you haven't done anything and your mother's out
gallivanting somewhere. And we were so sad for my
mother. We didn't think anything else
about anything else. So I said to my brother, I was
older than him by about four years.
I said, you get the mower and I'll get the flowers.
And I looked at Missus Arms's yard and she had the most
(24:09):
beautiful marigolds and she had tulips and she had all kinds of
stuff. And I just went to my kitchen
drawer, get a fork and a spoon. And I went there very early in
the morning, very early what everybody was thinking.
And I dug up all the flowers andI planted them in our garden as
(24:32):
we're watering them, as we're watering them.
And my brother did a great job of, of mowing the lawn.
Missus Arms comes out with her little straw hat and her straw
basket and her gardening glut. Oh, what a beautiful garden you
have. Where did you get these gorgeous
flowers? And I just dropped the holes and
(24:53):
started to laugh and I ran in the house.
And of course, the next thing you know was, yeah, brats get
out here. So we had to pay back for the
flowers and we had to go to our Piggy Bank.
My mother was got scolded and all I had was $0.25.
And I knocked on her door with my brother and I says, well,
(25:13):
here's $0.25 for the flower. You think this is going to cover
the damage you kids did? You're brats.
But we had a beautiful garden. I'm sure you did.
I mean, you find creative ways to do everything.
It sounds like Diane and you, and again, you know, you worked
with your mother for so long. People listening what great
advice do you have for someone who might be in a position to
(25:35):
work with a family member? You know what, what can I say?
How do you do it? Well, first of all, you got to
be patient. I know that's hard to do, but if
you really have a good relationship with them, you can
let go and they will understand.It is a it's cooperation.
(25:55):
It's it's experiencing the joy of it together.
But you know, when they're gone,you're going to look back on it
and you will say, Gee, I should have listened.
So don't have those regrets because sometimes I look back
and I go, I should have listened.
My mother was right on this. Why didn't I see it at the time?
Why didn't I see it? And that's the kind of thing
(26:18):
where I feel kind of sad about for some things that I look at.
And when I sit where she sits inthe theater watching the show, I
can see my mother saying, I wouldn't have put the puppet
there. I would have put the puppet over
here. I would do this and everything
else. But you know what she was, she,
(26:38):
she had so much wisdom. She always used to say,
remember, the right way is always Mary's way.
I like that well. I really do like to take the
time to tell you I wait. I promised my mother I would
never put her in a senior place.I gave my word on that.
She was too active too, too justtoo creative to be boxed down
(27:02):
someplace sitting. It became very difficult for her
and she became blind and really crippled with her hands and
everything. And she lost her hearing.
And I had no choice. And I went around looking
everywhere and I was so disappointed in so many of the
places I saw walking into placesthat smelled of pee right away.
(27:26):
I couldn't do it. And then I went to I, it was
Freda Griffiths who sent us. She had just moved into Schlage
Village here in Toronto. And I walked in and I did not
feel that I was in a retirement home or I felt I was in a place
(27:48):
in Arizona, Sedona where a high end shopping mall, like a real
high end village. It was so wonderful.
And I just love the library and I, I knew my mother would love
this place. So I, I took the place and she
(28:09):
was on the main floor in a, in alovely apartment.
We decorated it beautifully withher artwork and everything and
and then how she enjoyed going to the to see the concerts that
you had in the village under thegazbo.
Oh, she had that. She loved that.
And then I could pick her up andtake her down to famous people,
(28:31):
players and she could spend the day with us and bring her home
later. And, and she always like people
to come in and have a party in her her place.
We had a beautiful Easter party here.
We rented what we took one of the rooms and I made a big
dinner with my volunteers and friends for some of the seniors,
(28:52):
all home cooked and brought it in.
We had such a wonderful, wonderful time.
And today when I walked in it just I could see her there.
I could see her everywhere I was.
So I was very emotional. But I think that this is without
a doubt the best. The best retirement and long
(29:18):
term place that this country has, I really do believe that.
I couldn't agree more. The best thing about living here
at Schlegel Village, and I'm in Aaron Meadows, are the people,
the wonderful staff. They're just truly amazing in
(29:38):
what they do, and all of the residents who become your
friends look after you, help you, have frequent chats, share
life stories with you. It's wonderful to have that
personal connection with so manypeople.
(29:59):
And so you can go to famouspeopleplayers.com and it's
quite easy to buy tickets right off of this site there, Diane.
I'm sure people are racing to dothat right now.
Thank you so much for sharing the memories of your mom at the
Schlegel Village as well. We really love that.
Thank you. Thanks for joining us on the
Green Bench today. On behalf of my Co host Evelyn
Brendall, I'd like to thank you for giving us a chance to bring
(30:21):
you these stories of Elder Wisdom.
We'd love to have you subscribe to the podcast if you haven't
already done so, but we'd also love to hear your words of
wisdom on social media. Please do using the hashtag
Elder Wisdom, which will also help others to find us on this
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on the podcast. You can easily find it by going
to elderwisdom.ca and following the link.
(30:43):
Take a look at the Elder Wisdom Pledge Against Ageism while
you're there, and please think about signing it.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Kathy Buckworth, and along
with Evelyn Brindle, we look forward to sharing some more
elder wisdom with you on the next episode of Stories from the
Green Bench. Elder wisdom Stories from the
(31:05):
Green Bench is brought to you bySchlegel Villages.
A complete continuum of care offering independent living to
long term care. Celebrating and honoring the
wisdom of the Elder. To learn more about us, please
go to our website schlegelvillages.com.
Life without. Laughs is not life.
We've got to breakdown the barriers between the
generations, there's there's no doubt about that.
(00:25):
Pray to the Lord for strength invoke on it.
Welcome to Elder Wisdom Stories from the Green Bench.
This is episode #53 and our fifth season of this podcast.
My name is Kathy Buckworth and as always, I have the pleasure
of sharing the bench with my Co host Evelyn Brindle, who lives
(00:48):
at the Village of Aaron Meadows in Mississauga, just one of the
Schlegel Village retirement and long term care residences.
And she lives there alongside her husband David.
Today, Evelyn and I are welcoming our special guest,
Diane Dupuis, who is the founderof the Famous People Players, an
internationally celebrated blacklight theater company where the
performers are all developmentally disabled.
(01:09):
Diane is not a resident at Schlegel Village, but her
mother, Mary Thornton, who livedto 103 who and she was very
involved in Famous People Players was a resident.
But before Evelyn, Diane, join me, I'd like to remind you what
this podcast is all about. It's the brainchild of the
Schlegel family. It's long been founder Ron
Schlegel's belief that the greatest untapped resource in
(01:30):
Canada, if not the world, is thecollective wisdom of our elders.
And today, we have some great wisdom to be shared from Diane
Dupuis as she tells us about theFamous People Players and what
she learned from working with her mother, Mary, and the wisdom
that Mary imparted to her. Hi, Evelyn, Are you ready for
today's guest? Hi, Kathy.
(01:51):
I sure AM. And I'm excited to learn about
our guest's mother, Mary Thornton.
She passed away a few years ago at 103 years of age and she
lived in the village of Humber Heights.
What I find so fascinating is that while her daughter Diane
(02:13):
Dupree founded the Famous PeoplePlayers, which we'll hear about
in a while, Mary worked in the company designing and building
these incredible props. Over 22,000 of them actually.
And if we're the theatre company, it certainly was a
(02:36):
mother daughter relationship, though back and forth them, they
didn't always agree, but they, Mary particularly would do what
Diane wanted. And she made a point of being a
very good help to Diane. So I'm interested to hear not
(02:59):
only about Mary's contributions to the success of this company,
but how they made that mother daughter working relationship
last for so many years, almost 50.
I'm so interested to hear about that as well.
Diane Dupuis, welcome to the program.
Well, I love my mom and you know, it's, it's there's so many
(03:22):
wonderful stories about her. I guess I really should begin
from the time I went to Grade 1 and how she sat up all night,
right up to 1:00 in the morning,making me a beautiful dress,
black patent shoes, and told me I was going to make all kinds of
new friends and it was going to be wonderful to go to school.
(03:43):
And I was so excited. And she dropped me off at the
doors of the classroom and I went in and I, I just couldn't
sit still. I ran around the classroom.
I got on the teacher's nerves. I, I, you know, I thought I was
having fun. I, I didn't know really what I
was doing, what was wrong. I didn't understand why you had
(04:04):
to put your hand up. And I went out in the recess
yard and I thought I'm all the kids are going to run with me,
but they didn't. And a lot of the kids didn't
like me. They thought there was something
wrong with me or I was crazy. And then I went back into the
classroom and the teacher kept with their pointer, kept tapping
me on the head to concentrate. And I really couldn't
(04:28):
concentrate. I didn't know what to
concentrate on. And when she said the
blackboard, it was black. And I didn't know what what
there was to be interested in that for her.
And so I would gaze out the window and I'd imagine myself
riding a White Horse. I was going to save the world.
I was going to grow up and be The Lone Ranger.
(04:51):
And I went on to the recess yardagain and I would pretend to
saddle on my horse and gallop. And the kids screamed and one
called me a retard. And it really upset me.
And I remember going home that night and my mother could see I
was very, very sad. And she just said, isn't it
(05:12):
wonderful you found a good friend your horse while you can
invite your horse for dinner andwe'll do something nice for the
for silver. And she understood me.
And she played the CBC show, radio show on The Lone Ranger.
And I love the sound of the hoops.
And I would go back to school every day.
(05:34):
I did not do well. And by the time I got to grade
three, I failed the whole year and it was marked failure on my
report card and I had to come home.
I was born and raised in Hamilton, ON, so the school was
on the mountain and we live beneath the escarpment.
And I didn't ride my horse home that day.
(05:54):
I cried all the way and and finally got home and my mother
wanted to see my report card andI was so scared to see it
because I thought you wouldn't love me anymore.
And instead she said now let's just she didn't even bring up
the word failed on it. She just says, let's go down
here and see what cooperation says 0 You got a good mark in
(06:21):
cooperation. That's the most important thing
it. Sounds like your mother was able
to hone in on what you could do rather than what you struggled
with like cooperation, and she really nurtured your
imagination. You may not have had all the
grades, but you did excel in imagination and creativity Is
(06:47):
anyone who has ever seen the famous people players wouldn't
really understand. I understand too that you fell
in love with puppets and puppetry thanks to her as you
were growing up. This was 1 area that she tried
(07:09):
to encourage your education. While she was because my mother
built me a puppet theater when Iwas a little girl and gave me
pen puppets and told me to go behind the box.
Not be afraid because the puppets will do the talking for
me. They won't know anybody's behind
the box. They won't even know who's
there. They're going to think they're
real. So they're real to you.
(07:30):
And don't you forget that. And you know, I, the puppets
could say anything, do anything.And you know, as I went on in
life, my mother would saddle up my puppet box on her little
Volkswagen and take me to for gigs at birthday parties and
magic places to entertain bar mitzvahs with a friend of mine
(07:53):
who was a magician exploring being a magician.
And you may not remember him, Heended up becoming the world's
greatest magician. And that was Doug Kenning.
And there we were from Hamilton doing this.
And it was so wonderful. And then I from there I got a a
(08:14):
my mother just kept encouraging me to to explore my imagination.
As long as the imagination that you come up with makes this
world a better place. So Dan, what you did was make
the world a better place, obviously with famous people
players and for people who don'tknow, who hasn't heard of them,
I think we all have. But for people who don't know
what famous people players is all about, can you tell me about
(08:36):
how it started and and and really the unique features of
it? Well, I went to a place to
perform. It was the Orillia Institution
and it was also Surrey Play Center.
And we were labeled mentally retarded back then.
And I did this show and I got totell you I was scared to do it
(08:58):
because people called me that. And I thought what was going to
happen? And all of a sudden a girl in
the audience had a seizure, and everybody in that room went to
help her, and nobody laughed andscreamed and made fun of her.
And I thought to myself of a quote that I once read that
(09:19):
Einstein said that great spiritsalways encounter violent
opposition from mediocre minds. And my mother was there with me
every step of the way, and she made my puppets.
And then I thought at that time I went to the man at the
institution and I said to him, you know, when you lock people
down like this and you put them in a room with no doors in the
(09:41):
washroom, no forks and knives toeat with, they're they're going
to become more disability, more handicapped.
But if you integrate them into society, they would normalize
themselves. And he says, well, I believe
that. I just don't know how to do it.
And I says I do. And that's how I found it.
Famous people, players. And it was all I, I chose the
(10:06):
black light technique. My mother was my partner, my
supporter all the way. And I black light technique.
Nobody would see the players andwho they are, so they can't be
afraid of them. And the puppets would be, well,
of course, was Liberace, becausethat was my mother's.
Oh, hero. My mother loved Liberace.
(10:28):
And So what was nice about Liberace?
Liberace had the piano, he had the Candelabra.
There was musical notes and you,there was so much magic that
that in black light, everything floats.
Everything defies gravity beforeyour eyes.
It's it's like seeing the movie Pinocchio.
It's a live cartoon on cartoon on stage.
(10:49):
When we performed at Radio City Music Hall, the New York critic,
I think his name was Gene Shalit, said This is like seeing
Fantasia perform live before your eyes.
And my mother made all, she madeall those puppets.
For those of you who can't visualize it, you really do need
to see it to believe it. It's a very interesting
(11:12):
experience. You can go to the Famous People
players website, famouspeopleplayers.com and see
the photos, and you can also gettickets to the shows while
you're there. Oh yes, and please join our
Instagram or Facebook. Come on, let's we'll get with
(11:32):
the program here. But you it, it was so wonderful.
And then Liberace did discover us and saw us perform, not
knowing anything about the groupand signed us on the spot to
open for him in Las Vegas. And we were part of Liberace's
company for 10 years with a wonderful relationship.
(11:54):
I like to hear that the performers are gaining so much
from the experience, including their independence.
Are there any educational programs offered and can you
tell us a little bit about them?Well, we do, and that is our
educational program is funded from a bequest that came from a
(12:18):
Schleckel Village resident. Her name was Freda Griffiths and
she left her estate to us and she left it when COVID started
and I thought we were going to have to shut the company down
and Freda Griffiths threw her bequest from her will, who she
(12:39):
loved the players, so she wantedit to be for education.
We have marvelous school shows. We have the Freda Griffiths
Master of Imagination and Entrepreneurship program for
high schools. We have an awful lot.
And now we're starting the starsof tomorrow.
(13:00):
These are people who 32% have quit high school.
They're wandering the streets. Maybe they have an individual
educational plan. They were like me in school.
If I was in school today I wouldhave been diagnosed with ADHD.
But for me, ADHD really means awesome dreams with high drama.
(13:25):
So these young people are not the lost generation, they are
explorers. They're trying to find their way
out of this darkness. So they would join the Stars of
Tomorrow program, which is a full time program and they'll be
a certified teacher there to getthem their their their subjects
(13:46):
for everyday life. Not algebra, where you're not
going to be interested or Moby Dick to do a story on, but to
learn English by writing your own own story, by coming up with
your own fantasy, taking your your, your book and and and
going to the prop shop and designing the cover and then
(14:08):
becoming an entrepreneur to signit.
You can learn your math very easily by being in the culinary
arts dream program that we have because you got to do measuring.
You got to know how to divide, multiply, subtract when you're
doing menus for different numbers of people on the recipe,
the breakdown out of it, it is really fascinating.
(14:30):
And these are things I've learned as I went along with the
company. And now we're 49 years old,
hoping we're going to see our 50th birthday because we are.
So this is the most important program, and the world needs us
more now than they've ever needed us before.
And and Diane, you certainly walk the talk.
(14:51):
You've written best selling books like Dare to Dream, Throw
Your Heart Over the Fence, Daring to Dream, and you and and
your mother have won several awards.
Can you tell us a little bit about those?
Well, when we were discovered byLiberace, of course, and and won
rave reviews on Broadway, the Government of Canada bestowed
(15:12):
the Order of Canada because we were The Pioneers that brought
integration to the forefront of the world for people with
disabilities. And my mother has won many
awards, the Gardner Award, there's just been so many too
numerous to mention for her art form.
And one of the biggest thrills my mom had in her career was
(15:35):
when Clyde Barnes, that tough New York critic at the New York
Post, came out and said the showand the props, you know, he just
raved about it. And that was my mother.
So, and that was your mother andshe again lived to 103.
She lived at the Humber Village,Schlegel Village, where you are
recording this from right now. And so I understand.
(15:58):
But she gave you life lessons, obviously that lasted a long
time. What are some of the key lessons
that. Well, you know, my mother lived
always by the the letter C and Iwrote when she passed away, not
when she passed away. I wrote it in celebration of her
100th birthday. The Magic of the Seas, The
Children, a children's book Where Mary the Tree is, she's a
(16:21):
tree and she's a little tree that gets planted and then it
gets bigger and bigger and children climber and they
learned lessons, the letter C for creativity, for compassion,
all kinds of of wonderful words that you know, courage to take
the courage to do things. And she, the tree challenges
(16:44):
them on these words. And then one day there's a a a
violent storm outside and the lightning strikes the tree down
and they cry and they miss theirMary.
But Mary in the spring comes back and she's more beautiful
than ever. And people from all over the
(17:05):
world come at the end at the book, carrying a word that is
that the letter C is for. And you know, like, cool.
And it's, it's, it's a wonderfulstory.
And my mother would always say that the letter C will get you
everywhere. Am I right, Diane, in thinking
that your mom and you didn't always get along perfectly?
(17:27):
Oh no. And when it came to creativity,
I wanted an elephant and I wanted the elephant to be very
large and I wanted it to be pink.
Am I go and get the prop? When she made it and it was very
small and it was blue. And I was so upset about it.
And I did. Oh, yeah, I want it and I want
(17:49):
it. I got to have it.
I got to have it. And my mom stayed up all night
and gave me when I want. And then let me tell you what
happened. It was so big, I couldn't fit it
through the door. My mother was right.
So here you go, you know, And I used to get so annoyed when she
was right and all we were like my mother would say if she was
in this interview. My daughter and I are like the
(18:11):
George Burns and Walter Matthallmovie Sunshine Boys.
We couldn't live with each other.
We couldn't live without each other when we were creative
artists together and I had the the vision and the dream and
everything else, but I couldn't have done it without my mother.
So that was it. Just so, so wonderful a part of
(18:35):
my life that she is and she's still with me today.
I've had so many magical momentswhere I know that she's been
there. I went swimming and I always
take my ring off my my ring thatshe got for me, a sapphire
diamond thing. And I zip it in my bag and, and,
(18:57):
and when I got to work and I unzipped my bag, it was gone.
And I went was mortified, just mortified.
I called the Columbus Center that's in Toronto, and the girl
went looking for it. She says, what was your locker
number? And I says, well, I use a
different locker everyday. I don't know.
I was so distraught. She says I'll find it.
(19:18):
And she went and I prayed. I prayed so hard to Saint
Anthony, who is the patron Saints of finding things.
And then my friend came up and said, no, pray to your mother,
pray to your mother. And I said mom, and I'm crying.
I can't. I have to have you with me.
I need the ring. And I remember the time you got
(19:39):
it for me and how we laughed andwe had so much fun.
And the next thing you know, thelady called and she had found
it. But she said she went in the
locker room, she didn't know where to start.
And all of a sudden it was as ifsomebody was pulling her hand,
took her way down to the back, turned to the left and there it
was sitting right on top of the bench.
(19:59):
And she said I cleaned it and sparkled it and.
And she said it was a spiritual affect it had on her.
And when I got to my car to drive back home, what do you
think is on the mat of the car in the front is a dime.
And they say that when people pass away, sometimes they leave
Dimes around for you to find, tolet you know that they're still
(20:21):
with you. Oh, and your mother was
certainly with you at a hard time in your life, Diane, when
you were diagnosed with breast cancer and you were a bit afraid
to tell your mom about that. Why was I was, I was so scared
to tell her, 'cause I, I just, Ididn't know how she would take
it. And when I sat down with her, I
says I have something to tell your mom.
(20:43):
And I'm almost afraid to tell you this 'cause I know how
heartbroken you're going to be and everything.
And she said, well, what is it? And finally I said, I have
breast cancer. And she said she took my hand.
She says, oh, is that all? You know?
You got lots to give to this world.
Don't stop and lie in bed and feel sorry for yourself.
(21:06):
I won't allow it. Yes, I would say that is good
advice. When you first hear that or are
told that by the doctor that you're facing this and then
going through it, it's not easy and you might tend to sort of
wallow in your own pity kind of situation, but that can't last.
(21:34):
You really do have to get back to life, look at yourself every
day, accept what has happened and try to make the best of it,
to overcome it as much as possible.
Realize that you do have other things to live for and to keep
(21:56):
on living, to be as happy as youcan, because the people around
you love you a lot and they'll always be there for you.
So I guess that's your mother's advice in mine.
Thank you. So anyway, with the PICC line in
(22:16):
my arm is how I built that dine and Dream Theater in Toronto.
And if you go on our website andclick on dining, you will see
the most fantastic picture of the dining room.
And that's my mother, her ribbons up there on the ceiling
that she made the whole ceiling into beautiful colorful ribbons.
(22:38):
My mom worked with the interior designer on this, how she
envisioned everything. My mother was just the most
creative person and she'd be there late at night.
She worked, she worked a lot. And she also carried 3 jobs at
the same time. She when I was a little girl,
she was a cleaning lady, She wasa salesperson and she was a
(23:00):
dressmaker. She did not stop.
She had a really strong work ethic.
And I think, yeah, I read, I think there's a funny story
about when you and your brother were young and maybe the yard
got a bit. Messy.
Well, you see, because my motherwas working three jobs, we were
left with babysitters or we wereleft at home.
And this lady who lived next door to us in Hamilton, she
(23:25):
lived at #38 and her name was Missus Arms.
And of course, my brother and I would go, oh, it's 38 arms, look
at her. And she came over 1 morning and
scolded us for the worst yard and the front lawn had not been
mowed. There's no flower.
You have no flowers. This is a nice St.
(23:47):
And you haven't done anything and your mother's out
gallivanting somewhere. And we were so sad for my
mother. We didn't think anything else
about anything else. So I said to my brother, I was
older than him by about four years.
I said, you get the mower and I'll get the flowers.
And I looked at Missus Arms's yard and she had the most
(24:09):
beautiful marigolds and she had tulips and she had all kinds of
stuff. And I just went to my kitchen
drawer, get a fork and a spoon. And I went there very early in
the morning, very early what everybody was thinking.
And I dug up all the flowers andI planted them in our garden as
(24:32):
we're watering them, as we're watering them.
And my brother did a great job of, of mowing the lawn.
Missus Arms comes out with her little straw hat and her straw
basket and her gardening glut. Oh, what a beautiful garden you
have. Where did you get these gorgeous
flowers? And I just dropped the holes and
(24:53):
started to laugh and I ran in the house.
And of course, the next thing you know was, yeah, brats get
out here. So we had to pay back for the
flowers and we had to go to our Piggy Bank.
My mother was got scolded and all I had was $0.25.
And I knocked on her door with my brother and I says, well,
(25:13):
here's $0.25 for the flower. You think this is going to cover
the damage you kids did? You're brats.
But we had a beautiful garden. I'm sure you did.
I mean, you find creative ways to do everything.
It sounds like Diane and you, and again, you know, you worked
with your mother for so long. People listening what great
advice do you have for someone who might be in a position to
(25:35):
work with a family member? You know what, what can I say?
How do you do it? Well, first of all, you got to
be patient. I know that's hard to do, but if
you really have a good relationship with them, you can
let go and they will understand.It is a it's cooperation.
(25:55):
It's it's experiencing the joy of it together.
But you know, when they're gone,you're going to look back on it
and you will say, Gee, I should have listened.
So don't have those regrets because sometimes I look back
and I go, I should have listened.
My mother was right on this. Why didn't I see it at the time?
Why didn't I see it? And that's the kind of thing
(26:18):
where I feel kind of sad about for some things that I look at.
And when I sit where she sits inthe theater watching the show, I
can see my mother saying, I wouldn't have put the puppet
there. I would have put the puppet over
here. I would do this and everything
else. But you know what she was, she,
(26:38):
she had so much wisdom. She always used to say,
remember, the right way is always Mary's way.
I like that well. I really do like to take the
time to tell you I wait. I promised my mother I would
never put her in a senior place.I gave my word on that.
She was too active too, too justtoo creative to be boxed down
(27:02):
someplace sitting. It became very difficult for her
and she became blind and really crippled with her hands and
everything. And she lost her hearing.
And I had no choice. And I went around looking
everywhere and I was so disappointed in so many of the
places I saw walking into placesthat smelled of pee right away.
(27:26):
I couldn't do it. And then I went to I, it was
Freda Griffiths who sent us. She had just moved into Schlage
Village here in Toronto. And I walked in and I did not
feel that I was in a retirement home or I felt I was in a place
(27:48):
in Arizona, Sedona where a high end shopping mall, like a real
high end village. It was so wonderful.
And I just love the library and I, I knew my mother would love
this place. So I, I took the place and she
(28:09):
was on the main floor in a, in alovely apartment.
We decorated it beautifully withher artwork and everything and
and then how she enjoyed going to the to see the concerts that
you had in the village under thegazbo.
Oh, she had that. She loved that.
And then I could pick her up andtake her down to famous people,
(28:31):
players and she could spend the day with us and bring her home
later. And, and she always like people
to come in and have a party in her her place.
We had a beautiful Easter party here.
We rented what we took one of the rooms and I made a big
dinner with my volunteers and friends for some of the seniors,
(28:52):
all home cooked and brought it in.
We had such a wonderful, wonderful time.
And today when I walked in it just I could see her there.
I could see her everywhere I was.
So I was very emotional. But I think that this is without
a doubt the best. The best retirement and long
(29:18):
term place that this country has, I really do believe that.
I couldn't agree more. The best thing about living here
at Schlegel Village, and I'm in Aaron Meadows, are the people,
the wonderful staff. They're just truly amazing in
(29:38):
what they do, and all of the residents who become your
friends look after you, help you, have frequent chats, share
life stories with you. It's wonderful to have that
personal connection with so manypeople.
(29:59):
And so you can go to famouspeopleplayers.com and it's
quite easy to buy tickets right off of this site there, Diane.
I'm sure people are racing to dothat right now.
Thank you so much for sharing the memories of your mom at the
Schlegel Village as well. We really love that.
Thank you. Thanks for joining us on the
Green Bench today. On behalf of my Co host Evelyn
Brendall, I'd like to thank you for giving us a chance to bring
(30:21):
you these stories of Elder Wisdom.
We'd love to have you subscribe to the podcast if you haven't
already done so, but we'd also love to hear your words of
wisdom on social media. Please do using the hashtag
Elder Wisdom, which will also help others to find us on this
green bench. We do love a review and a rating
on the podcast. You can easily find it by going
to elderwisdom.ca and following the link.
(30:43):
Take a look at the Elder Wisdom Pledge Against Ageism while
you're there, and please think about signing it.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Kathy Buckworth, and along
with Evelyn Brindle, we look forward to sharing some more
elder wisdom with you on the next episode of Stories from the
Green Bench. Elder wisdom Stories from the
(31:05):
Green Bench is brought to you bySchlegel Villages.
A complete continuum of care offering independent living to
long term care. Celebrating and honoring the
wisdom of the Elder. To learn more about us, please
go to our website schlegelvillages.com.
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