July 3, 2025 • 44 mins
I try not to play favourites, but this week’s guest may be the most extraordinary human I’ve ever interviewed. Diane Dupuy is the founder of Famous PEOPLE Players, a Black Light theatre company where the performers are individuals with physical and developmental disabilities. On stage, they become invisible, allowing life-sized puppets to dance, dazzle, and delight the audience. Offstage, they find purpose, dignity, and a chance to be part of something magical.
In this profoundly moving episode, Diane shares how she turned her childhood trauma, learning challenges, and rejection by society into a purpose-driven life. Famous PEOPLE Players is her ever-burning flame of inclusion, artistry, and belief in human potential.
From being discovered by Liberace—who invited the troupe to open for him in Las Vegas—to receiving support from Paul Newman, Senator Ted Kennedy, and even a standing ovation from Phil Collins, Diane’s journey is one of sheer will and unstoppable passion. No funding? She finds a way. Border blocks? She calls the White House. Criticism? She answers with applause.
But today, this company which has changed so many lives is fighting to keep its lights on. With no government funding, they rely solely on ticket sales, donations, and sponsorships.
If this episode moves you—and it will—share it. And if you can, support the show that refuses to stop, because for Diane Dupuy and her PLAYERS, the show must go on.
And please stay to hear what Andrea Barrack, from RBC, has to say about the role that organizations can play in creating a better world.
Visit famouspeopleplayers.com. Help keep the curtain up.
RBC: Purpose Framework: https://www.rbc.com/our-impact/_assets-custom/pdf/esg-report-2023-en-placemat.pdf
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
I try not to play favorites because I've had so many wonderful
guests on Chatter that Matters. But today
I'm going to put one on a pedestal who
possibly stands above all a woman whose vision
transformed a simple stage into a realm of pure magic and
profound purpose. Her name is Diane Dupuy
(00:23):
and she's a visionary founder of Famous People Players.
Sometimes I'm looking at the black because I know
the person that's behind that crow or on the legs
of Elvis. Their struggles in life,
I'm so proud of them. I grew up here.
I grew up in this company. This is my school.
(00:46):
I haven't graduated yet. So
what makes Diane so magical? Well, she started with a black light
theater company that brings inclusion and integration
to people with disabilities. I remember the first time I went on tour. It's going
to be fun and there's nothing I should be afraid of,
but kind of scary. Imagine a stage where
(01:09):
performers dressed in black become invisible. And in doing
so, they allow life sized characters and props to glow and float
eerily to music. They create this intricate visual illusion that
mesmerizes the audience. And this innovative use of
black light was initially a powerful technique to
hide the performers with disabilities. Why? Because in the
(01:31):
70s, society wasn't ready to integrate them openly.
They hid them away. We don't erase history, and this
is exactly what this company came from.
Diane, who bravely shares her own struggles with a learning disability,
has spent a lifetime changing that stigma.
Recognized that I was born with a special
(01:53):
gift. It was my imagination. Famous People Players
isn't just a theatre. It's recognized as Canada's goodwill
ambassadors. It's a home and family with individuals known as
players learn everything from manipulating puppets and
managing dining services to developing life skills and confidence.
And whatever you do with your gift that you're
(02:15):
born with, it's to make this world a better place
because you're in it. Famous People Players
are pioneers in bringing integration to the forefront of the world.
And they've even inspired policy changes like the shutdown of
segregated schools in Ontario. Diane's journey, their
journey shows that life has meaning no matter what the circumstances. What
(02:39):
you see is sensational. What you don't see is inspirational.
And here's something else that I haven't done on my show and that's
making appeal. Everybody listening and everybody
that you know that has means. We must do everything we can to preserve what
Diane Dupuy and Famous People Players achieve every day. This
company relies on ticket sales and donations and sponsorships.
(03:01):
They've operated without government Grants for decades.
Diane and her players remind us that human beings are
not only special, but within all of us, we possess incredible
potential. And these people with mental and physical disabilities
need a stage like this, a place where their talents shine,
their confidence soars, where applause is sincere, and where
(03:24):
they can continue to inspire all of us to truly see and value
every individual. And now I go live on stage
and interview Diane Dupuy moments after she just
entertained me with some of the magic talent of the
Famous People Players. Ladies and gentlemen, the Famous People Players.
(03:49):
Hi, it's Tony Chapman. Thank you for listening to Chatter that Matters, presented
by rvc. If you can please subscribe to the podcast
and ratings reviews, well, they're always welcome and they're always, always
appreciated.
Diane Dupuy, welcome to Chatter that Matters. Well, you bring
tears to my eyes. Well, I just sat with you in the audience, and you
(04:11):
were kind enough to put on a couple of scenes and
scenes you might have seen a thousand times. And you started crying,
and that made me cry, realizing that how
important this is to you. And I don't think it's because it's
important to you in terms of individually. It's important
because you know how much it matters to so many people. That's true. You
(04:34):
know, people ask me, don't you ever get tired of looking at the show or
anything? And did you see those colors? And
I says, well, sometime I'm looking at the black because I
know the person that's behind that crow
or on the legs of Elvis, their struggles in
life. I'm so proud of them. I grew
(04:56):
up here. I grew up in this company.
This is my school. I haven't graduated yet.
I was always a slow learner when I went to school because I couldn't
concentrate. This I can concentrate on. I get
bored so easily. I think that's one of the worst diseases to have,
is to be bored. But here
(05:18):
I'm fascinated to paint the. Picture for my
audience that some of them will be listening on the audio. Everything
we see is done through black light. So when you talk about watching
the black behind are these performers. And then
what comes to life is this fluorescent puppetry that's
magical. I was just watching Elvis dance, and I wondered, how could
(05:40):
one individual do all of that with a puppet? And
yet when the lights came on, we realized there was three people performing
such a moving art form. But I want to rewind the clock
because this began even before you joined this company. This began
because as a young child, from what I understand, you love playing with puppets. I
have to rewind because my first day of grade one,
(06:03):
I was very excited about going to school because I was going to
make new friends. When I got into the classroom, I was so
happy. I was yelling out and screaming, you know, and I
couldn't sit still. And the sister I went to Catholic school
was trying to get me to sit still in the class, but I wanted to
play with my new friends. And then finally, the recess
(06:25):
bell rang, and I went out to the recess yard to play, and
nobody played with me. It made me feel very sad.
And I came back in the classroom and I had to sit.
So. And that was painful for me.
And then all of a sudden, I saw the windows of the classroom,
and I looked out there and I saw myself
(06:49):
riding a white horse. I was going to save the world.
I didn't need all this. And I made up my mind right there.
Six years old, I don't need this. I failed grade three.
I failed grade six. And people
are shocked. Grade nine, twice. Not because I was
(07:10):
stupid. I just
wasn't interested and hyper.
And my mother recognized that I was
born with a special gift. It was my imagination.
And she was the one with the nun, a teacher, Mother Patil or
Loretto nun that encouraged me to use it.
(07:33):
And whatever you do with your gift that you're
born with, it's to make this world a better place
because you're in it. How did you overcome, though? I mean, in
being shunned, you know, you failed grade three, you failed grade six.
You're kept back twice. In grade nine, you're suddenly the very
big, older child in these classrooms. Natural
(07:57):
for kids to bully what they feel is a weakness. How did
you find a way to overcome that trauma? Was it just
simply through your imagination that you could. I would just go into another world
and tune out. I guess when I look back on it,
maybe I was a lonely child sometimes, but I was always so
creative. And my mother built me the puppet theater. And
(08:18):
she told me, just go sit behind there and find yourself.
And I did. There it was. I was behind there. And when I
could hear the applause out there, I felt good and I could express
myself. But it wasn't me expressing. I just saw
the puppet and I let the puppet do what the puppet wanted to
do. That was it. Let's talk some more about your mom,
(08:41):
because she didn't just start you in the puppet theater, you ended up
bringing her into your theater. My mom and I fought a lot.
And my mother always said our relationship is like George Burns and Walter
Matthew and the Sunshine Boys. Exactly. And I
want this and I want that. But my mother was always worried,
Italian worried that I would fail again. And
(09:03):
she was worried when I came up with this idea, because
at that time, we were called mentally
retarded. Now, nobody likes me saying this out
publicly. They get upset, we get letters, but we don't erase
history. And this is exactly what this company came
from. When I was. I think I was about 19,
(09:25):
20, I went to the Orillia Institution
to volunteer. I was shocked. There were no
doors in the washroom, no forks and knives to eat with,
and no toilet paper. And it really bothered me. And I just thought.
And I saw all of them, all these people, they were
almost like animals, all in one room with
(09:48):
all the whatever you. Social workers,
assistants, whatever, all sitting there watching them,
making sure that they didn't hurt themselves or
whatever. Awful environment. And I went to the
doctor and I asked him, why is it like this? I don't
get it. And he said, there's no doors on the
(10:10):
washroom because they eat the toilet paper.
They take the forks and knives and they start stabbing each other.
There's nothing else we can do. When I talk to
the students when they come here, I say, did you know that in
this great country of ours many years ago,
people were hidden? They were not allowed to be
(10:34):
integrated into society. It was so upsetting to me.
And in many ways I related to them. Because when I was a young kid,
I was called a retard by a kid in my class. And I
was scared and I was ashamed. And I remember
thinking, because I feel great. Oh, my God, that's what
they think I am. And I remember when this lady, her
(10:57):
name was Audrey Watson, she worked at the Surrey Place
center for the mentally retarded. She asked me
to come and do a show for the kids. And I didn't want to go
because I thought, oh, this cements it. She insisted
again and insisted again. And I finally went,
and I'm glad I listened. Young kid
(11:20):
in the audience that day at the Surrey place had a
seizure while my show was on. And do you know that
all those kids who they called that awful name
all got up with concern, compassion,
and wanted to help her. When I remember a girl
in my class who had seizures
(11:43):
and her skirt would wrap around her neck and all the
kids would laugh. And that was the only time
in my life that I had the guts to
stand up and yell and scream at every one of them
when I could never do it for myself. How did the black light
come along because to me, it's, you know, puppeteers tends
(12:06):
to be hidden behind the curtains. But the beautiful thing
that you're doing is with black light. My father was a very
creative artist, and I love my dad
dearly, but he was an alcoholic. He was a very
nasty drunk. When he drank, some people fall asleep and pass out.
He was nasty. And when I was a little girl,
(12:28):
three, four years of age, for an unknown reason at the dinner
table, he said, go to the basement. And I would get up and I would
go. I would be scared at first. And no lights on were allowed in the
basement. I'd just sit there in the dark. And I sat down there and I
had a little record player. I had that record,
Pinocchio. When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who
(12:50):
you are. And I played that. And I imagined
myself being Cinderella down there, and my Prince
Charming would come and everything. It didn't bother me. Every time I had to
go to the basement, didn't bother me at all. But through the blackness
there, I could picture things. And,
you know, and I never realized until years later that I
(13:12):
walked up that basement floor and I found,
as you can say, your Prince Charming, your princesses, was the famous
people players. People say, why is it black light?
It's because at that time, when I founded it, we
couldn't be seen. People would say, it's a freak show.
So we had to hide and we hid in the black
(13:34):
light. And I used to say to the early players, I
say, so if we bomb, they'll blame it
on Liberace or they'll blame it on Elvis, because they
don't see any of us. We're going to show them we're professionals.
In fact, we're going to be the pioneers.
That changes everything. So you're never called that
(13:57):
awful name again. And that's what we did. Diane
There's a big difference between dreaming it. Even if you're
finding a way to escape being put in a dark basement
and actually making this happen. And you did. And I'm curious
how somebody that society had judged in not being
quite right and society had pushed back because you couldn't
(14:19):
learn the way others. You found a way to rise above all
of that. There's so many components of me.
I was also raised by the Catholic Loretto Nunc, and
we were always taught, number one, to forgive.
And when I used to go to school in the morning crying because
my dad had beat me, we go into the chapel and let a
(14:41):
light a candle, and I always had a guardian angel, they would say, who
would always look after you and guide you and tell you what
to do? For me, the power of prayer is very important.
I've got many stories of earth angels that, you
know, come in my life. I remember when I first
opened the first Dine and Dream theater. Oh, my gosh,
(15:04):
what a nightmare. Governor General comms were a big hit, and I
had a drawer full of bills from a construction company, and I couldn't
have the money to pay for it. My board of directors says we had to
shut the place down after we opened it. We're going to have to figure out
how we raise the money. And every day I went to mass
early in the morning, I lit a candle and I prayed to St. Anthony,
(15:27):
who said, who was the founder of many things?
Find the money. Find the money. And I did this every day for 30 days.
Nothing, nothing, nothing. And then one day, we had this little
lunch show for some seniors. After the show,
we were going to gather everybody together and we were
going to tell all the performers and say, we can't come back.
(15:49):
And during that, watching all the seniors eat their lunch,
a young man, gray suit, and
he comes in through the front door, and he's looking like this. I
says, are you looking for somebody? And he says, yes, I'm
looking for Diane Dupuy. What can I do for you?
I remember when you came to my school and you spoke to us.
(16:12):
Just. It really helped me a lot. So I want to. It's not
much, but I wanted to make a donation to you because I heard you
open this place up. And I thanked him very, very much. And
in my mind, I said, this isn't going to help
me. You know, it's like, I need lots of money.
(16:32):
And it was for $20,000. And you
know what the name on the check was? Anthony.
We have to suffer to achieve where you want
to go. I don't like it. I have
arguments with God all the time about this. I don't know
what the hell you're doing. I don't know why
(16:56):
you gave us free will. That was the dumbest thing
I've ever heard in my life. If you want me
to continue or be an instrument to do
this work, send me the money.
And just. I don't want to lose the last thought. But you said, I love
my dad. How did you find a way to love him?
(17:18):
He was a great guy. When he wasn't drinking, I went down
to visit him in Arizona. And I could be a brat.
I was mad. He left us, went off and Married another
woman who had a son. And I didn't like that.
And my full intention was, I'm going to break up this marriage.
(17:39):
I did, too. I called you. Oh, my heavens. But
anyway, he took me all through Arizona to the desert and
everything, and I just loved it so much. And so sometimes
when I get into a real dump, I always envision
us as the pioneers
going across the desert in the wagons,
(18:03):
looking for the new frontier. That's our life here.
And, you know, when we had people like Liberace
who discovered us, how did that come about?
My mother loved Liberace. He was a big star then.
And I could envision a piano, a candelabra, dancing.
I had it all figured out. The tambourine, the
(18:25):
maracas going, and Liberace dancing with
his feet on the keyboard. And I knew he would
love this. And so I picked up the phone.
Hello, my name is Maggie,
and I'm Mr. Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau's personal
assistant. And he saw this wonderful show,
(18:49):
A Black Light, with puppet of Liberace.
The Prime Minister would like to have him honored
at a gala. Oh, it's wonderful. This is great.
Well, gee, you know, can I have your phone number and I'll
call you back? No, I'm traveling with Mr. Trudeau. I'll call
you back. So that's how it went. Conversations like that.
(19:12):
And I changed it, and then I pretended I was somebody else.
And how do we book? You know, I did all kinds of stuff. So when
he came to perform in Toronto, there was
a gala going on, and it was to raise money
for, at that time, the mentally retarded. And I convinced them
that we should be performing at it. Long story short,
(19:35):
he agreed to come to this gala to be honored. Pierre Trudeau's
gonna be there. He's gonna be there. Oh, when I think of the
things I'd done, I couldn't do them today. Cause there's social media, especially somebody
raised in a Catholic with nuns. Shame. Well, you know, about
the nuns. Okay, another story. Anyway,
(19:55):
so anyway, I go to the Royal York Hotel to
pick Liberace up. I have the limousine outside,
and if you've been in the Royal York, you know, they have the banks and
all the elevators around, and I running
from one elevator to left, doors open, it's busy. And then all of a
sudden, the doors open, and there's Liberace.
(20:17):
And all I could think about was, this puppet
doesn't look anything like this man at all. Oh,
my God. We get into the
ballroom and they announce Liberace lights go
down right away because we're going to do the number right away.
Out comes the famous people players. And it was so
(20:39):
enchanting. And I could almost feel, you know, like
a fairy godmother had flown in with her magical
wand and said, bibbidi bobidi boo. You're now
professionals. And at the end of that show,
the last number we did was Liberace's
Impossible Dream to dream. The impossible
(21:01):
dream to be better far than you are. And they all came out
for a battle. Liberace gets up right away
and said to the audience, I found my new opening act in
Las Vegas, and I'm gonna have you come. All of a sudden, I come
back to reality. Come back to reality. And
I'm kind of sliding down the table
(21:23):
thinking, what have I done in public?
Wait till he finds out who they are. That's gonna make a difference.
The performers took the black hoods off and came up and started
speaking to him. He caught on and he went back to the
microphone and he said, the way you perform,
(21:44):
where you move people in a matter of seconds,
from tears to laughter, is a very special gift. And
I'm still gonna have you open for me in Las
Vegas. I mean, everybody went crazy.
With Liberace giving a seal of approval. You have to believe it'd be
(22:04):
smooth sailing finally, for Diane and her famous People's Players.
But when we return, we'll learn more amazing stories
of this woman. How she never takes no for an answer. What it
took for her to get her players to Las Vegas, and what she does
every day to keep the lights on this amazing show and to
give these extraordinary people the stage they deserve.
(22:30):
Hi, it's Tony Chapman. I want to talk to you about the RBC
Purpose Framework. This is a bold commitment to make a meaningful
difference in our communities. By 2035, RBC
will make a philanthropic investment of $2 billion to support
community ideas that help seed, scale and sustain solutions in
three key areas where RBC believes they can have a meaningful impact.
(22:53):
First is support the transition to a net zero economy. The second,
in face of such massive change, equip people with skills for a
thriving future. And third, drive equitable opportunities for
prosperity, including food, security, housing stability, health services,
and financial well being. When communities thrive, we all
prosper. And that matters to you, to me, and to rbc.
(23:18):
Going through what we're going through right now with
what's happening south of the border is waking up
every morning and knowing there's no hope. It's
uncertain. I don't know Where I'm going? Do I go left, right? What do
I do? How can I make a plan when we don't even know as
a country what we're going to do? It is frightening.
(23:41):
Today my special guest is. Is the founder of Famous People Players,
the one and only Diane Dupuy. One of the most
extraordinary human beings I have ever interviewed.
A young lady by the name of Diane told me that these
youngsters had worked very, very long and
hard doing impressions of some of
(24:05):
their favorite performers, and I was amongst them.
The next thing that happened was we got a call from the head of
the Hilton Hotel in Vegas. They didn't want us. I
don't know where I got my guts back then, because I said to the guy
on the phone, I agree with you. I said, the only way you can do
this, and I'll back you 100%, is you come to Canada,
(24:28):
you see them, and then you tell Liberace that we're awful.
And he came, and the company went up and performed. We had two little
chairs, and he just turned to me within two minutes and said,
okay, going to Las Vegas. And so we were on our way to Las Vegas.
We get to the Pearson Airport, and the American authorities wouldn't let
us cross because of who we were. Missed the first flight,
(24:50):
missed the second flight. What the heck do you do? We went,
got this far, and I didn't know what to do. And thank God for
payphones because I got on the phone and I called the White House.
Just stop. I called the White House. I got Mabel, the switchboard
operator, let's say. And I cried on the phone.
You've got to help me. I've got to get this group to
(25:12):
Las Vegas. You've got to help me. She said, I'll make some
calls. We missed another flight. Finally, it
was Senator Ted Kennedy. The Kennedy
Foundation, I think. I don't know how it worked. There was only one flight left
to go. And finally the senator called
and said, let that group pass. And I went
(25:34):
right by that guy, and he says to
me, who do you know? And I said,
I just want to know why we couldn't get across
this border. And he says, because we
thought you were going to leave them on our health care system.
I think we changed all that. We brought that
(25:57):
to the attention of. To the government there.
And we never did it by yelling, screaming, protesting,
going around. We did it through the
beauty of our art that people fell in love with
and said, gee, I didn't know they were capable
(26:17):
of such wonderful things, you know, what that makes people
feel in my company, they feel good, they feel tall.
For someone who could never look anybody in the eye. For someone who sat on
the floor who just put his head and didn't want to
partake. I also had a young man
who lived in a room for 18 years
(26:40):
with a towel over his mirror because he didn't want to look at himself because
he had a very abnormal shaped head, purple in color,
and big magnifying glasses. His name was Renato, and he
came in a taxi to see him there
standing, everybody staring at him. And it didn't bother
him at all seeing the players join, getting, boarding
(27:03):
their plane to come back to Toronto after being a big hit in Las
Vegas. Critics didn't even know anything about us.
Rave reviews. And there's Renato walking down the aisle of the
plate. Everybody's staring and whispering. Didn't bother him at all.
Then you had Brenda, who used to scream and holler and rip the place
apart, was upset with her luggage missing, and she didn't
(27:25):
get annoyed with something that went wrong. And then
we had darling Benny, who was the one that always sat on the floor
and was shy. Well, he's up there telling the pilot how he should
fly and find the way home to Canada. You know, those are the
things that makes me so excited
and passionate that I say, all right, we're going to go and do this now,
(27:47):
and we're going to do that. And then what happens? You land in Toronto, and
what do you think the CBC found out about the
spoof, as they called it, pulled off in Vegas. And right
away, Toronto Star mentally retired at
Puppeteers, big hit in Las Vegas after we've been there.
You know something? You love Stevie Wonder for his music,
(28:11):
not because he's blind. And I stand behind that today.
And now we're out in the open of who we are because we've been
accepted. And there are a lot of people like that. There's still a
lot of people like that, and there's still that discrimination.
And I always say to the players, if that happened to you and they do
it, maybe you didn't represent yourself right. I
(28:33):
do classes teaching how you present yourself, and
then you learn. And you can't say, I have a disability, you
gotta be patient or anything. This is a different world out
there. You're gonna fight for yourself. You are
a man or you're a woman, or, you know, you're a
person. You've got a gift. Now, don't start
(28:55):
asking everybody to take care of you and do all
this Stuff, we gotta try and do it. And that's how everybody
grew. Cause it was a challenge. Today, now the world has
changed and I'm lost in the dark.
How many years has the theater been gone? 51 years, this June
22nd. Has there ever been a time where you felt you were on
(29:18):
strong financial footing? Or has it always been
part of your mandate not just to dream the
theater and the puppeteers and the Liberace,
but having to always raise money? Not really. But
I would say when we had our first Dine and Dream Theater in Toronto,
we were doing very, very well. We had the tour bus, we were breaking
(29:40):
even. And sometimes we would have a little surplus and we
would put it aside and that would be like our
savings account. And then, you know, something happens
in the world. Like, let's say the world trade goes down.
You know, SARS comes. All of a sudden, ticket
sales are gone. We were working off of ticket sales. We weren't
(30:02):
working off of government grants. Donnelly preaching the need
for independence with the people that work here, but really striving
to be independent of needing government handouts. You've always
tried through corporate sponsorships and ticket sales, but today you're
probably in a very dire straits. And I want to unpack that, because part
of what I want to do is help you find money, because this is something
(30:24):
very special. You're very special. Why do you think? I mean, we can blame it
on the world changing and pandemics and everything else, but this is what we want
to be saying as a human race, is that we become better.
Expressions like this, why are you struggling to be heard and having
people support. You, it's a struggle. I think it's meant to
be that way. For some reason, I don't know why.
(30:48):
What they learn and how they grow
is by what they're doing. So we sell the tickets.
It's a hard thing to market. Famous people, players.
It's a hard thing to brand. Oh, it's a kiddie show
or it doesn't do well on television. When I
(31:08):
went out fundraising for the dining room,
to have a dining room, it was actor Paul Newman
who gave me that money. He saw our show. He was so
wonderful. And he made a television commercial for me with Jack
Lemmon promoting us. Everybody said, well, oh,
Paul Newman's involved with them. He'll look after them. And
(31:31):
nobody gave. We didn't have to go out and do big
fundraising because we were selling tickets. And it made us proud.
I feel today in this society
that the work we do is so amazing. We
need to have the government. We are Canada's
goodwill ambassadors to the world. And we go out and we've
(31:54):
done benefit performances for many organizations
in this country, building group homes through our show.
We went to Japan, it was right after the Kobe earthquake,
and we did. I think it was two weeks run.
And the money from that run built
(32:14):
a special place for the
down syndrome children who lost their parents in the
earthquake. We're trying and, you know, the rent is
high. And it goes on. It just goes on. We're
number one on TripAdvisors for concerts and
theaters. Hello. Where are you?
(32:35):
Your daughter's come in to the business.
How's the relationship with your daughter compared to the relationship you have with your mom,
which you described, I think as the same way. Same way. Oh,
yeah. George Burns and Gracie, I mean, I gotta tell you, we
argue a lot. I want things done this way. You know, I'm
copying my mother and I can't believe I. I'm saying this.
(32:58):
She does a wonderful job. I'm very proud of Joanne, really proud of
her. You've had some health issues, and yet you sit here
with more energy and more passion than almost any
guest I've ever had on Chatter that matters. Is it just
inside you, this radiant heart you find a way to just keep
going no matter how many times people try to knock you off.
(33:20):
There are days and there are many days. Well, I'm so
tired. There are many days I think I'm going to go home
and I can't catch my breath because I have
pulmonary fibrosis caused from the chemo and radiation
when I had breast cancer. I'm 16 years
past that. I could never leave the company
(33:44):
without a home. I just can't.
And so I would get up and I'd come back.
I struggled through it. I have beautiful people
who work here. Ann Campbell was my.
Still is my right arm. But I love what I do.
And I also don't like what I do. You know, at the
(34:07):
same time, it's a love hate relationship because, oh, no, not this again.
Oh, no, not. We have to go through this. Going through what we're
going through right now with what's happening south
of the border. It's waking up every morning and knowing
there's no hope. It's uncertain. I don't know where I'm going. Do
I go left? Right? What do I do? How can I make a plan
(34:30):
when we don't even know as a country what we're going to do? It is
frightening. All I could think about is not just that one man,
but everybody that's there in their own country
seeing this. What is wrong with you?
Because we can't have this. When we were in the
stands watching it, lights came on and you knew
(34:52):
everybody that was on that stage. You also knew where they came from and their
backstories. Share a story of someone that walked
in here and just soared. Well, I
would say in the early days, that would be. Benny didn't want
to talk to anybody. Just getting him up and moving
and trying everything. Finally,
(35:14):
after a year, I'm going to take him on Liberace's tour
across Canada. And all I gave him
in the show was these butterflies. And it
was going to be for the Barbra Streisand number where she came out
arabesque on a harp. And he was
having so much trouble learning it, but I. And everybody was
(35:36):
against me in the company taking him on this tour. And I.
He's got. He's got to get out there in the real world. He's got to
learn. He's got to be kicked around. Whatever the case is, he's going to get
it. I'm a firm believer. We got to Montreal and he
did the number, and the butterflies came out and
fell on the floor. Liberace limousine
(35:58):
rolled over them. And I got
into a little bit of trouble with the manager and the stage manager
about this. And I said, it won't happen again. I promise
you, it will not happen again. And then I go in the dressing room and
I go, you're going to go home. You're going
to go home. I'm telling you, please don't. You get those butterflies and
(36:19):
they're going to fly. I guarantee you
by the time we get to Ottawa, it
will be done while we get to Ottawa.
And they never came up. And that was it.
I was told he had to go home. I go into the
dressing room and you see him crying. You
(36:42):
didn't even bring them up. You didn't even try.
And he said, I can't go home, Diane. I
just can't go home. My parents bought tickets
for the OT Center. They're expecting me
to be there. You gotta promise me, Diane, you just
give me one more chance. I gotta make my family
(37:05):
proud. Well, we get to Toronto
and the number begins. And those
butterflies came up so beautifully
and floated off. And Benny did it, and I never forgot that.
And by the time we got to Hamilton Place,
we had a gala that night, opening gala where the ticket
(37:28):
sales would help support us. And we presented
the Liberace award to Benny. And when Benny grabbed
it, it was like a scene at a Rocky. It was so
fantastic. And it changed since that day.
Diane, I always end my podcast with my takeaways.
And I'm so moved by you. It's almost like if there was a
(37:50):
theme that ran through is Benny's butterfly.
You found a way to open your wings at a young age where a lot
of people, through the trauma of having a very abusive father
or being in a school where you're shunned because you're not like them.
And you found a way to fly away by looking out that window and seeing
those clouds. And then you decided to be this
(38:12):
angel that would let other people become butterflies. And you've
spent your entire life. And it's not just the players that perform
that have found the magic of getting applause and standing
ovations, but it's the people that work with you. It's the sponsors
that are lucky enough to be part of you. It's the Liberace and Paul
Newman's that realize there's so much more to life than just being a
(38:35):
celebrity. And I just think you're one of the most
famous people I've ever met. And famous in the sense
of you will leave a lasting mark on me. And I promise you,
whatever I can do, I will try to be one of those people that walked
through the door and helped you because I am lost for words,
because I am just so moved by who you are as a human being
(38:58):
and so blessed to have spent this last little bit of time just
learning about your story and not asking any of the questions we
planned because it was just such a beautiful, free flowing interview
of this butterfly that let so many other people fly. So thank you for being
part of it. Well, I have to say, you are a very
special man. I am very comfortable with you
(39:21):
and I can just open up. You bring out the best of me
in many ways. I thank you. So this is your
moment. You're the star and you're a wonderful man
for what you have done with your life and the shows
that you have. So I thank you. I'm humbled. I truly do live
in a dream world where every single day I'm the most happiest
(39:44):
person because of famous people. Players, because of Diane Dupuy.
It just blows your mind. I'm very proud of all of them.
It's their company, it's their home. They run it.
Joining me now is Andrea Barrack. She's a Senior VP of Sustainability and Impact
at rbc. Andrea, welcome Back to chatter that
(40:07):
matters. Thanks, Tony. So great to be here again. I think it's important
to unpack just the kind of role that you're playing. Cause you go,
sustainability and impact are really, to me, very different words.
Every time I'm on LinkedIn and I see you, you're somewhere around the world,
really bringing this sense of positivity and possibility. So tell me a little
bit more about your mandate. Sure. I mean, I think, you know, as a
(40:29):
corporation, we live by our purpose, which is helping
clients thrive and communities prosper. And so my
job is actually helping the entire organization, wherever we are,
demonstrate that we are helping communities to prosper. So how are we having a
positive impact on society, on the communities that we're in
on the planet? So it's a pretty good gig.
(40:52):
I read the statistic that RBC and the RBC
foundation is the largest source of funds
and I would argue also emotional, intellectual capital to mental health
in Canada, that you're involved in so many different aspects. Why
is mental health such a North Star for rbc saying, we've got to
do more as an organization and collectively as a country to help
(41:14):
people that are suffering with their mental health? We came at it two different
ways. One is we have a huge history of supporting youth and making,
you know, providing youth with the skills to be successful in the
future of work. And what we noticed in that work is
that if you don't have strong mental health, you can't
actually get the skills you need to be like that is one of the skills
(41:36):
you need to be successful. So we came at it from that. More sort of
skills and helping youth overall with their preparation to be successful
in their lives. We also had a history of
helping broadly all Canadians and
in any communities we're in have better access to
healthcare because healthcare creates the stability that people
(41:58):
need to then have the futures that they want
financially. And so one of the real gaps in our healthcare
system right now has been mental health, which is why we sort of
stepped in. But it's in that bigger piece saying, how do we help
more Canadians access the healthcare that they need so that they're better
able to then continue to live their fullest lives, be their best
(42:20):
selves, contribute to the economy, contribute to their families, their
neighbors? I would say it's not mental health in and of itself. I
think where RBC is sort of special in a way is that they
seek out where the gaps are and we listen to our partners.
So when we talk to all of our hospital or healthcare partners, we don't
tell them we want to fund mental health, we say to them, what are you
(42:42):
seeing as the need that you can't fill right now? You know, I followed your
career since you joined RBC and you had a shot at being very
successful in politics and you chose to go into an
organization to make a difference. For people listening that really want
to make an impact, the positive dent, what advice can you give
them to find that place where they feel they can
(43:04):
chase that purpose and at the same time have meaningful
make a meaningful difference? I mean, I have a job that
obviously has a positive impact, just the nature of the role and the work that
I do. But I talk to thousands of our colleagues at the bank,
certainly about that, about what each of them can do in their own
jobs. And the stories that they tell me are quite incredible. Local
(43:26):
branch employees, for example, that will notice a
family is struggling and will be able to
proactively step in and offer assistance so that they don't get into
trouble. That has an enormous impact. You know, we have people
who work in, you know, sort of risk and you know, anti money laundering and
you know, the work that they do helps stop child
(43:48):
trafficking. No matter what your job is, you can find what
that purpose is and how you can make a difference, even if it
is just being the best colleague that you can be and making people around
you feel like they belong and are included in your workplace. Encouraging
people to act in a positive way and create a positive
social discourse is something this country desperately needs. And it's nice
(44:10):
to have your voice added to the mix. And I know you make a major
impact working in the job you do at rbc. But I think it's these
are words of wisdom that we can all benefit from. So I appreciate you joining
me in Chatter that Matters. Always nice to chat with you, Tony.
Once you. Once again, a special thanks to RBC for supporting Chatter that Matters.
(44:30):
It's Tony Chapman. Thanks for listening and let's chat soon.
I try not to play favorites because I've had so many wonderful
guests on Chatter that Matters. But today
I'm going to put one on a pedestal who
possibly stands above all a woman whose vision
transformed a simple stage into a realm of pure magic and
profound purpose. Her name is Diane Dupuy
(00:23):
and she's a visionary founder of Famous People Players.
Sometimes I'm looking at the black because I know
the person that's behind that crow or on the legs
of Elvis. Their struggles in life,
I'm so proud of them. I grew up here.
I grew up in this company. This is my school.
(00:46):
I haven't graduated yet. So
what makes Diane so magical? Well, she started with a black light
theater company that brings inclusion and integration
to people with disabilities. I remember the first time I went on tour. It's going
to be fun and there's nothing I should be afraid of,
but kind of scary. Imagine a stage where
(01:09):
performers dressed in black become invisible. And in doing
so, they allow life sized characters and props to glow and float
eerily to music. They create this intricate visual illusion that
mesmerizes the audience. And this innovative use of
black light was initially a powerful technique to
hide the performers with disabilities. Why? Because in the
(01:31):
70s, society wasn't ready to integrate them openly.
They hid them away. We don't erase history, and this
is exactly what this company came from.
Diane, who bravely shares her own struggles with a learning disability,
has spent a lifetime changing that stigma.
Recognized that I was born with a special
(01:53):
gift. It was my imagination. Famous People Players
isn't just a theatre. It's recognized as Canada's goodwill
ambassadors. It's a home and family with individuals known as
players learn everything from manipulating puppets and
managing dining services to developing life skills and confidence.
And whatever you do with your gift that you're
(02:15):
born with, it's to make this world a better place
because you're in it. Famous People Players
are pioneers in bringing integration to the forefront of the world.
And they've even inspired policy changes like the shutdown of
segregated schools in Ontario. Diane's journey, their
journey shows that life has meaning no matter what the circumstances. What
(02:39):
you see is sensational. What you don't see is inspirational.
And here's something else that I haven't done on my show and that's
making appeal. Everybody listening and everybody
that you know that has means. We must do everything we can to preserve what
Diane Dupuy and Famous People Players achieve every day. This
company relies on ticket sales and donations and sponsorships.
(03:01):
They've operated without government Grants for decades.
Diane and her players remind us that human beings are
not only special, but within all of us, we possess incredible
potential. And these people with mental and physical disabilities
need a stage like this, a place where their talents shine,
their confidence soars, where applause is sincere, and where
(03:24):
they can continue to inspire all of us to truly see and value
every individual. And now I go live on stage
and interview Diane Dupuy moments after she just
entertained me with some of the magic talent of the
Famous People Players. Ladies and gentlemen, the Famous People Players.
(03:49):
Hi, it's Tony Chapman. Thank you for listening to Chatter that Matters, presented
by rvc. If you can please subscribe to the podcast
and ratings reviews, well, they're always welcome and they're always, always
appreciated.
Diane Dupuy, welcome to Chatter that Matters. Well, you bring
tears to my eyes. Well, I just sat with you in the audience, and you
(04:11):
were kind enough to put on a couple of scenes and
scenes you might have seen a thousand times. And you started crying,
and that made me cry, realizing that how
important this is to you. And I don't think it's because it's
important to you in terms of individually. It's important
because you know how much it matters to so many people. That's true. You
(04:34):
know, people ask me, don't you ever get tired of looking at the show or
anything? And did you see those colors? And
I says, well, sometime I'm looking at the black because I
know the person that's behind that crow
or on the legs of Elvis, their struggles in
life. I'm so proud of them. I grew
(04:56):
up here. I grew up in this company.
This is my school. I haven't graduated yet.
I was always a slow learner when I went to school because I couldn't
concentrate. This I can concentrate on. I get
bored so easily. I think that's one of the worst diseases to have,
is to be bored. But here
(05:18):
I'm fascinated to paint the. Picture for my
audience that some of them will be listening on the audio. Everything
we see is done through black light. So when you talk about watching
the black behind are these performers. And then
what comes to life is this fluorescent puppetry that's
magical. I was just watching Elvis dance, and I wondered, how could
(05:40):
one individual do all of that with a puppet? And
yet when the lights came on, we realized there was three people performing
such a moving art form. But I want to rewind the clock
because this began even before you joined this company. This began
because as a young child, from what I understand, you love playing with puppets. I
have to rewind because my first day of grade one,
(06:03):
I was very excited about going to school because I was going to
make new friends. When I got into the classroom, I was so
happy. I was yelling out and screaming, you know, and I
couldn't sit still. And the sister I went to Catholic school
was trying to get me to sit still in the class, but I wanted to
play with my new friends. And then finally, the recess
(06:25):
bell rang, and I went out to the recess yard to play, and
nobody played with me. It made me feel very sad.
And I came back in the classroom and I had to sit.
So. And that was painful for me.
And then all of a sudden, I saw the windows of the classroom,
and I looked out there and I saw myself
(06:49):
riding a white horse. I was going to save the world.
I didn't need all this. And I made up my mind right there.
Six years old, I don't need this. I failed grade three.
I failed grade six. And people
are shocked. Grade nine, twice. Not because I was
(07:10):
stupid. I just
wasn't interested and hyper.
And my mother recognized that I was
born with a special gift. It was my imagination.
And she was the one with the nun, a teacher, Mother Patil or
Loretto nun that encouraged me to use it.
(07:33):
And whatever you do with your gift that you're
born with, it's to make this world a better place
because you're in it. How did you overcome, though? I mean, in
being shunned, you know, you failed grade three, you failed grade six.
You're kept back twice. In grade nine, you're suddenly the very
big, older child in these classrooms. Natural
(07:57):
for kids to bully what they feel is a weakness. How did
you find a way to overcome that trauma? Was it just
simply through your imagination that you could. I would just go into another world
and tune out. I guess when I look back on it,
maybe I was a lonely child sometimes, but I was always so
creative. And my mother built me the puppet theater. And
(08:18):
she told me, just go sit behind there and find yourself.
And I did. There it was. I was behind there. And when I
could hear the applause out there, I felt good and I could express
myself. But it wasn't me expressing. I just saw
the puppet and I let the puppet do what the puppet wanted to
do. That was it. Let's talk some more about your mom,
(08:41):
because she didn't just start you in the puppet theater, you ended up
bringing her into your theater. My mom and I fought a lot.
And my mother always said our relationship is like George Burns and Walter
Matthew and the Sunshine Boys. Exactly. And I
want this and I want that. But my mother was always worried,
Italian worried that I would fail again. And
(09:03):
she was worried when I came up with this idea, because
at that time, we were called mentally
retarded. Now, nobody likes me saying this out
publicly. They get upset, we get letters, but we don't erase
history. And this is exactly what this company came
from. When I was. I think I was about 19,
(09:25):
20, I went to the Orillia Institution
to volunteer. I was shocked. There were no
doors in the washroom, no forks and knives to eat with,
and no toilet paper. And it really bothered me. And I just thought.
And I saw all of them, all these people, they were
almost like animals, all in one room with
(09:48):
all the whatever you. Social workers,
assistants, whatever, all sitting there watching them,
making sure that they didn't hurt themselves or
whatever. Awful environment. And I went to the
doctor and I asked him, why is it like this? I don't
get it. And he said, there's no doors on the
(10:10):
washroom because they eat the toilet paper.
They take the forks and knives and they start stabbing each other.
There's nothing else we can do. When I talk to
the students when they come here, I say, did you know that in
this great country of ours many years ago,
people were hidden? They were not allowed to be
(10:34):
integrated into society. It was so upsetting to me.
And in many ways I related to them. Because when I was a young kid,
I was called a retard by a kid in my class. And I
was scared and I was ashamed. And I remember
thinking, because I feel great. Oh, my God, that's what
they think I am. And I remember when this lady, her
(10:57):
name was Audrey Watson, she worked at the Surrey Place
center for the mentally retarded. She asked me
to come and do a show for the kids. And I didn't want to go
because I thought, oh, this cements it. She insisted
again and insisted again. And I finally went,
and I'm glad I listened. Young kid
(11:20):
in the audience that day at the Surrey place had a
seizure while my show was on. And do you know that
all those kids who they called that awful name
all got up with concern, compassion,
and wanted to help her. When I remember a girl
in my class who had seizures
(11:43):
and her skirt would wrap around her neck and all the
kids would laugh. And that was the only time
in my life that I had the guts to
stand up and yell and scream at every one of them
when I could never do it for myself. How did the black light
come along because to me, it's, you know, puppeteers tends
(12:06):
to be hidden behind the curtains. But the beautiful thing
that you're doing is with black light. My father was a very
creative artist, and I love my dad
dearly, but he was an alcoholic. He was a very
nasty drunk. When he drank, some people fall asleep and pass out.
He was nasty. And when I was a little girl,
(12:28):
three, four years of age, for an unknown reason at the dinner
table, he said, go to the basement. And I would get up and I would
go. I would be scared at first. And no lights on were allowed in the
basement. I'd just sit there in the dark. And I sat down there and I
had a little record player. I had that record,
Pinocchio. When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who
(12:50):
you are. And I played that. And I imagined
myself being Cinderella down there, and my Prince
Charming would come and everything. It didn't bother me. Every time I had to
go to the basement, didn't bother me at all. But through the blackness
there, I could picture things. And,
you know, and I never realized until years later that I
(13:12):
walked up that basement floor and I found,
as you can say, your Prince Charming, your princesses, was the famous
people players. People say, why is it black light?
It's because at that time, when I founded it, we
couldn't be seen. People would say, it's a freak show.
So we had to hide and we hid in the black
(13:34):
light. And I used to say to the early players, I
say, so if we bomb, they'll blame it
on Liberace or they'll blame it on Elvis, because they
don't see any of us. We're going to show them we're professionals.
In fact, we're going to be the pioneers.
That changes everything. So you're never called that
(13:57):
awful name again. And that's what we did. Diane
There's a big difference between dreaming it. Even if you're
finding a way to escape being put in a dark basement
and actually making this happen. And you did. And I'm curious
how somebody that society had judged in not being
quite right and society had pushed back because you couldn't
(14:19):
learn the way others. You found a way to rise above all
of that. There's so many components of me.
I was also raised by the Catholic Loretto Nunc, and
we were always taught, number one, to forgive.
And when I used to go to school in the morning crying because
my dad had beat me, we go into the chapel and let a
(14:41):
light a candle, and I always had a guardian angel, they would say, who
would always look after you and guide you and tell you what
to do? For me, the power of prayer is very important.
I've got many stories of earth angels that, you
know, come in my life. I remember when I first
opened the first Dine and Dream theater. Oh, my gosh,
(15:04):
what a nightmare. Governor General comms were a big hit, and I
had a drawer full of bills from a construction company, and I couldn't
have the money to pay for it. My board of directors says we had to
shut the place down after we opened it. We're going to have to figure out
how we raise the money. And every day I went to mass
early in the morning, I lit a candle and I prayed to St. Anthony,
(15:27):
who said, who was the founder of many things?
Find the money. Find the money. And I did this every day for 30 days.
Nothing, nothing, nothing. And then one day, we had this little
lunch show for some seniors. After the show,
we were going to gather everybody together and we were
going to tell all the performers and say, we can't come back.
(15:49):
And during that, watching all the seniors eat their lunch,
a young man, gray suit, and
he comes in through the front door, and he's looking like this. I
says, are you looking for somebody? And he says, yes, I'm
looking for Diane Dupuy. What can I do for you?
I remember when you came to my school and you spoke to us.
(16:12):
Just. It really helped me a lot. So I want to. It's not
much, but I wanted to make a donation to you because I heard you
open this place up. And I thanked him very, very much. And
in my mind, I said, this isn't going to help
me. You know, it's like, I need lots of money.
(16:32):
And it was for $20,000. And you
know what the name on the check was? Anthony.
We have to suffer to achieve where you want
to go. I don't like it. I have
arguments with God all the time about this. I don't know
what the hell you're doing. I don't know why
(16:56):
you gave us free will. That was the dumbest thing
I've ever heard in my life. If you want me
to continue or be an instrument to do
this work, send me the money.
And just. I don't want to lose the last thought. But you said, I love
my dad. How did you find a way to love him?
(17:18):
He was a great guy. When he wasn't drinking, I went down
to visit him in Arizona. And I could be a brat.
I was mad. He left us, went off and Married another
woman who had a son. And I didn't like that.
And my full intention was, I'm going to break up this marriage.
(17:39):
I did, too. I called you. Oh, my heavens. But
anyway, he took me all through Arizona to the desert and
everything, and I just loved it so much. And so sometimes
when I get into a real dump, I always envision
us as the pioneers
going across the desert in the wagons,
(18:03):
looking for the new frontier. That's our life here.
And, you know, when we had people like Liberace
who discovered us, how did that come about?
My mother loved Liberace. He was a big star then.
And I could envision a piano, a candelabra, dancing.
I had it all figured out. The tambourine, the
(18:25):
maracas going, and Liberace dancing with
his feet on the keyboard. And I knew he would
love this. And so I picked up the phone.
Hello, my name is Maggie,
and I'm Mr. Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau's personal
assistant. And he saw this wonderful show,
(18:49):
A Black Light, with puppet of Liberace.
The Prime Minister would like to have him honored
at a gala. Oh, it's wonderful. This is great.
Well, gee, you know, can I have your phone number and I'll
call you back? No, I'm traveling with Mr. Trudeau. I'll call
you back. So that's how it went. Conversations like that.
(19:12):
And I changed it, and then I pretended I was somebody else.
And how do we book? You know, I did all kinds of stuff. So when
he came to perform in Toronto, there was
a gala going on, and it was to raise money
for, at that time, the mentally retarded. And I convinced them
that we should be performing at it. Long story short,
(19:35):
he agreed to come to this gala to be honored. Pierre Trudeau's
gonna be there. He's gonna be there. Oh, when I think of the
things I'd done, I couldn't do them today. Cause there's social media, especially somebody
raised in a Catholic with nuns. Shame. Well, you know, about
the nuns. Okay, another story. Anyway,
(19:55):
so anyway, I go to the Royal York Hotel to
pick Liberace up. I have the limousine outside,
and if you've been in the Royal York, you know, they have the banks and
all the elevators around, and I running
from one elevator to left, doors open, it's busy. And then all of a
sudden, the doors open, and there's Liberace.
(20:17):
And all I could think about was, this puppet
doesn't look anything like this man at all. Oh,
my God. We get into the
ballroom and they announce Liberace lights go
down right away because we're going to do the number right away.
Out comes the famous people players. And it was so
(20:39):
enchanting. And I could almost feel, you know, like
a fairy godmother had flown in with her magical
wand and said, bibbidi bobidi boo. You're now
professionals. And at the end of that show,
the last number we did was Liberace's
Impossible Dream to dream. The impossible
(21:01):
dream to be better far than you are. And they all came out
for a battle. Liberace gets up right away
and said to the audience, I found my new opening act in
Las Vegas, and I'm gonna have you come. All of a sudden, I come
back to reality. Come back to reality. And
I'm kind of sliding down the table
(21:23):
thinking, what have I done in public?
Wait till he finds out who they are. That's gonna make a difference.
The performers took the black hoods off and came up and started
speaking to him. He caught on and he went back to the
microphone and he said, the way you perform,
(21:44):
where you move people in a matter of seconds,
from tears to laughter, is a very special gift. And
I'm still gonna have you open for me in Las
Vegas. I mean, everybody went crazy.
With Liberace giving a seal of approval. You have to believe it'd be
(22:04):
smooth sailing finally, for Diane and her famous People's Players.
But when we return, we'll learn more amazing stories
of this woman. How she never takes no for an answer. What it
took for her to get her players to Las Vegas, and what she does
every day to keep the lights on this amazing show and to
give these extraordinary people the stage they deserve.
(22:30):
Hi, it's Tony Chapman. I want to talk to you about the RBC
Purpose Framework. This is a bold commitment to make a meaningful
difference in our communities. By 2035, RBC
will make a philanthropic investment of $2 billion to support
community ideas that help seed, scale and sustain solutions in
three key areas where RBC believes they can have a meaningful impact.
(22:53):
First is support the transition to a net zero economy. The second,
in face of such massive change, equip people with skills for a
thriving future. And third, drive equitable opportunities for
prosperity, including food, security, housing stability, health services,
and financial well being. When communities thrive, we all
prosper. And that matters to you, to me, and to rbc.
(23:18):
Going through what we're going through right now with
what's happening south of the border is waking up
every morning and knowing there's no hope. It's
uncertain. I don't know Where I'm going? Do I go left, right? What do
I do? How can I make a plan when we don't even know as
a country what we're going to do? It is frightening.
(23:41):
Today my special guest is. Is the founder of Famous People Players,
the one and only Diane Dupuy. One of the most
extraordinary human beings I have ever interviewed.
A young lady by the name of Diane told me that these
youngsters had worked very, very long and
hard doing impressions of some of
(24:05):
their favorite performers, and I was amongst them.
The next thing that happened was we got a call from the head of
the Hilton Hotel in Vegas. They didn't want us. I
don't know where I got my guts back then, because I said to the guy
on the phone, I agree with you. I said, the only way you can do
this, and I'll back you 100%, is you come to Canada,
(24:28):
you see them, and then you tell Liberace that we're awful.
And he came, and the company went up and performed. We had two little
chairs, and he just turned to me within two minutes and said,
okay, going to Las Vegas. And so we were on our way to Las Vegas.
We get to the Pearson Airport, and the American authorities wouldn't let
us cross because of who we were. Missed the first flight,
(24:50):
missed the second flight. What the heck do you do? We went,
got this far, and I didn't know what to do. And thank God for
payphones because I got on the phone and I called the White House.
Just stop. I called the White House. I got Mabel, the switchboard
operator, let's say. And I cried on the phone.
You've got to help me. I've got to get this group to
(25:12):
Las Vegas. You've got to help me. She said, I'll make some
calls. We missed another flight. Finally, it
was Senator Ted Kennedy. The Kennedy
Foundation, I think. I don't know how it worked. There was only one flight left
to go. And finally the senator called
and said, let that group pass. And I went
(25:34):
right by that guy, and he says to
me, who do you know? And I said,
I just want to know why we couldn't get across
this border. And he says, because we
thought you were going to leave them on our health care system.
I think we changed all that. We brought that
(25:57):
to the attention of. To the government there.
And we never did it by yelling, screaming, protesting,
going around. We did it through the
beauty of our art that people fell in love with
and said, gee, I didn't know they were capable
(26:17):
of such wonderful things, you know, what that makes people
feel in my company, they feel good, they feel tall.
For someone who could never look anybody in the eye. For someone who sat on
the floor who just put his head and didn't want to
partake. I also had a young man
who lived in a room for 18 years
(26:40):
with a towel over his mirror because he didn't want to look at himself because
he had a very abnormal shaped head, purple in color,
and big magnifying glasses. His name was Renato, and he
came in a taxi to see him there
standing, everybody staring at him. And it didn't bother
him at all seeing the players join, getting, boarding
(27:03):
their plane to come back to Toronto after being a big hit in Las
Vegas. Critics didn't even know anything about us.
Rave reviews. And there's Renato walking down the aisle of the
plate. Everybody's staring and whispering. Didn't bother him at all.
Then you had Brenda, who used to scream and holler and rip the place
apart, was upset with her luggage missing, and she didn't
(27:25):
get annoyed with something that went wrong. And then
we had darling Benny, who was the one that always sat on the floor
and was shy. Well, he's up there telling the pilot how he should
fly and find the way home to Canada. You know, those are the
things that makes me so excited
and passionate that I say, all right, we're going to go and do this now,
(27:47):
and we're going to do that. And then what happens? You land in Toronto, and
what do you think the CBC found out about the
spoof, as they called it, pulled off in Vegas. And right
away, Toronto Star mentally retired at
Puppeteers, big hit in Las Vegas after we've been there.
You know something? You love Stevie Wonder for his music,
(28:11):
not because he's blind. And I stand behind that today.
And now we're out in the open of who we are because we've been
accepted. And there are a lot of people like that. There's still a
lot of people like that, and there's still that discrimination.
And I always say to the players, if that happened to you and they do
it, maybe you didn't represent yourself right. I
(28:33):
do classes teaching how you present yourself, and
then you learn. And you can't say, I have a disability, you
gotta be patient or anything. This is a different world out
there. You're gonna fight for yourself. You are
a man or you're a woman, or, you know, you're a
person. You've got a gift. Now, don't start
(28:55):
asking everybody to take care of you and do all
this Stuff, we gotta try and do it. And that's how everybody
grew. Cause it was a challenge. Today, now the world has
changed and I'm lost in the dark.
How many years has the theater been gone? 51 years, this June
22nd. Has there ever been a time where you felt you were on
(29:18):
strong financial footing? Or has it always been
part of your mandate not just to dream the
theater and the puppeteers and the Liberace,
but having to always raise money? Not really. But
I would say when we had our first Dine and Dream Theater in Toronto,
we were doing very, very well. We had the tour bus, we were breaking
(29:40):
even. And sometimes we would have a little surplus and we
would put it aside and that would be like our
savings account. And then, you know, something happens
in the world. Like, let's say the world trade goes down.
You know, SARS comes. All of a sudden, ticket
sales are gone. We were working off of ticket sales. We weren't
(30:02):
working off of government grants. Donnelly preaching the need
for independence with the people that work here, but really striving
to be independent of needing government handouts. You've always
tried through corporate sponsorships and ticket sales, but today you're
probably in a very dire straits. And I want to unpack that, because part
of what I want to do is help you find money, because this is something
(30:24):
very special. You're very special. Why do you think? I mean, we can blame it
on the world changing and pandemics and everything else, but this is what we want
to be saying as a human race, is that we become better.
Expressions like this, why are you struggling to be heard and having
people support. You, it's a struggle. I think it's meant to
be that way. For some reason, I don't know why.
(30:48):
What they learn and how they grow
is by what they're doing. So we sell the tickets.
It's a hard thing to market. Famous people, players.
It's a hard thing to brand. Oh, it's a kiddie show
or it doesn't do well on television. When I
(31:08):
went out fundraising for the dining room,
to have a dining room, it was actor Paul Newman
who gave me that money. He saw our show. He was so
wonderful. And he made a television commercial for me with Jack
Lemmon promoting us. Everybody said, well, oh,
Paul Newman's involved with them. He'll look after them. And
(31:31):
nobody gave. We didn't have to go out and do big
fundraising because we were selling tickets. And it made us proud.
I feel today in this society
that the work we do is so amazing. We
need to have the government. We are Canada's
goodwill ambassadors to the world. And we go out and we've
(31:54):
done benefit performances for many organizations
in this country, building group homes through our show.
We went to Japan, it was right after the Kobe earthquake,
and we did. I think it was two weeks run.
And the money from that run built
(32:14):
a special place for the
down syndrome children who lost their parents in the
earthquake. We're trying and, you know, the rent is
high. And it goes on. It just goes on. We're
number one on TripAdvisors for concerts and
theaters. Hello. Where are you?
(32:35):
Your daughter's come in to the business.
How's the relationship with your daughter compared to the relationship you have with your mom,
which you described, I think as the same way. Same way. Oh,
yeah. George Burns and Gracie, I mean, I gotta tell you, we
argue a lot. I want things done this way. You know, I'm
copying my mother and I can't believe I. I'm saying this.
(32:58):
She does a wonderful job. I'm very proud of Joanne, really proud of
her. You've had some health issues, and yet you sit here
with more energy and more passion than almost any
guest I've ever had on Chatter that matters. Is it just
inside you, this radiant heart you find a way to just keep
going no matter how many times people try to knock you off.
(33:20):
There are days and there are many days. Well, I'm so
tired. There are many days I think I'm going to go home
and I can't catch my breath because I have
pulmonary fibrosis caused from the chemo and radiation
when I had breast cancer. I'm 16 years
past that. I could never leave the company
(33:44):
without a home. I just can't.
And so I would get up and I'd come back.
I struggled through it. I have beautiful people
who work here. Ann Campbell was my.
Still is my right arm. But I love what I do.
And I also don't like what I do. You know, at the
(34:07):
same time, it's a love hate relationship because, oh, no, not this again.
Oh, no, not. We have to go through this. Going through what we're
going through right now with what's happening south
of the border. It's waking up every morning and knowing
there's no hope. It's uncertain. I don't know where I'm going. Do
I go left? Right? What do I do? How can I make a plan
(34:30):
when we don't even know as a country what we're going to do? It is
frightening. All I could think about is not just that one man,
but everybody that's there in their own country
seeing this. What is wrong with you?
Because we can't have this. When we were in the
stands watching it, lights came on and you knew
(34:52):
everybody that was on that stage. You also knew where they came from and their
backstories. Share a story of someone that walked
in here and just soared. Well, I
would say in the early days, that would be. Benny didn't want
to talk to anybody. Just getting him up and moving
and trying everything. Finally,
(35:14):
after a year, I'm going to take him on Liberace's tour
across Canada. And all I gave him
in the show was these butterflies. And it
was going to be for the Barbra Streisand number where she came out
arabesque on a harp. And he was
having so much trouble learning it, but I. And everybody was
(35:36):
against me in the company taking him on this tour. And I.
He's got. He's got to get out there in the real world. He's got to
learn. He's got to be kicked around. Whatever the case is, he's going to get
it. I'm a firm believer. We got to Montreal and he
did the number, and the butterflies came out and
fell on the floor. Liberace limousine
(35:58):
rolled over them. And I got
into a little bit of trouble with the manager and the stage manager
about this. And I said, it won't happen again. I promise
you, it will not happen again. And then I go in the dressing room and
I go, you're going to go home. You're going
to go home. I'm telling you, please don't. You get those butterflies and
(36:19):
they're going to fly. I guarantee you
by the time we get to Ottawa, it
will be done while we get to Ottawa.
And they never came up. And that was it.
I was told he had to go home. I go into the
dressing room and you see him crying. You
(36:42):
didn't even bring them up. You didn't even try.
And he said, I can't go home, Diane. I
just can't go home. My parents bought tickets
for the OT Center. They're expecting me
to be there. You gotta promise me, Diane, you just
give me one more chance. I gotta make my family
(37:05):
proud. Well, we get to Toronto
and the number begins. And those
butterflies came up so beautifully
and floated off. And Benny did it, and I never forgot that.
And by the time we got to Hamilton Place,
we had a gala that night, opening gala where the ticket
(37:28):
sales would help support us. And we presented
the Liberace award to Benny. And when Benny grabbed
it, it was like a scene at a Rocky. It was so
fantastic. And it changed since that day.
Diane, I always end my podcast with my takeaways.
And I'm so moved by you. It's almost like if there was a
(37:50):
theme that ran through is Benny's butterfly.
You found a way to open your wings at a young age where a lot
of people, through the trauma of having a very abusive father
or being in a school where you're shunned because you're not like them.
And you found a way to fly away by looking out that window and seeing
those clouds. And then you decided to be this
(38:12):
angel that would let other people become butterflies. And you've
spent your entire life. And it's not just the players that perform
that have found the magic of getting applause and standing
ovations, but it's the people that work with you. It's the sponsors
that are lucky enough to be part of you. It's the Liberace and Paul
Newman's that realize there's so much more to life than just being a
(38:35):
celebrity. And I just think you're one of the most
famous people I've ever met. And famous in the sense
of you will leave a lasting mark on me. And I promise you,
whatever I can do, I will try to be one of those people that walked
through the door and helped you because I am lost for words,
because I am just so moved by who you are as a human being
(38:58):
and so blessed to have spent this last little bit of time just
learning about your story and not asking any of the questions we
planned because it was just such a beautiful, free flowing interview
of this butterfly that let so many other people fly. So thank you for being
part of it. Well, I have to say, you are a very
special man. I am very comfortable with you
(39:21):
and I can just open up. You bring out the best of me
in many ways. I thank you. So this is your
moment. You're the star and you're a wonderful man
for what you have done with your life and the shows
that you have. So I thank you. I'm humbled. I truly do live
in a dream world where every single day I'm the most happiest
(39:44):
person because of famous people. Players, because of Diane Dupuy.
It just blows your mind. I'm very proud of all of them.
It's their company, it's their home. They run it.
Joining me now is Andrea Barrack. She's a Senior VP of Sustainability and Impact
at rbc. Andrea, welcome Back to chatter that
(40:07):
matters. Thanks, Tony. So great to be here again. I think it's important
to unpack just the kind of role that you're playing. Cause you go,
sustainability and impact are really, to me, very different words.
Every time I'm on LinkedIn and I see you, you're somewhere around the world,
really bringing this sense of positivity and possibility. So tell me a little
bit more about your mandate. Sure. I mean, I think, you know, as a
(40:29):
corporation, we live by our purpose, which is helping
clients thrive and communities prosper. And so my
job is actually helping the entire organization, wherever we are,
demonstrate that we are helping communities to prosper. So how are we having a
positive impact on society, on the communities that we're in
on the planet? So it's a pretty good gig.
(40:52):
I read the statistic that RBC and the RBC
foundation is the largest source of funds
and I would argue also emotional, intellectual capital to mental health
in Canada, that you're involved in so many different aspects. Why
is mental health such a North Star for rbc saying, we've got to
do more as an organization and collectively as a country to help
(41:14):
people that are suffering with their mental health? We came at it two different
ways. One is we have a huge history of supporting youth and making,
you know, providing youth with the skills to be successful in the
future of work. And what we noticed in that work is
that if you don't have strong mental health, you can't
actually get the skills you need to be like that is one of the skills
(41:36):
you need to be successful. So we came at it from that. More sort of
skills and helping youth overall with their preparation to be successful
in their lives. We also had a history of
helping broadly all Canadians and
in any communities we're in have better access to
healthcare because healthcare creates the stability that people
(41:58):
need to then have the futures that they want
financially. And so one of the real gaps in our healthcare
system right now has been mental health, which is why we sort of
stepped in. But it's in that bigger piece saying, how do we help
more Canadians access the healthcare that they need so that they're better
able to then continue to live their fullest lives, be their best
(42:20):
selves, contribute to the economy, contribute to their families, their
neighbors? I would say it's not mental health in and of itself. I
think where RBC is sort of special in a way is that they
seek out where the gaps are and we listen to our partners.
So when we talk to all of our hospital or healthcare partners, we don't
tell them we want to fund mental health, we say to them, what are you
(42:42):
seeing as the need that you can't fill right now? You know, I followed your
career since you joined RBC and you had a shot at being very
successful in politics and you chose to go into an
organization to make a difference. For people listening that really want
to make an impact, the positive dent, what advice can you give
them to find that place where they feel they can
(43:04):
chase that purpose and at the same time have meaningful
make a meaningful difference? I mean, I have a job that
obviously has a positive impact, just the nature of the role and the work that
I do. But I talk to thousands of our colleagues at the bank,
certainly about that, about what each of them can do in their own
jobs. And the stories that they tell me are quite incredible. Local
(43:26):
branch employees, for example, that will notice a
family is struggling and will be able to
proactively step in and offer assistance so that they don't get into
trouble. That has an enormous impact. You know, we have people
who work in, you know, sort of risk and you know, anti money laundering and
you know, the work that they do helps stop child
(43:48):
trafficking. No matter what your job is, you can find what
that purpose is and how you can make a difference, even if it
is just being the best colleague that you can be and making people around
you feel like they belong and are included in your workplace. Encouraging
people to act in a positive way and create a positive
social discourse is something this country desperately needs. And it's nice
(44:10):
to have your voice added to the mix. And I know you make a major
impact working in the job you do at rbc. But I think it's these
are words of wisdom that we can all benefit from. So I appreciate you joining
me in Chatter that Matters. Always nice to chat with you, Tony.
Once you. Once again, a special thanks to RBC for supporting Chatter that Matters.
(44:30):
It's Tony Chapman. Thanks for listening and let's chat soon.
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