Roy McDonald

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Wayne Morris & Roy McDonald, London Ontario 1999
Wayne Morris & Roy McDonald, London Ontario 1999

Roy McDonald (born June 4, 1937) is a poet and busker (street performer) in London, Ontario, Canada. He is well known for singing and reciting poetry in front of Joe Kool's Restaurant and Jim-Bob Ray's Bar on Richmond Street. For many years he stood at the northwest corner of Richmond and Dundas (the old center of downtown London) and discussed his, and the literary world, with passersby. His long, grey beard, plastic bags filled with books and journals, tweed jacket, and habit of striking up friendly conversations with nearly everyone, make him a very recognizable and well-known figure around the city. Visitors often stare. McDonald has been growing his beard for decades. He claims his was the longest at the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair. His clothes often fall into disrepair, and he occasionally mends his pants with duct tape. He decorates his jacket with buttons. He has been thrown off the University of Western Ontario campus by security, perhaps unaware that his books reside in the Weldon library. He is often referred to as the unofficial Mayor of Richmond Row, a colorful segment of Richmond Street located in downtown London. Contrary to what some believe, Roy does live in a house (though he is careful of those he allows to enter). He does not own a phone and simply lives with very little means.

Contents

[edit] Publishing efforts

Ergo Productions published both of his books. Living: A London Journal is a detailed account of a week in Roy's life, and The Answer Questioned is one long pun-poem. You may find them at your London Public Library branch, or, if you wish to purchase them, they are carried in some stores, including Chapters. UWO has Roy on the shelves of its Book Store and in its libraries.

In 1979, the late Montrealese Don Bell presented a fictionalized version of Roy in his comical novel Pocketman, the title of which was a nickname Roy had earned by carrying notes and papers, etc, around in his pockets, before he graduated to the plastic bags. Bell's previous efforts (Saturday Night at the Bagel Factory) had won him the Stephen Leacock Award for humour in 1973, but sadly, the 1979 'Pocketman' was not quite as fortunate. Its printed dedication reads To Roy McDonald - the Absolute Idiot It mainly concerns Roy's endless agonizing over how to spend his welfare cheque. In 2000, Jason Rip wrote and produced a play entitled Beard: A Few Moments in the Life of Roy McDonald, which was well received at the Grand Theatre.

Roy has been the subject of numerous video documentaries...The Roy Chronicles (by the late Grant Cushman, for public access television), Living On the Fringe (by Anna-Sophie Lunding), and The Last of the Hippies (by Rico Medeina), to name but three.

More than twenty boxes of Roy's journals, letters, tapes, and photos are part of the University of Western Ontario Archives.

When it comes to acting, Roy can recite Shakespere with the best of them, and he had a bit part in Ryan Furlong's 2003 student film Portrait of an Artist...sharing celluloid with veteran actress Jayne Eastwood.

[edit] Publications

[edit] Discography

  • Souwesto Words: 25 poets in Southwestern Ontario Ergo Books 2002 Poets on the CD: Penn Kemp, John Tyndall, Molly Peacock, Emily Chung, Paul Langille, Sheila Martindale, Roy McDonald, Sadiqa Khan, Jan Figurski, Jody Trevail, Beryl Baigent, John B. Lee, Cornelia Hoogland, James Reaney, Colleen Thibaudeau, Michael Wilson, Aimee O'Beirn, Jason Dickson, Marianne Micros, Skot Deeming, Victor Elias, David J. Paul, April Bulmer, Julie Berry, Don Gutteridge.
  • An Evening With Roy & Wayne Pete Matthews productions
  • Roy & Wayne Live at Bean There Pete Matthews productions

[edit] Filmography

  • The Roy Chronicles, by Grant Cushman (for public access television)
  • Living On the Fringe, by Anna-Sophie Lunding
  • The Last of the Hippies, by Rico Medeina
  • BEARD: A few moments in the life of Roy McDonald. A Play by Jason Rip 2000
  • Portrait of an Artist, a student film by Ryan Furlong, University of Western Ontario 2003
  • Roy, a student film by John Kish, Fanshawe College 2007

[edit] See also

[edit] Cited sources