Valentine Anthony Neil "Tony Van" Bridge CM (28 May 1917 – 20 December 2004) was a British television and theatre actor and director.

Early life

Bridge was born in London and first appeared as a child actor at the age of ten, and enrolled aged 19 at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.^[1][2]

He married Kippe Cammaerts just before World War II.^[3] They had two children, Pieter and Michael. While he was away during World War II, his wife met Jack Morpurgo and started a relationship with him. Bridge returned to England in 1946 and shortly thereafter decided to emigrate to Canada.

Bridge had three further children in Canada – Shona Bridge, David Cheyne and Peter Cheyne.^[4]

Career

Bridge worked for 15 years with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and 30 years with the Shaw Festival.^[5] He was interim artistic director at Shaw for the 1974–75 season.^[6]

On 27 April 2000, Bridge was made a Member of the Order of Canada for his services to the performing arts.

Bridge died 20 December 2004 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. He was survived by his ex-wife Stacey and predeceased by his second wife Elizabeth Bridge.

Television (partial)

• The Quatermass Experiment (1953), producer
• The Avengers (1961), Henry Burge
• Playdate (1961–62)
  • "Masterpiece" (1961), Raiyler
  • "Love Story 1910" (1962), Inspector Dew
  • "Great Expectations" (1962), Magwitch
  • "The Old One" (1962) (and writer)
• Mission: Impossible (1969), Erhard Poltzin
• A Population of One (1980)