Groundbreaking actor, broadcaster and activist Nerene Virgin dies at age 77
January 19, 2024
Nerene Virgin was shocked when her nephew showed up for a family reunion last September wearing a T-shirt with an image of some of The Tiaras.
She was once a member of the girls’ singing group.
“My aunt stared at it for a while and then blurted out, ‘Oh my God’,” Amani ‘Burt Blackarach’ Smith recalled. “That was my little special homage to her.”
It was their last meeting.
Virgin died on January 15 in a Burlington hospital at age 77.
Smith, who is a music producer residing in Los Angeles, said ‘Aunt Rene’ was a huge part of his upbringing.
“Though very creative and highly intelligent, she was practical and pragmatic,” said Smith who was the Music Director for “Stamped from the Beginning’ which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
“She was always an example for me and there to help guide me. We had a very special connection and relationship. Anytime I encountered a challenging situation, she heard me out and then said, ‘Don’t worry about that because I remember that happened to me’. My aunt was so kind, compassionate and consistent.”
Smith flew to the Greater Toronto Area this evening to be with the family.
Nerene Virgin and her nephew Amani ‘Burt Blackarach’ Smith (Photo contributed)
A former elementary and special education teacher, Virgin provided Canadian families with an alternative to American children’s educational programming.
She hosted a few episodes of TVO’s kids' classic ‘Polkadot Door’ in 1980 before playing Jodie in the award-winning children’s show, ‘Today’s Special’, which ran for six years until 1987.
“Nerene achieved remarkable success, captivating audiences with her versatile performances that showcased both depth and authenticity,” TVO said in a statement. “She has left an indelible mark on many who grew up watching the show and on everyone she encountered and who had the privilege of working with her. She was a trailblazer in many rights, especially at a time when she was one of the few Black women on Canadian television.”
Through her role as Jodie, Virgin inspired and guided many young people.
“Nerene Virgin was the character that tugged on our heartstrings, running through a closed mall looking for the next adventure,” said Ryan Chung of CBC Music.
“But her impact on Canadian media didn’t stop there. She turned her career from acting to broadcasting and gave children, especially those of colour, hope and inspiration to build a life in broadcasting. Her dedication to activism within the Black community held true to her heart. This is a shot to the heart within the fabric of Canadian media and she will surely be missed.”
Media & Strategic Partnerships Executive Andrea Harry Bibbs said Virgin was one of the first Black women she saw on television.
“She was so beautiful, funny and poised,” noted the Atlanta-based ACB Group & June Dragonfly founder and Toronto Metropolitan University graduate. “When I saw her as a Reporter on the news, it made me love her even more, especially since that is the industry I ended up entering. I am so thankful for all she did to advocate for equity and inclusion on Canadian television airwaves. Her legacy and memory will live on forever in our hearts.”
Virgin hosted CFTO’s current affairs show ‘Eye on Toronto’ before joining the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in the mid-1990s.
Mitzi Benjamin-Allen was a colleague of Virgin at CFTO-TV which is now CTV Toronto.
“When I joined the news team in the 1980s, Nerene was the host of ‘Eye on Toronto’,” said the station’s first Black female broadcast journalist who returned to her native Antigua & Barbuda and, with her husband Howard Allen, co-founded a film and television production company. “She was warm and welcoming. At the time, we were the only high-profile women of colour on air at that station. When I migrated to Antigua & Barbuda, she contacted me, offering career advice. She was an inspiration.”
Former CBC executive Cynthia Reyes was instrumental in Virgin making the transition to anchor.
She arranged for the late Tim Knight, who was the national public broadcaster Executive Producer for television journalism training, to assist with the switch.
“Nerene was beautiful, very professional and very good at what she did,” said Reyes who was the first Black female on-air personality in Toronto and one of the youngest executive producers. “We both encouraged each other in our careers because we were both in television and the only Black females on-air at the time.”
Virgin anchored CBC’s ‘Saturday Report’ and hosted ‘Newsworld’ and ‘Newsworld International’.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Anthony Sherwood said Virgin is a heroine and national treasure.
“She was the epitome of grace, elegance and intellectual charm,” he pointed out. “She was articulate and could capture an audience with her magnificent voice, her humour and her wit. Very multi-talented, she was very proud of who she was as a person and of her rich family history and spoke about it with great pride.”
Last May, Sherwood and Virgin candidly talked about their industry experiences and lifelong commitment to social justice at an event hosted by the Canadian National Museum of History.
“At the time, I had not seen Nerene for several years, so it was good to get reconnected,” said Sherwood who produced the original stage production, ‘Follow the North Star’, for the Canadian government.
A month later, Sherwood interviewed Virgin about her remarkable family history while producing a documentary film about Southern Ontario’s rich Black history.
“Just this past week, I was polishing the film with editing and have been looking at Nerene’s lovely face and listening to her amazing family stories when I then heard about her passing,” said the former R & B singer who, in 1981, started the Black Performers Association that lobbied the television industry for greater representation of visible minority performers.
In February 2012, Virgin was recognized with the Business & Professional Achievement honour at the annual Rev. John Holland Awards.
This award was extremely special for her.
Holland, a runaway slave who fled to Canada through the Underground Railroad in 1860 and was a railway porter for 33 years before becoming pastor of the historic Stewart Memorial Church in Hamilton, was her great-grandfather.
“There is both a sense of pride and relevance for me,” she told me in an interview after accepting the award. “He fled slavery in Maryland as a teenager and swam across the Niagara River to his freedom. If he was willing to do that to be free, I am obligated to do something with that freedom. Receiving an award is gratifying, but what is more important to me is honouring my ancestry. I feel as if I am part of a dynasty that has instilled in me the importance of freedom and literacy because my great-grandfather could not read or write.”
Evelyn Myrie, who co-founded the John Holland Awards, said Virgin was a trailblazer.
“She broke down barriers, particularly in the media industry,” she pointed out. “She was also passionate about preserving and sharing Black Canadian history.”
Virgin ran for political office in 2007.
In the aftermath of her acclamation as the Ontario Liberal Party candidate in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, the former Hamilton Committee Against Racism member was racially slurred as a ‘tar baby’ by a Hamilton newspaper.
The paper later apologized.
Virgin, who wrote biographies for Historica Canada, is survived by her husband Alan Smith, children Yvette and Nicole Virgin and Thomas Toliver Smith and grandson Jackson Virgin.
“Nerene’s kindness, warmth and infectious enthusiasm endeared her to all who had the privilege of knowing her,” the immediate family said. “She leaves behind a legacy of creativity, courage and compassion. She was an avid gardener, a meticulous seamstress, a persistent knitter, a gourmet home cook, a voracious reader and a political junkie, all of which made her a stellar host.”
A celebration of Virgin’s life will take place on June 15 at 1 p.m. at Stewart Memorial Church.
