Trailer Park Boys Actor John Dunsworth Dies

A sad day for Sunnyvale Trailer Park: John Dunsworth, the Canadian actor best known for playing alcoholic trailer park supervisor Jim Lahey in the Trailer Park Boys, has died. He was 71. "With heavy and broken hearts the family of John F. Dunsworth would like to let people know that our amazing husband, father, and grandfather John Dunsworth has passed away," relatives said in a statement on his Twitter feed Monday. "John left this world peacefully after a short and unexpected illness." Fellow Trailer Park Boys cast members paid tribute to Dunsworth, as did members of the band Rush, who appeared as guest stars. Dunsworth was "truly a great actor and sweet man," the band tweeted.

"John was a beautiful guy. Brilliant and fascinating. I am forever grateful for having known him," tweeted Mike Smith, who plays Bubbles in the Trailer Park Boys. Dunsworth appeared in dozens of films in a career that spanned more than 50 years. He also played reporter Dave Teagues in the Syfy show Haven. He started acting while attending the University of Guelph in the mid-'60s. "I decided then and there that I don't care if I go broke in my life, I am going to be an actor, because I love to live in other people's shoes," he told the CBC in 2010. He spent most of his career in his native Nova Scotia, where he spent many years trying to build up the province's film industry. (More actor stories.)