Moose Jaw is just one of those places where you never know who you will meet on the street. Last week my editorial reminisced about an article written in 2010 about steel-guitar legend Tex Emery, who was a special friend and has recently deceased.
Around the same time, I also met another sweet soul in Moose Jaw that went on to be a special friend. As she was aged, I would often pick her up and we would go for lunches or out for dinner on special holidays while she was mobile enough to venture out. I wrote a story about Beatrice Billenwillms (aka stage name Shan Lawrence) also in 2010.
Sadly Beatrice (Shan) Searle Billenwillms Lawrence passed away on October 22, 2021 at the age of 92.
In the spirit of reminiscing, the article is reprinted below.
Iconic Celebrity in our Midst
(first published August 19, 2010)
By Joan Ritchie
On almost any given day, it isn’t unusual to walk down High Street off Main and rub shoulders with Shan Lawrence, an iconic celebrity in our midst. Born in 1929 as Beatrice Billenwillms, she began her life at 269 Fairford St. W., across from the old Palm Dairies.
As she reminisced of her past, Lawrence fondly remembers the days spent as a student of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in Bloomsbury, London and spending numerous lunches with colleague, Peter O’Toole.
“Peter O’Toole and I started at the Academy at the same time and we both felt a little like outsiders-it was unspoken, but it seemed that the ‘English’ students were preferred and regarded as being superior. In those days, the school was subsidized by the monarchy-the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret Rose were keenly supportive of the academy.”
She also went on to say that O’Toole praised her sensitivity, commenting that Lawrence had “advanced sincerity” and attributed it to her upbringing in Moose Jaw.
A lot of her acting abilities were attributed to RADA.
“They concentrated a lot on voice and mime classes. In life as in drama, a lot is conveyed by expression and not in words.”
When acting, it is “imperative to relay those deep emotions across to the audience,” said Shan. “We have an overload of verbiage today and don’t see as much as we should.”
She recalls an audition she had for a film in East Germany, many, many years ago saying, “I was offered an acting job because of my dark hair at the time. This opportunity would have offered me the luxury of a lucrative career.”
Because the country was under communist regime, they wanted Lawrence to renounce her basic freedoms.
Lawrence admits, “My moral grounding kept me from taking the role.”
Another opportunity in 1952 offered a job for NBC as one of the Directors of Productions.
“If I would have taken the job,” she confessed, “who knows where I would be now…It would have been the good fortune that would have afforded me as much luxury as I could imagine.”
Lawrence decided to “choose the artistic over the financial.”
Some other accomplishments worth mentioning are working with British actor, Alec Guinness in the 1960’s movie, Our Man in Havana. Lawrence appeared twice in the movie-onscreen as the credits rolled and in a scene with Guinness.
Another memorable experience was working with Charlie Chaplin in A King in New York, even though she only had one line in the film. Recollections of Chaplin were that he was “sort of a rebel” and “dismissed controls” imposed by certain factions.
“He believed in freedom,” said Lawrence, and to his credit, “Chaplin treated his family with the utmost care and shared his work with his wife.”
In 1962, Lawrence had a starring role on the Winnipeg stage in Dark of the Moon, directed by John Hurst. playing the role of Barbara Allen and sang on stage.
More recently, Lawrence had a cameo appearance in the 2004 TV film, Hollywood Flies, along with a small role in The Dinosaur Hunter (2000), featuring Christopher Plummer. Look for her in the scene outside the café, selling “religious memorabilia”.
Lawrence’s portfolio includes some radio along with developing a national TV series for CBC, Homes for Everyone, filmed in Winnipeg. Accredited to Lawrence is the dialogue and script written for the series, which is both historical and geographical.
There are many other instances where Lawrence had acting roles, too numerous to mention. Because of the time sensitive nature of a call a few years ago, Lawrence regrets missing the opportunity to join the cast of Corner Gas.
As I earlier alluded to, Shan’s philosophy of life is that “love is the most important thing-it is more important than money.” That is why she is at peace with life here in Moose Jaw.
“Here in Moose Jaw, I appreciate the loving kindness of the man on the street,” emphasized Lawrence. “I can talk to people and they aren’t suspicious or deceiving.”
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
