Abby Hagyard

{{short description|Canadian actress}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}} {{Infobox person | name = Abby Hagyard | image = Abby Hagyard Profile.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Abby Hagyard (Ottawa) | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | death_date =  | citizenship = | other_names = | known_for = {{ubl|''You Can't Do That on Television''|''The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin''|''The Care Bears''|''For Better or For Worse''}} | television = | education = | alma_mater = St. Patrick's College | occupation = {{ubl|Television actress|Voice artist|Comedian|Writer|Producer}} | years_active = | awards = ACTRA Awards | signature = | signature_alt = | website = {{official URL}} | footnotes = | misc = }}

'''Abby Hagyard''' <ref name="oc3"/> is a Canadian television actress, animation voice artist, and comedian, publisher, producer and playwright/dramatist<ref name=oc3/> best known for her appearances on Nickelodeon's sketch comedy television series ''You Can't Do That on Television'', and her voice work on animated adaptations of ''The Care Bears'' and ''For Better or For Worse''.

==Background== Born in Edmonton, Alberta and of Norwegian descent,<ref name=oc3/> Hagyard's interest in acting began when she was enrolled in a modeling class with her mother. She modeled for two years and then had a secretarial position in the New York offices of ''Playboy''.<ref name="oc3"/> She returned to Ottawa, Ontario, and studied drama at St. Patrick's College (now Carleton University) for 3 years.<ref name="oc3"/><ref name="oc2"/> She began her work in entertainment as a high-fashion model on Miami Beach and actress.<ref name="thecitizen"/> In the early 1980s, she toured the eastern seaboard performing in small venues,<ref name="oc2"/> and then began hosting the CBC television show ''Scene from Here'',<ref name="oc3"/> while continuing to perform sketch comedy.<ref name="oc4"/>

==Career== Referred to by the ''Ottawa Citizen'' as "one of our town's best and busiest actresses",<ref name=oc5/> Starring roles in dinner theater productions led to a one-woman show and an invitation to host her own entertainment series on CBC.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} In 1982, Hagyard joined the cast of ''You Can't Do That on Television'' as one of only two adult actors along with Les Lye,<ref name="nyt"/> and both were mainstays on the program among its rotating juvenile cast until its end in 1990.<ref name="arcs"/>

Between taping sessions, Hagyard provided character voices for the animated cartoon series ''For Better or For Worse'', ''The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin'', ''Dennis the Menace'' and ''The Care Bears''. She additionally co-hosted a morning drive radio show.<ref name="oc6"/>

In 2005, Hagyard launched Now What? Strategies, a career and business branding service. That same year, she also launched AH Publisher, a boutique publishing service.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/s?k=abby+hagyard&i=stripbooks-intl-ship |title=abby hagyard |publisher=Amazon.com |date=2022-02-22 |accessdate=2022-08-07}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=Promotional content; independent third-party source needed|date=December 2021}}

==Filmography== ;As actor * ''You Can't Do That on Television'' (113 episodes, 1982–1990) ;As voice artist * ''The Care Bears in the Land Without Feelings'' (1983) – Friend Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Wish Bear * ''The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine'' (1984) – Friend Bear, Love-A-Lot Bear, Wish Bear * ''For Better or for Worse: The Bestest Present'' (1985) * ''The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin'' (7 episodes, 1986–1987) * ''Care Bears'' (1 episode, 1988) * ''Dennis the Menace'' (1986) - Additional Voices (Season 2) * ''For Better or for Worse: The Last Camping Trip'' (1992) * ''For Better or for Worse: A Christmas Angel'' (1992) * ''For Better or for Worse: A Valentine from the Heart'' (1993) * ''For Better or for Worse: The Good-for-Nothing'' (1993) * ''For Better or for Worse: The Babe Magnet'' (1994) * ''For Better or for Worse: A Storm in April'' (1997) * ''For Better or for Worse'' (1 episode, 2000)

==Recognition==

===Awards and nominations=== * 1983, ACTRA Award for 'Best Female On-Camera Performance'<ref name="oc1"/> * 1983, ACTRA Award for 'Best Voice-Over/Narration'<ref name="oc1"/>

==References== <references>

<ref name="thecitizen">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JMoyAAAAIBAJ&pg=3668,6401173&hl=en|title=Actress says looking at bright side only way to cope with her busy life|last=Costigliola|first=Bozica|date=July 30, 1976|publisher=The Citizen|page=90|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="oc1">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5q4yAAAAIBAJ&pg=1254%2C1927000|title=CBOT wins five awards|date=March 24, 1983|work=Ottawa Citizen|page=82|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="oc2">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g64yAAAAIBAJ&pg=5577,2423076&hl=en|title=On Stage|last=Ashley|first=Audry|date=February 16, 1980|work=Ottawa Citizen|page=36|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="oc3">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hdAyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6006,1782049&hl=en|title=Comedienne on her way up|last=Bedard|first=Eva|date=November 28, 1980|work=Ottawa Citizen|page=17|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="oc4">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZqMyAAAAIBAJ&pg=2990,4530927&hl=en|title=Brown's Beat|last=Brown|first=Dave|date=November 9, 1981|work=Ottawa Citizen|page=4|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="oc5">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_K4yAAAAIBAJ&pg=5385,9720&hl=en|title=Brown's Beat|last=Brown|first=Dave|date=September 11, 1982|work=Ottawa Citizen|page=2|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/24/arts/television/24lye.html|title=Les Lye, Canadian TV Comic, Dies at 84|date=July 24, 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 4, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="arcs">{{cite journal|date=March 22, 2005|title=Heading south to make it big: the American success of Canada's you can't do that on television.|journal=American Review of Canadian Studies|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-4450162/Heading-south-to-make-it.html|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="oc6">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iaQyAAAAIBAJ&pg=5529,3030308&hl=en|title=Am 1200 Breakfast Team Gets an Early Start|date=December 7, 1985|work=Ottawa Citizen|page=47|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref>

</references>

==External links== {{commons category}} *{{Official website}} *{{IMDb name|0353859}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagyard, Abby}} Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Edmonton Category:Canadian voice actresses Category:Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Category:Canadian television actresses Category:Writers from Edmonton Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century Canadian women writers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Canadian women comedians Category:Comedians from Edmonton