{{Use Canadian English|date=February 2024}} {{Short description|Canadian actress and broadcaster (1968–2021)}} {{Infobox comedian |name = Candy Palmater |image = Thecandyshow.jpg |imagesize = |caption = |pseudonym = |birth_name = |birth_date = {{birth date|1968|12|4}} |birth_place = Point La Nim, New Brunswick, Canada |death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|12|25|1968|12|4|mf=yes}} |death_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada |spouse = Denise Tompkins<ref name="torstar 2016" /> |medium = Stand-up, television |active = |website = [http://thecandyshow.com/ thecandyshow.com] }}
'''Candy Palmater''' (December 4, 1968 – December 25, 2021) was a Canadian actress, comedienne, and broadcaster.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/89130|title=Comedians celebrate pride with laughter|last=Lisk|first=Dean|date=July 25, 2008|publisher=Metro.news|access-date=March 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605023547/http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/89130|archive-date=June 5, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was the creator and writer of her own national television show for APTN, ''The Candy Show'',<ref name=xtra>Angelina Chapin, [http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Sweet_hardearned_success_for_Candy_Palmater-4654.aspx Sweet, hard-earned success for Candy Palmater] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403063338/http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Sweet_hardearned_success_for_Candy_Palmater-4654.aspx |date=2012-04-03 }}. ''Xtra!'', April 21, 2008.</ref> and hosted the daily interview series ''The Candy Palmater Show'' on CBC Radio One in summer 2016.<ref name="cbcradio">[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/candy-palmater-show-out-in-the-open-1.3583908 "CBC Radio to debut Out in the Open, The Candy Palmater Show"]. CBC News, May 16, 2016.</ref>
==Early life== Palmater was born December 4, 1968, in Point La Nim, New Brunswick,<ref>[http://www.dailyxtra.com/ottawa/arts-and-entertainment/candy-palmaters-got-ambition-burn-8071 "Candy Palmater's got ambition to burn"]. ''Xtra!'', October 28, 2008.</ref> and grew up the youngest of seven children.<ref name="torstar 2016">{{cite news |last1=Vincent |first1=Donovan |title=Now on CBC: 'a gay native feminist comic raised by bikers' |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/05/29/now-on-cbc-a-gay-native-feminist-comic-raised-by-bikers.html |access-date=December 26, 2021 |work=Toronto Star |date=May 29, 2016}}</ref> She attended Dalhousie Regional High School, where she was active in sports.<ref name="danielnpaul.com">Daniel N. Paul, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20040716113622/http://www.danielnpaul.com/Col/1999/AttitudeOfYoungGivesHopeForNon-RacistFuture.html "Attitude of young gives hope for non-racist future"]}}. ''Halifax Herald'', July 23, 1999.</ref> Her father was Mi'kmaq and her mother was white. She was a member of the Eel River Bar First Nation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-mikmaq-entertainer-candy-palmater-was-a-bold-presence-on-radio-and-tv/#:~:text=Palmater%20was%20a%20band%20member,or%20go%20to%20the%20bingo.%E2%80%9D |title=Mi'kmaw entertainer Candy Palmater was a bold presence on radio and TV |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=6 January 2022 |accessdate=2023-08-20}}</ref>
== Education == After high school, she attended Fredericton's St. Thomas University and then completed a legal secretary's course at Maritime Business College.<ref name="danielnpaul.com"/>
She was inspired by the legal failures of the Donald Marshall Jr. case and in 1996, she went to Dalhousie University in Halifax to study Law at Dalhousie Law School, where she graduated in 1999 as the valedictorian of her class. She was the first Aboriginal law student in Canada to be valedictorian of her graduating class, and was president of the Dalhousie Aboriginal Law Students Association.
She got a job with the now-defunct law firm Patterson Palmer Hunt Murphy, but soon realized she didn't want to practice corporate law,<ref name=xtra /> and subsequently left her job and began working for the Nova Scotia Department of Education.
==Career== thumb|right|Palmater on the set of ''The Candy Show'' She was a regular contributor to CBC Radio's ''Definitely Not the Opera'', a regular columnist on The Next Chapter, and an interim host of ''Q'', and was a columnist for the now defunct Halifax newspaper ''The Daily News'', where she wrote a series for Mi'kmaq History Month.
CBC Newsworld did a one-hour documentary on Palmater titled ''The Candy Show''. It was produced and directed by Mary Munson in Halifax. The executive producer was Renée Pellerin.
''The Candy Show'' is also the title of a regular comedy series that airs on APTN. Palmater was also a regular performer on the comedy club circuit in Canada, as well as a frequent host of entertainment galas and events.
Palmater produced her first film, ''Building Legends: The Mi'Kmaq Canoe Project'', in 2011.
As an actress, she had roles in the television series ''Forgive Me'', ''Sex & Violence'', and ''Trailer Park Boys''.
Her daily CBC Radio summer series ''The Candy Palmater Show'' debuted on May 30, 2016.<ref name=cbcradio/> Following the end of that show's run, she did another stint as guest host of ''Q'' for several weeks in September and October, between the departure of Shad and the debut of permanent new host Tom Power. In 2017 she was a panellist on ''Canada Reads'', advocating for Katherena Vermette's novel ''The Break.''
She was also a frequent guest panellist on the CBC Radio One comedy series, ''Because News'', hosted by Gavin Crawford, and narrated the documentary series ''Skindigenous''.<ref>Greg David, [https://www.tv-eh.com/2018/02/20/preview-skindigenous-celebrates-the-heritage-and-importance-of-indigenous-tattoos/ "Preview: Skindigenous celebrates the heritage and importance of Indigenous tattoos"]. ''TV, eh?'', February 20, 2018.</ref>
Palmater had a recurring role in the CBC Television sitcom ''Run the Burbs'', broadcast posthumously.<ref>Alexandra Del Rosario, [https://deadline.com/2021/09/run-the-burbs-cbc-rakhee-morzaria-zoriah-wong-roman-pesino-main-cast-andrew-phung-family-comedy-1234844824/ "‘Run The Burbs’: Rakhee Morzaria, Zoriah Wong, Roman Pesino & More Set As Main Cast Of CBC Family Comedy From Andrew Phung"]. ''Deadline Hollywood'', September 27, 2021.</ref>
==Death== Palmater died at her home in Toronto on December 25, 2021, at the age of 53. Shortly before her death she received several weeks of medical treatment at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto after being diagnosed with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Canadian comedian Candy Palmater dies at 53 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/canadian-comedian-candy-palmater-obit-1.6298371 |access-date=26 December 2021 |publisher=CBC News |date=25 December 2021}}</ref>
Her memoir, ''Running Down a Dream'', was published posthumously in 2022.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/remembering-candy-palmater-through-her-posthumous-memoir-running-down-a-dream-1.6687946 "Remembering Candy Palmater through her posthumous memoir, Running Down a Dream"]. ''The Next Chapter'' (CBC Radio One), December 16, 2022.</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 2013 || ''Forgive Me'' || Agnes || 3 episodes |- | 2013 || ''Sex & Violence'' || Louella || 3 episodes |- | 2016 || ''Trailer Park Boys'' || Candy || 9 episodes |- | 2022 || ''Run the Burbs'' || Candy || 3 episodes |}
==Awards== She was nominated for an East Coast Music Award for Media Person of the Year in 2013. ''The Candy Show'' was also nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction in a Variety or Comedy TV Series, for director Trevor Grant. For her work on the television series ''Forgive Me'', she was nominated for an ACTRA Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2017, Palmater was presented with the Bonham Centre Award from The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, University of Toronto, for her contributions to the advancement and education of issues around sexual identification.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.utoronto.ca/news/decolonizing-sexuality-u-t-recognizes-indigenous-educators-and-advocates-sexual-diversity|title=Decolonizing sexuality: U of T recognizes Indigenous educators and advocates for sexual diversity|author=|date=|website=University of Toronto News|access-date=July 7, 2017}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist|2}}
== External links == *[http://www.thecandyshow.com/ The Candy Show] *{{IMDb name|4857410}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmater, Candy}} Category:1968 births Category:2021 deaths Category:20th-century First Nations people Category:21st-century First Nations people Category:Actresses from New Brunswick Category:Canadian talk radio hosts Category:Canadian television actresses Category:Canadian radio show creators Category:CBC Radio hosts Category:Canadian lesbian actresses Category:Canadian LGBTQ broadcasters Category:First Nations LGBTQ people Category:Canadian Mi'kmaq people Category:People from Restigouche County, New Brunswick Category:Schulich School of Law alumni Category:Canadian women radio hosts Category:Comedians from New Brunswick Category:Comedians from Nova Scotia Category:Canadian stand-up comedians Category:Canadian sketch comedians Category:20th-century Canadian comedians Category:20th-century Canadian actresses Category:21st-century Canadian comedians Category:21st-century Canadian actresses Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Category:First Nations comedians Category:20th-century First Nations women Category:21st-century Canadian memoirists Category:Canadian lesbian writers Category:Lesbian memoirists Category:Canadian lesbian comedians Category:Canadian women comedians Category:21st-century First Nations women Category:St. Thomas University (Canada) alumni