Actress-activist Shirley Douglas, mother of Kiefer Sutherland, dies at 86

Most Canadians know her from TV shows, notably “Wind at My Back.”

Her radical politics came from her father, Tommy Douglas. The populist socialist was premier of Saskatchewan and CCF/NDP member of parliament for over 30 years.

https://nationalpost.com/news/actress-activist-shirley-douglas-daughter-of-medicares-tommy-douglas-dies

Shirley Douglas, the impassioned Canadian activist and veteran actress who was mother to actor Kiefer Sutherland and daughter of medicare founder Tommy Douglas, has died.

She was 86.

Sutherland announced his mother’s death on Twitter, saying she succumbed to complications surrounding pneumonia on Sunday morning.

“My mother was an extraordinary woman who led an extraordinary life,” said Sutherland.

“Sadly she had been battling for her health for quite some time and we, as a family, knew this day was coming.”

A native of Weyburn, Sask., Douglas worked with famed directors including Stanley Kubrick (“Lolita”) and David Cronenberg (“Dead Ringers”), and won a Gemini Award for her performance in the 1999 TV film “Shadow Lake.”

She also tirelessly supported a variety of causes throughout her life, including the civil rights movement, the Black Panthers and the fight to save public health care, pioneered by her politician father.

In 1965, Douglas married Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, with whom she had two children before they divorced — twins Rachel, a production manager, and Kiefer, who became a film and TV star in his own right.