Allan Royal (born August 17, 1944) is a Canadian actor, who is also
sometimes credited as Allan G. Royal and Alan Royal. He is known for
playing the crime reporter Tom Kirkwood on the hit Canadian police
drama Night Heat from 1985â€"1989. He is also known for his recurring
role on such programs as the American TV drama Falcon Crest as well as
roles in numerous other TV shows, movies, and plays.Royal grew up in a
bilingual home: his father was a French Canadian and his mother was of
British ancestry. He grew up in Montreal's West End, where from the
time he was a boy, he wanted to be in show business. He began
performing while still in high school, and ultimately left Montreal to
study acting in New York with Lee Strasberg. He returned to Canada,
performing on stage in Toronto beginning in the mid-1960s. He joined
the Toronto Arts Production theater company, where he played a wide
range of roles throughout the 1970s, in new plays as well as
productions of Shakespeare and Moliere.In 1985, Royal joined the cast
of a new television production, Night Heat, which aired on both
Canadian and American TV. Night Heat also starred Canadian actors
Scott Hylands and Jeff Wincott. Royal's character, Tom Kirkwood, wrote
a column about crime, and he also was the narrator, doing a voice-over
at the beginning and a concluding thought at the end of each episode.
At the time, Royal, who was mainly known in Canada for his stage
performances, was unknown to American audiences. But the success of
Night Heat helped introduce him, and led to other work after the show
ended in 1989. Prior to the end of Night Heat, he had moved to Los
Angeles, where he hoped to get into movies; he had no plans to do
another TV program, but the opportunity for the role of reclusive
novelist R.D. Young on Falcon Crest appealed to him. After playing
the role for a year, he appeared in a comedy-science fiction show
called They Came From Outer Space from 1990-1991, and another TV
series, Foreign Affairs, in 1992â€"93. Throughout the late 1980s well
into the 2010s, Royal has worked steadily, appearing in productions
that were made in the US and several that were made in Canada, such as
the 1988 film Switching Channels, a remake of the 1931 movie classic
Front Page, which was filmed in Toronto. In addition, he was in
several made-for-TV movies, including a role as John Sculley in the
1999 production Pirates of Silicon Valley, and the role of Mark
Roberts in the 1999 production of "Crime in Connecticut: The Story of
Alex Kelly" (later renamed "Cry Rape"). Royal also portrayed Captain
Braxton in two 1996 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager: "Future's End,
Parts I and II". In addition, Royal appeared in other TV roles, among
which the 1987 mini-series Amerika, Forever Knight, Mutant X, Relic
Hunter, The Practice, JAG. The Border, in a 2004 episode of Sue
Thomas: F.B.Eye, the 2008 Hallmark Channel production of The Good
Witch; he played Chief Constable Stockton in the Canadian detective
show Murdoch Mysteries, in 2008, 2010, and 2014; and he played Judge
Phillip Hopkins in three 2014 episodes of the USA Network hit show
Suits.
sometimes credited as Allan G. Royal and Alan Royal. He is known for
playing the crime reporter Tom Kirkwood on the hit Canadian police
drama Night Heat from 1985â€"1989. He is also known for his recurring
role on such programs as the American TV drama Falcon Crest as well as
roles in numerous other TV shows, movies, and plays.Royal grew up in a
bilingual home: his father was a French Canadian and his mother was of
British ancestry. He grew up in Montreal's West End, where from the
time he was a boy, he wanted to be in show business. He began
performing while still in high school, and ultimately left Montreal to
study acting in New York with Lee Strasberg. He returned to Canada,
performing on stage in Toronto beginning in the mid-1960s. He joined
the Toronto Arts Production theater company, where he played a wide
range of roles throughout the 1970s, in new plays as well as
productions of Shakespeare and Moliere.In 1985, Royal joined the cast
of a new television production, Night Heat, which aired on both
Canadian and American TV. Night Heat also starred Canadian actors
Scott Hylands and Jeff Wincott. Royal's character, Tom Kirkwood, wrote
a column about crime, and he also was the narrator, doing a voice-over
at the beginning and a concluding thought at the end of each episode.
At the time, Royal, who was mainly known in Canada for his stage
performances, was unknown to American audiences. But the success of
Night Heat helped introduce him, and led to other work after the show
ended in 1989. Prior to the end of Night Heat, he had moved to Los
Angeles, where he hoped to get into movies; he had no plans to do
another TV program, but the opportunity for the role of reclusive
novelist R.D. Young on Falcon Crest appealed to him. After playing
the role for a year, he appeared in a comedy-science fiction show
called They Came From Outer Space from 1990-1991, and another TV
series, Foreign Affairs, in 1992â€"93. Throughout the late 1980s well
into the 2010s, Royal has worked steadily, appearing in productions
that were made in the US and several that were made in Canada, such as
the 1988 film Switching Channels, a remake of the 1931 movie classic
Front Page, which was filmed in Toronto. In addition, he was in
several made-for-TV movies, including a role as John Sculley in the
1999 production Pirates of Silicon Valley, and the role of Mark
Roberts in the 1999 production of "Crime in Connecticut: The Story of
Alex Kelly" (later renamed "Cry Rape"). Royal also portrayed Captain
Braxton in two 1996 episodes of Star Trek: Voyager: "Future's End,
Parts I and II". In addition, Royal appeared in other TV roles, among
which the 1987 mini-series Amerika, Forever Knight, Mutant X, Relic
Hunter, The Practice, JAG. The Border, in a 2004 episode of Sue
Thomas: F.B.Eye, the 2008 Hallmark Channel production of The Good
Witch; he played Chief Constable Stockton in the Canadian detective
show Murdoch Mysteries, in 2008, 2010, and 2014; and he played Judge
Phillip Hopkins in three 2014 episodes of the USA Network hit show
Suits.
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