NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Ed Mirvish

Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish, OC, CBE (July 24, 1914^[1] — July 11, 2007^[2]) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and theatrical impresario who lived in Toronto, Ontario. He is known not only for his flagship business, Honest Ed's, a landmark discount store in downtown Toronto, but also as a patron of the arts, instrumental in revitalizing the theatre scene in Toronto. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Colonial Beach is a town located in Westmoreland County, Virginia. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman - Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 106 - Senate seats 24 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area [1] Ranked... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... David Mirvish wearing his Order of Ontario. ... Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country (Hebrews 11. ... Coimbatore (Tamil: ), also known as Kovai (Tamil: ), is a major industrial city in India. ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, or reputation to a charitable cause. ... For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212... An impresario is a manager or producer in one of the entertainment industries, usually Music or Theatre. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength Image:Toronto, Ontario Location. ... The legendary Honest Eds lightbulbed sign Honest Eds is a landmark discount store located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... The Arts is a broad subdivision of culture, comprised of many expressive disciplines. ...

Early days

Born in Colonial Beach, Virginia, the son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania (his father, David) and Austria (his mother, Anna). His parents gave him the Hebrew name, Yehuda, but at the urging of a cousin, they added a more American name, Edwin.^[3] Mirvish often told the tale of his bris; there was no mohel in Colonial Beach, so the family hired one in nearby Washington, D.C., to come down to perform the ceremony. The mohel chosen was Rabbi Moshe Reuben Yoelson, the father of Al Jolson. Mirvish credited this as his introduction to show business. Colonial Beach is a town located in Westmoreland County, Virginia. ... Set of implements used in the performance of brit milah, displayed in the GÃ¶ttingen city museum Brit milah (Hebrew: ×‘Ö°×¨Ö´×™×ª ×žÖ´×™×œÖ¸×” [bÉ™rÄ«t mÄ«lÄ] literally: covenant [of] circumcision), also berit milah (Sephardi), bris milah (Ashkenazi pronunciation) or bris (Yiddish) is a religious ceremony within Judaism that welcomes infant Jewish... A mohel (×ž×•×”×œ also moel) is a Jewish ritual circumciser who performs a brit milah ritual circumcision on the penis of a male who is to enter the Jewish covenant. ... Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, May 26, 1886 â€“ October 23, 1950) was an acclaimed European singer and actor whose career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950. ...

The family later moved to Washington, D.C., where Mirvish's father opened a grocery store. The grocery store went bankrupt in 1923, and David Mirvish moved his family to Toronto where he worked as a door-to-door salesman – peddling, among other things, Fuller Brushes and the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry – until he opened a grocery in the Toronto Jewish community, on Dundas Street. The family lived above the store, sharing their tiny apartment with a Hebrew school. Mirvish would often joke that it was his dream in those days to someday have a bathroom he didn't have to share with 50 others. Nickname: Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: , Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) - City Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack... The Fuller Brush Company was founded January 1, 1906 by Alfred C. Fuller, a businessman from Nova Scotia. ... Dundas Street showing the 506 Carlton Streetcar (the 505 Dundas Street streetcar also runs along Dundas), with Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in background. ...

First business ventures

Mirvish lost his father at the age of 15. He dropped out of school to manage the store, becoming the sole support of his mother and his younger brother, Robert (who became a successful novelist and short-story writer) and sister, Lorraine. The grocery business did not do well, and Mirvish closed shop to reopen as a dry-cleaner, in partnership with his childhood friend, Yale Simpson. The shop was known as "Simpson's". When the well-known downtown Toronto department store "Simpson's" attempted to force him to change the name of his business, Mirvish pointed to Simpson and said, "Here's my Mr. Simpson. Where's yours?" The dry-cleaning business did no better than the grocery, however, and Mirvish soon abandoned it to take a regular job working as a produce manager and buyer for Toronto grocery store entrepreneur Leon Weinstein. The Robert Simpson Company, or Simpsons, was a Canadian department store chain, founded by Robert Simpson in 1872. ...

Now financially stable, Mirvish bought a Model-T Ford and began to court a radio singer from Hamilton, Ontario, Anne Macklin, whom he married in 1941. In 1945, their son, David, was born. The Ford Model T (colloquially known as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver) was an automobile produced by Henry Fords Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... David Mirvish wearing his Order of Ontario. ...

History of Honest Ed's

During World War II, Ed and Anne Mirvish opened a dress shop known as "The Sport Bar." They ran this business until 1948, when Mirvish cashed in his wife's insurance policy to open a new business, a bargain basement known as "Honest Ed's", stocked with all kinds of odd merchandise purchased at bankruptcy and fire sales, and displayed on orange crates. This unique no-credit, no-service, no-frills business model was an immediate success. Mirvish claimed to have invented the "loss-leader", below-cost discounts on selected items designed to lure buyers into the store. "Honest Ed's" gradually expanded to fill an entire city block. Billing itself as "the world's biggest discount department store", it was soon bringing in millions of dollars a year. The store expanded and, in the late 1950s, Mirvish started buying up houses on Markham Street running south from Bloor. When his application to tear down the Victorian structures in order to build a parking lot was rejected by the city Mirvish, at the urging of his wife and son, rented them out at low rates to local artists and the street soon became a community of artists studios, galleries, boutiques and niche shops known today as Mirvish Village. The legendary Honest Eds lightbulbed sign Honest Eds is a landmark discount store located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... The legendary Honest Eds lightbulbed sign Honest Eds is a landmark discount store located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Toronto, Ontario, Canada is called the city of neighbourhoods because of the strength and vitality of its many communities. ...

Publicity stunts

Mirvish was renowned for getting free publicity, doing everything from riding elephants, to hiring protesters to picket his own restaurant over its dress code. Every Christmas, Mirvish gave away ten thousand pounds of free turkeys in his store to shoppers who stood in line for hours.^[4] A tradition since his 75th birthday has been the annual birthday bash outside the store, with free food, entertainment and children's rides. In 2003, Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman proclaimed Mirvish's birthday "Ed Mirvish Day". ^[5] Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... A childs first birthday party. ...

Theatres and restaurants

In addition to Honest Ed's, Mirvish was known in Toronto for his theatres and restaurants. His first purchase was the Royal Alexandra Theatre, an Edwardian landmark building slated for demolition. Mirvish purchased the building in 1962 and refurbished it, revitalizing the Toronto theatre scene. To liven up the neighborhood and provide patrons with a place to go before and after performances, Mirvish bought and renovated a nearby warehouse building, which he turned into a restaurant. To cut costs, Ed's Warehouse at King Street West and Duncan Street, served only one meal: an English cut of roast beef, rolls, kosher dill pickles, mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and canned peas. Along the same street, Mirvish later opened Ed's Seafood, Ed's Folly, Ed's Chinese, Ed's Italian Restaurant and Old Ed's, which attracted local residents to the previously neglected King Street area and served 6,000 meals a night. All the restaurants have since closed. The Royal Alexandra theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario Canada. ... King Street is a major east-west commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

In 1993 the Mirvishes built the Princess of Wales Theatre, the largest new theatre - and first privately financed theatre - in North America in the span of thirty years. In 2001, Mirvish Enterprises signed a management contract to run the Pantages Theatre, renamed the Canon Theatre, for Clear Channel Entertainment (now Live Nation), which had bought up the the assets of the bankrupt theatre company, Livent. The first show under the Mirvish banner was a touring production of Saturday Night Fever. The Princess of Wales Theatre is a 2000-seat theatre located at 300 King Street West in the heart of Torontos Entertainment District. ... The Canon Theatre is one of Torontos live entertainment venues. ... Live Nation NYSE: LYV is a concert company based in the United States of America. ... - A Man In (Talk | Contribs) 15:13, 26 September 2005 (UTC) Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 movie starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, a troubled Brooklyn youth whose weekend activities are dominated by visits to a Brooklyn discotheque. ...

He and his son David operated Mirvish Productions, which staged major touring theatre productions from Broadway and London and which produced and/or co-produced the Canadian stagings of such recent hits as The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, The Producers and Hairspray. In 1982 Ed and David Mirvish bought London's Old Vic for £550,000 (CAD$1.23 million)^[6] and spent four million renovating it. Under their management, The Old Vic was celebrated for winning more awards for its productions than any other single theatre in Britain; It never made money, however, and they sold it to its present owners, a theatre trust, in 1998. Ed Mirvish was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for saving the Old Vic. The Lion King is a 1994 animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. ... The Prince Edward Theatre on Old Compton Street Mamma Mia! showing at Cirkus in Stockholm 2006. ... The 1968 film The Producers was adapted as a critically acclaimed Broadway musical by Mel Brooks in 2001. ... John Waters Hairspray is a Tony-winning musical, based on the 1988 John Waters movie Hairspray. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The exterior of the Old Vic from the corner of Baylis Road and Waterloo Road. ... The symbol Â£ represents the pound currency which Britain uses. ... The Canadian dollar, CAD or C$, is the unit of currency of Canada. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross...

Birthday and anniversary celebrations

In June 2006, Ed and Anne Mirvish marked their 65th wedding anniversary with a party at the Princess of Wales Theatre. The mayor of Toronto, the chief of police and other public figures delivered congratulatory speeches, followed by a program of vocal music by some of Toronto's opera and theater stars.^[7] In July 2006, Mirvish celebrated his 92nd birthday with a lavish party at Honest Ed's. In honor of this occasion, many items in the store were on sale for 92 cents.^[8]

Death

On July 11, 2007, the Mirvish family released a statement to announce the death of Ed Mirvish earlier that morning at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto. is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... St. ...

The funeral was held at Beth Tzedec Congregation in Toronto and Mirvish was buried at Padres Shalom Cemetery in Maple, Ontario. His store was closed and its lights were dimmed, as staff bid farewell to the former owner. A similar gesture was made by theatres in Broadway, whom dimmed their lights for one minute at 8pm on July 13. Padres Shalom Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in Maple, Ontario and final resting place for Jews in the Greater Toronto Area. ... Maple is a high-growth suburban community northwest of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Vaughan in York Region. ... Broadway theatre[1] is the most prestigious form of professional theatre in the U.S., as well as the most well known to the general public and most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows. ...

Toronto Police provided ceremonial and mounted units (including the horse Honest Ed) for his funeral. Flags at all of Toronto civic centres were lowered to half mast. The Toronto Police Service (TPS), also known colloqually as T.O.P.D., formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the local police force for the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... The Capitol District of Honolulu, Hawaii is considered a civic center. ...

Awards

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The City of London is a geographically-small city within Greater London, England. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Seal of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada is Canadas highest civilian honour, with membership awarded to those who exemplify the Orders Latin motto Desiderantes meliorem patriam, which means (those) desiring a better country (Hebrews 11. ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ... The Retail Council of Canada was founded in 1963. ... The Distinguished Canadian Retail of the Year Award is presented annually by the Retail Council of Canada to recognize a retail leader that has led his/her retail company to outstanding business success. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Annually the Retail Council of Canada awards a Lifetime Achievement Award to a deserving Canadian retail business person. ...

References

^ "Honest Ed Mirvish dies at 92", National Post, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ Gero, Ambert. "Ed Mirvish Dead At 92", CFRB, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ "Ed Mirvish, 92: 'Honest Ed'", Toronto Star, 2007-07-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ Robertson, Ian. "Ed's turkeys theirs for the gobbling", Toronto Sun, 2006-12-04. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ http://www.toronto.ca/proclamations/2003/proclamation_edmirvishday2003.htm
^ "Honest Ed buys Old Vic theatre", The Globe and Mail, June 24, 1982.
^ "'Honest Ed' Mirvish celebrating 92nd birthday", CTV, 2006-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
^ "Honest Ed Mirvish Celebrates His 92nd Birthday", CityNews, 2006-07-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.

The National Post is a major Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, Ontario, a district of Toronto. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... CFRB, or CFRB 1010 as it is often referred to, is an AM radio station in Toronto, Canada, broadcasting on 1010 kHz, with a shortwave radio simulcast by CFRX on 6070 kHz. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Toronto Sun is an English language daily newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Globe and Mail is a large English language national newspaper based in Toronto, Canada, and printed in seven cities across Canada. ... CTV is a TLA that may stand for: CTV Television Network - a Canadian English language television network Channel Television - the main television broadcaster in the Channel Islands Chukyo TV. Broadcasting - a Japanese TV station in Nagoya This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 192nd day of the year (193rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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