Fonds MS-689 - Wallace McSween fonds

Wallace McSween (1922-1996) caught the performance bug when he was 14. He was asked to perform a solo in a piping concert in his hometown of Drumheller, and though he has nervous, he found that he loved the audience's reaction to his work. In May 1939, he moved to Calgary and joined the Calgary Highlanders as a piper for the militia band. During the Second World War, McSween served with the RCAF, flying 28 missions as a bomber pilot. Demobilized in 1945, he returned to school and completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1950 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Laws in 1954, both from the University of Alberta. In addition to his studies, McSween began to reengage with his love of performing by acting in the university's drama faculty productions. As a result, it was during his time at the U of A that McSween developed his passion for acting. However, McSween stuck with law following his graduation, and was called to the bar in 1955. Despite trying to balance his legal practice with performing in local amateur theatre, McSween abandoned law in 1966 to act professionally full time. Though he was initially concerned about the prospects of providing for his family on an actor's income, McSween spent the next thirty years acting in plays in Edmonton and across Western Canada, as well as in various television productions. A long time resident of the Avonmore community, in 1999, the city named a local park after Wallace McSween in commemoration contribution to Edmonton's theatre arts community.