Murray Westgate
Actor · Died August 27, 2018, aged 100 · Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Like most young men at the time with the outbreak of World War Two, Murray Westgate signed up to serve his country. He joined the Canadian navy and was posted to Halifax where he was trained as a wireless operator. On his discharge in 1945, he heard that a repertory company was being formed on the west coast and so he became a member of Vancouver`s first professional theatre company, Everyman Theatre, which had been formed in 1946 by Sydney Risk. A touring company resulted and Westgate and a group of young actors toured the West. He then joined the CBC in Vancouver and was cast in radio dramas for which the CBC Vancouver studios were famous. In 1949 he moved to Toronto where his voice was soon heard in many CBC network radio productions out of the Toronto studios, among them the long-running Sunday series which began as Stage 44, directed by Andrew Allan, and the Ford Television Theatre, produced by Allan Savage. Westgate won an ACTRA Award in 1979 for his work on the made-for-television movie, Tyler. He is probably best remembered by a certain age group for being the spokesman for Imperial Oil, appearing in commercials for 17 years, especially when they were a major sponsor of Hockey Night In Canada on the CBC. Westgate died at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 16, 1918
- August 27, 2018 (aged 100)
- Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Actor
- 15 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
What are Murray Westgate's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8
Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 3
Grounded 7 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 2 · Charged 4 · Intense 2
Steady 5 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 4 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 4
Resolved 6 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet7
- Tragic1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Murray Westgate's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (7).
Subscription and free streaming for Murray Westgate's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
26 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films
Heavenly Bodies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
A Matter of Sex(1984)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Shock-Trauma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Honeyboy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Knight Rider(1982)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Happy Birthday to Me(1981)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films
F.D.R.: The Last Year(1980)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)Fish Hawk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
The Courage of Kavik, the Wolf Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Running(1979)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Crossbar(1979)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
L'homme en colère(1979)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Torn Between Two Lovers(1979)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Tell Me My Name (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Rituals(1977)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films
Tom Sawyer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Sunday in the Country(1974)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Salty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Last Bride Of Salem (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
The Borrowers(1973)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
She Cried Murder (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Class of '44(1973)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
The House Without a Christmas Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Homer(1970)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Career shape
Star power in the 70th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 26 titles from 1970 to 1991; peak year 1991.
Biggest box office
Running (1979)
Highest rated
Rituals (1977)
Most popular right now
Sunday in the Country (1974)
Film career
Peak 1991 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1974Screen debut· Sunday in the Country
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Murray Westgate's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 39th percentile, the median of all 14; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 41st percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th8
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
7 of their 15 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic3
- Broadly Agreed5
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the acting 65/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 74, detractors 42. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Murray Westgate work with?
People who share at least 2 of Murray Westgate's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; John Trent shares the most, 3.
Directors
- John TrentShared titles: Crossbar (1979), Sunday in the Country (1974), Homer (1970)See all 3 shared titles with John Trent
Actors
- Tom ButlerShared titles: Scanners II: The New Order (1991), Crossbar (1979)See all 2 shared titles with Tom Butler
- Larry ReynoldsShared titles: Crossbar (1979), Homer (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Larry Reynolds
- Lawrence DaneShared titles: Running (1979), Rituals (1977)See all 2 shared titles with Lawrence Dane
- Trudy YoungShared titles: Running (1979), Homer (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Trudy Young
Cinematographers
- Laszlo GeorgeShared titles: Running (1979), Homer (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Laszlo George