Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Charles, David Orin, 1944-
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
David Orin Charles (1944- ) was born in Toronto and educated at Oakwood Collegiate Institute, where he was active member of the Masquers, a student drama group, as an actor and set designer. His interest in theatre and design continued through his university education at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, and at the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1964 and participated in theatre productions. During this period, from 1962 until 1969, Charles was also an announcer and producer for radio. After returning to Toronto in the early 1970s, Charles was employed by CFTO-TV, becoming a prop master for a variety of in-house television programs. His long career in film and television began in earnest during this time, and after leaving CFTO-TV, he began to work as a freelance set decorator and prop master for television commercials and for film and television productions based in Toronto, also working with Schulz Productions and Talent Associates. He is a member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). During his career, David Charles has worked in set decoration and design for many film productions including "The paper chase" (1973), "Meatballs" (1979), "Porky's" (1982) "Millennium" (1988), "The long kiss goodnight" (1995), "Crash" (1995), "Universal soldier" (1997), "Good Will Hunting" (1997) and "Hairspray" (2006), as well as numerous television productions including "The Swiss family Robinson" (1974), "SCTV" (1982-1983), "Amerika" (1985), "Robocop: the series" (1994), and most recently "Covert affairs" (2010) and "Warehouse 13" (2010). In addition to his film and television production work, Charles received his Bachelor of Education in 1985 and a Master of Arts in 1986 from the University of Toronto and has worked as a secondary school teacher in the Toronto and York District School Boards.