GASCON, JEAN

born Dec. 21, 1921, Montreal, Que., Can. died April 20, 1988, Stratford, Ont. Canadian actor and director, cofounder of the Thtre du Nouveau Monde (1951) and cofounder of the National Theatre School (1960). While studying medicine at various universities, Gascon gained attention as an actor with Les Compagnos de St. Laurent (194245). Equally versed in both French and English productions, he spent 19 seasons at the Stratford Festival and served as its artistic director (196974). At the festival he appeared in Henry V (1956) and directed Othello (1959), The Comedy of Errors (1964), and The Misanthrope (1981). For his longtime contributions to the arts, he was made an Officer (1967) and Companion (1974) of the Order of Canada.