Ed Mirvish
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Edwin "Honest Ed" Mirvish, , O.C., C.B.E., O.Ont., LL.D., (born July 25, 1914 - Colonial Beach VA) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who lives in Toronto, Ontario. He is best known for his flagship business, Honest Ed's, a landmark discount store located at Bloor and Bathurst streets in downtown Toronto.
Born in Colonial Beach, Virginia, he lived his early years in Washington, D.C., his father running a grocery store. The family moved to Toronto when Ed was nine and his father opened a grocery in the Jewish area on Dundas Street.
He married his wife Anne in 1941.
After running a series of different businesses, including a cleaner's and a dress shop, he moved into the bargain products business and quickly found success with his no-credit, no-frills model of doing business. Honest Ed's was soon bringing in millions of dollars a year.
Ed is renowned for getting free publicity, doing everything from riding elephants, to hiring protestors to picket his own store over its dress code. Every Christmas Mirvish gives away tens of thousands of free turkeys outside his store.
A tradition since his 75th birthday has been the large annual party adjacent to the store, which attracts over 50,000 people for seven hours of free food, entertainment and children's rides.
In addition to Honest Ed's, he owns numerous businesses in the downtown area, including restaurants and theatres. His first purchase was Alexandra Hall, a historic theatre that was slated for demolition, and refurbished it, revitalizing the Toronto theater scene. He also built the Princess of Wales Theatre, the largest new theater in North America in thirty years. He and his son David operate Mirvish Productions, which has staged productions of many Broadway hits such as The Lion King, Mamma Mia!, The Producers and Hairspray. In 1982 Mirvish bought London's Old Vic for a million dollars and spent four million renovating it. It never made money, however, and he sold it in 1998.
In 1978 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Officer in 1987.
Mirvish took ill in 2003 with a severe case of pneumonia, and was away from public life until May of the following year.
Source
- Honest Ed Mirvish is back - Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1083708610566&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154)