The Shaughnessy mansion in Montreal - Jerome Yau 2009.

10 May 2011

The Barons Shaughnessy

Montreal Quebec - The Shaughnessy name is still one to be reckoned with, not only in Montreal, but throughout Canada.
 
When Thomas George Shaughnessy, the U.S.-born chairman of the Canadian Pacific Railway, was named a Canadian baron in 1916, he was honoured with a hereditary title for parlaying the railway into an international conglomerate and for his support of the Empire's First World War effort.
 
His house in Montreal is now the Canadian Centre for Architecture, there's a tiny Vancouver neighbourhood named for the First Baron Shaughnessy, and schools, streets, and crescents in any number of cities honour his memory.
 
But blue-bloods these days aren't what they used to be.
 
The newly minted Fifth Baron of Montreal and Ashford is a Hollywood actor who won an Emmy for being the voice of Dennis, a goldfish in the animated Walt Disney cartoon series, Stanley.
 
He was also in a soap opera, Days of our Lives, but is perhaps best known for his starring role in the CBS television series, The Nanny.
 
Just because he's an actor doesn't mean the latest aristocrat is frivolous. With a law degree from Cambridge University, he has all of the credentials to be a trusted and informed lord of the realm.
 
Shaughnessy takes his lordly position as seriously as he does being an actor.
 
"There is pride in the title and how it all started," he said in a telephone interview from his home in Santa Monica, California, "To dismiss the honour is to dismiss a great family story. But it is not something I would include on my acting resume."
 
Charles Shaughnessy is an actor of substance. He wrote a thesis on the House of Lords, when he took his law degree at Cambridge, and takes the peerage very seriously.
 
"Before it was revamped by Tony Blair's government, the House of Lords functioned as a very good Upper House. Like the Canadian Senate, it was an important, unelected, legislative body that reviewed and often improved legislation brought to bear by gifted amateurs."
 
The fifth baron was born in London. His father, Alfred, the fourth baron's cousin, was principal writer and script editor of the acclaimed British television series, Upstairs, Downstairs. Had he lived, he would have inherited the title when the fourth baron died without heirs in 2007. But Alfred died three years ago, which is how the title automatically came to his son, Charles.
 
Charles Shaughnessy started acting career in grade school in England. After graduating from Eton College, he received a law degree. Then he enrolled in drama school in London. After a year touring in repertory, he was cast in the Agatha Christie television series Partners in Crime. He then won the lead role in the BBC drama series Jury.
 
His wife, the Lady Shaughnessy, is a actress Susan Fallender.
 
As baron Shaughnessy, he inherits the title, the family's coat of arms, and the only real perk left, he could be commanded to attend the coronation of the next sovereign.
 
The title also makes him eligible to seek election to one of the 92 remaining seats in the British House of Lords.
 
As someone whose family's roots are in Quebec, he's familiar with Montreal. He's shot a made-for-television movie in the city and can speak French.
 
"I love it as a language, but I lack the practice. It would take me about three weeks to be conversant."
 
"I love Canada, I love Montreal, at some point of my life, I might end up north of the border," he said. " I could absolutely see a time when I move to Canada."
 
Only four distinctly Canadian hereditary titles remain:  Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, Baron Shaughnessy of Montreal and Ashford, Baron Beaverbrook, and Baron de Longueuil.
 
Conrad Black's title, Black of Crossharbour, dies with him.
 
The Barons of Montreal and Ashford
 
First Baron
 
Thomas George Shaughnessy (1853-1923)
 
Chairman of the Canadian Pacific Railway. His eldest son, Alfred, was killed during the First World War serving with the 60th Canadian Infantry in 1916.
 
Second Baron
 
William James Shaughnessy (1883-1938)
 
Alfred's younger brother was a lawyer and captain in the 55th Irish Rangers.
 
Third Baron
 
William Graham "Billy" Shaughnessy (1922-2003)
 
Executive assistant to Canada's finance minister, Charles Abbott. His eldest son eldest Patrick John died in 1982.
 
Fourth Baron
 
Michael James Shaughnessy (1946-2007)
 
Patrick John's younger brother. With his death, the title went to his closest male relative:  his cousin, Alfred, the TV scriptwriter who died in 2005.
 
Fifth Baron
 
Charles Shaughnessy (1955-)
 
Alfred's son, an Emmy-award-winning television actor who starred in The Nanny, is entitled to be registered in the House of Lords.