# Who is/was the most influential Canadian in American culture? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 30, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843 "2012-06-30T19:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/1 "2012-06-30T19:53:03Z")
I was listening on CBC radio yesterday discussing influential Canadians that have or had gained prominence in American culture. There was a litany of newsmen, actors, comedians, moviemakers and musicians discussed. But when I first determined the theme of the show I was expecting to hear the name of Canadian [James Naismith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Naismith) who not only invented the sport of basketball, but also invented the football helmet. Both sports are huge in American culture like nowhere else except perhaps to a lesser degree, Canada . Football would not be the American football we all know and love without the helmet. Can you come up with any other Canadians who have affected American culture to such a degree? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/2 "2012-06-30T22:54:39Z")
90 years ago it was Mary Pickford. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/3 "2012-06-30T23:01:08Z")
William Shatner. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/4 "2012-06-30T23:19:58Z")
> [@AWB](#): > > William Shatner. 😃 Him & Lorne Greene. All our best starship Captains are Canadian. Must be something in the water. Or the beavers. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/5 "2012-06-30T23:23:17Z")
Neil Young? ---
**Author:** ![Not\_From\_Here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/2acd7d/32.png) [@Not\_From\_Here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_From_Here)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/6 "2012-06-30T23:45:53Z")
Justin Bieber? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/7 "2012-06-30T23:49:19Z")
Lorne Michaels. American pop culture would look quite different without Saturday Night Live and all the people whom it launched to stardom (though they might or might not have eventually found similar success without it). ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/8 "2012-07-01T00:06:33Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > \ > > But when I first determined the theme of the show I was expecting to hear the name of Canadian [James Naismith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Naismith) who not only invented the sport of basketball, but also invented the football helmet. Both sports are huge in American culture like nowhere else except perhaps to a lesser degree, Canada . Football would not be the American football we all know and love without the helmet. > > Can you come up with any other Canadians who have affected American culture to such a degree? You could also argue that [football was invented in Canada, too.](http://cflhq.ca/2012/02/how-canada-invented-american-football/) Also, from the [CFL Grey Cup site -](http://greycup.cfl.ca/page/grey-cup-history-timeline-1870) > [@](#): > > 1874 > > The rules of a hybrid game of English rugby devised by the University of McGill were first used in the United States in a game at Boston between McGill and Harvard. On May 14, Harvard won 3-0 using Harvard rules. The next day, the teams tied 0-0 while playing Canadian rules. Harvard liked the new game so much they introduced it into the Ivy League. Both U.S. and Canadian football evolved from these games. My vote is for [Tommy Douglas.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/9 "2012-07-01T00:19:48Z")
So, just how did Tommy Douglas affect American culture ? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/10 "2012-07-01T00:22:26Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > So, just how did Tommy Douglas affect American culture ? Yeah, I realized that after I posted - I think he has and is affecting US American politics, but maybe not culture so much. Okay, I’ll change my answer to Lorne Michaels, too. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/11 "2012-07-01T00:41:26Z")
What’s this “Canada” of which you speak? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/12 "2012-07-01T00:57:35Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > What’s this “Canada” of which you speak? 😕 We have a stereotypical American in this thread ---
**Author:** ![Dano83860](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@Dano83860](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dano83860)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/13 "2012-07-01T01:22:40Z")
My vote goes to Peter Jennings. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/14 "2012-07-01T01:32:11Z")
James Gosling. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/15 "2012-07-01T01:36:38Z")
Seconded for Peter Jennings ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/16 "2012-07-01T01:45:51Z")
Naismith, followed by Young, followed by some hockey player. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/17 "2012-07-01T01:54:16Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > So, just how did Tommy Douglas affect American culture ? He was certainly known to leaders in the ongoing health care debate in the States. Ted Kennedy even visited Regina many years ago to look at Saskatchewan medicare, but whatever influence Douglas could have had ended up being rejected by American politics. On another note, just a few days ago I saw a well-known American on TV mention Tommy Douglas in passing, as if he was commonly known. For the life of me, I can’t remember who it was now. (No, it wasn’t Kiefer Sutherland.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/18 "2012-07-01T02:11:30Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Naismith, followed by Young, followed by some hockey player. Wayne Gretzky, although you could argue Gordie Howe, since he proceeded Gretzky. ---
**Author:** ![MyFactCheckBounced](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MyFactCheckBounced](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFactCheckBounced)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/19 "2012-07-01T02:13:17Z")
Without a doubt Abe Vigoda. The man who managed to look 90 for the most consecutive years prior to turning 90 (which he did last year) – our age’s answer to the Cumaean Sybil, possessed of immortality but not youth. I’ve had him in my dead pool since the late 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843/20 "2012-07-01T02:15:54Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > On another note, just a few days ago I saw a well-known American on TV mention Tommy Douglas in passing, as if he was commonly known. For the life of me, I can’t remember who it was now. (No, it wasn’t Kiefer Sutherland.) For those to whom this is completely opaque, I’ll just point out that Tommy Douglas is Kiefer’s grandfather. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-was-the-most-influential-canadian-in-american-culture/626843.md?page=2)