Donald Pilon was born in Montreal, Quebec. He is an award-winning film and television actor. Donald's younger brother was actor Daniel Pilon. Donald once worked as a real detective
The CBC had to terminate the contract, for' health reasons, of Michael Kane, who played the lead role (Detective-Sergeant Jim Brewer) in the suspense drama series, The Collaborators, after Kane had worked in the first three episodes for the 1974-75 season. Donald Pilon, one of Quebec's leading actors, filled the gap. Pilon was cast as Detective-Sergeant Richard Tremblay, a police officer who tends to bend the rules. He starred in seven of the second season's 10 episodes. Pilon, who was born in Montreal in 1938, began his acting career just in 1967 and appeared in 11 feature films. The Potterton production of Child Under a Leaf, written and directed in Montreal by George Bloomfield, was released in 1974. This drama stars Pilon, Dyan Cannon, and Joseph Campanella. Working with international stars is not a new experience for Pilon. He appeared with Christopher Plummer and Karen Black in The Pyx, a thriller produced by Maxine Samuels and directed in Montreal by Harvey Hart. While working as a revenue control manager at Expo '67, Pilon met filmmaker Gilles Carle, who offered him a part in The Rape of a Sweet Young Girl. Pilon was hooked after that. "I was finally happy," he said. "Money didn't matter anymore. I had a seventh sense that | could make it." His commitment to acting was unique. Pilon's previous experience had been with a number of short-term, fast-buck jobs. Although he can't dance, Pilon spent six months selling dance lessons; he doesn't smoke, yet he sold cigarettes, and after 100 days as a detective at Blue Bonnets racetrack, he quit because his racing debts totalled $13,000. Pilon has made five films for Carle, and the best known is The True Nature of Bernadette, which was Canada's entry at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. For his work in the film, Pilon received the 1972 Canadian Film Award as the best supporting actor. Pilon currently lives in Quebec's Eastern Townships with his wife, Nicole.
