Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share by Email
Share on Google Classroom
Cory Allan Monteith, actor, musician (born at Calgary 11 May 1982, died, 13 July 2013 in Vancouver, BC). Cory Monteith is best known for his starring role in the TV series Glee. Monteith grew up on Vancouver Island and attended school in Victoria. He worked at various jobs until a drug problem put him in rehab at the age of 19. Afterward he signed up for acting classes and soon landed small roles, moving to Vancouver to pursue his new career.
In 2004 Monteith made his brief debut on the TV series Stargate: Atlantis. The following year, he starred in a Canadian movie called Killer Bash, a thriller from director David DeCoteau about a murdered geek's revenge on a group of frat boys. Monteith worked steadily - though not always in substantial roles - in film and TV (Smallville in 2005; Final Destination 3 in 2006), including in a recurring role on the show Kyle XY from 2006-07.
Cory Monteith caught the attention of Glee producers with an audition tape of himself playing "drums" on a set of Tupperware and glasses. He had never taken voice lessons or sung in public, but producers found him a perfect fit for the character of Finn Hudson, the quarterback of the high school football team who is initially blackmailed into joining the glee club. Glee, which follows the club and the coming-of-age issues of its members, became an international success.
Up to the time of his death, Monteith played drums and sang backup vocals for the indie-rock band Bonnie Dune. He was also a spokesperson for the "Straight But Not Narrow" campaign, which encourages straight teens to be more socially accepting of homosexuality.
Together with the cast of Glee, Cory Monteith won a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series in 2009 and a Teen Choice Award for TV comedy in 2010.
