Back in 2003, Jackie Burroughs made an appearance on Rick Mercer’s sitcom, Made in Canada.  At the time, he told the Toronto Star that he admired her sense of humour and her experience.  He said, “The whole time she was on set I couldn’t quite believe it was happening.  She told me a lot of great stories while we were waiting around.  And then when the camera came on, she took the Mickey out of herself.”

In 2004, Zachary Bennett, who played Felix King on Road to Avonlea, said that Burroughs was “the greatest to work with…She’s got a split personality.  She’s this fearless actor and she’s a slacker college guy.”

In a news clip, the great Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent, who knew Burroughs in her younger years and worked with her in the film John and the Missus, knew the actress well.  He said, “She had a wiry kind of strength to her that made us believe it was going to last forever.”

In 2005, Sarah Polley, who played alongside Burroughs as Sara Stanley on Road to Avonlea, paid tribute to her at an awards ceremony.  She said, “I remember from sort of my dark cavern of ten-year-old cynicism envying her naive and unspoiled youth.”  The actress and director also described Burroughs as “an artist in the most true, pure, brutal sense of the word,” and said that she was honest, uncompromising, fierce and passionate.

Actress Shirley Douglas, who played May Bailey on Kevin Sullivan’s Wind at My Back series, had known Burroughs for 32 years.  “She was a tremendous volcano to work with,” Douglas said.  “She could drive people crazy, but the result was so extraordinary.”  Douglas also remembered Burroughs’ generosity towards all people – whether she was saying some encouraging words to a young performer, or helping someone on the street.  “She had tremendous humanity.  The longer you knew her the more you realized it.”

To read more about Burroughs and see the articles from which these quotes originated, take a look at the following links: 

CBC:  http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2010/09/22/jackie-burroughs-obit.html

Globe and Mail:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/jackie-burroughs-dead-at-71/article1719442/

Toronto Star:  http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/theatre/article/865189--stage-actress-starred-in-road-to-avonlea?bn=1

Macleans.ca:  http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/09/23/jackie-burroughs-of-road-to-avonlea-dies/

National Post:  http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/09/22/jackie-burroughs-best-known-as-aunt-hetty-on-road-to-avonlea-dies-at-71/

Calgary Herald:  http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Jackie+Burroughs+best+known+Aunt+Hetty+Road+Avonlea+dies/3565105/story.html

The Vancouver Sun: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Star+Tracks/3566663/story.html

Northern Stars.ca:  http://www.northernstars.ca/News/0910231034_burroughs.html

Toronto Life:  http://www.torontolife.com/daily/hype/rip/2010/09/23/a-tribute-to-jackie-burroughs-the-most-memorable-moments-from-her-career/