CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — P.E.I. actor and former Charlottetown mayoral candidate William “Bill’’ McFadden has died at the age of 72.
The Charlottetown resident found out in January that he had metastatic cancer throughout his body, meaning that it had spread form the origin point and was terminal.
McFadden was born on Dec. 13, 1947 in Heidelberg, Germany, an American who came to call P.E.I. home. In the late 1950s, he got into the theatre scene and started what would become a prolific acting career. He bounced around for a while but eventually moved and settled on P.E.I. in 1970. He played characters in Island film projects such as Pogey Beach and A Small Fortune.
He also took a few runs at political office, campaigning for Parliament in 1984 and for mayor of Charlottetown in 2018. He never secured a position but was happy with the 200 votes he earned during his second attempt.
About 33 years ago, he decided to quit drinking and smoking and, more recently, started going back to church in the Anglican faith. He was a parishioner at St. Peter’s Cathedral on Rochford Street in Charlottetown.
McFadden raised 10 children and was well-known by many across the downtown Charlottetown area for being a bit of a character. There is even an Instagram account called Bill Spotting where people submit photos, sometimes stealthy but not unauthorized, if they cross paths with him.
“What’s not to be happy about?’’ he told The Guardian in February. “My children all seem to enjoy me, my ex-wives get along with me. I don’t know of anybody who’s actively seeking my scalp.’’
In a separate Guardian interview in April, McFadden spoke about his wish to have the most eco-friendly burial possible, hoping that it would serve as an inspiration to others.
A carpentry friend of his, Gary Loo in Wheatley River, produced a casket that was made from a variety of local wood, all coated in beeswax.
It was McFadden’s wish that he be carried to his final resting place in the wooden casket and interred only in a shroud so that the casket could be used again for someone else.
McFadden is survived by his children Corin McFadden, Eli Smyth, Will McFadden, Elizabeth McFadden, Bryde MacLean, Ferne McFadden, Sarah McFadden, Marilyn Rose McFadden, Shannon McFadden and step-daughter Tara MacLean, as well as sisters Midge Kelly and Barbara Dodge. He was predeceased by his son, Jesse McFadden, as well as parents, Col. Jack McFadden and Dorothy (Roberts) McFadden, both from the U.S.
On McFadden’s request, arrangements will be made with and held at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Charlottetown, with internment at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Irishtown.
