Grognards: London's 'Mayor of Richmond Row,' Roy McDonald, dead at 80

lunedì 12 aprile 2021

London's 'Mayor of Richmond Row,' Roy McDonald, dead at 80

Writer, poet, philosopher, McDonald was an iconic part of the city's downtown scene

Andrew Lupton · CBC News · Posted: Feb 21, 2018 1:33 PM ET | Last Updated: February 21, 2018

Roy McDonald was a regular fixture on London's Richmond Row, where he liked to sing songs for money, recite poetry and engage passersby in conversation. (Richard Gilmore/Twitter)

Online tributes continue to pour in for Roy McDonald, a unique Londoner whose friendly manner and penchant for sharing music and poetry outside Joe Kool's earned him the unofficial title 'The Mayor of Richmond Row.'

McDonald, a philosopher and published poet, was found dead in his home. He was 80.

McDonald was often seen singing songs, reading poetry or chatting with students outside of the bars on Richmond Street.

He was known for his scraggly appearance and white beard, which at one time reached past his waist.

London playwright Jason Rip wrote a play about McDonald's life, entitled Beard: A Few Moments in the life of Roy McDonald.

"He's a very legendary figure," said Rip. "People had all kinds of misconceptions about him, like he had his money buried in the backyard and that he was a renegade professor. There was a lot of urban legends about Roy."

In reality, Rip said, McDonald just loved to rub elbows with people on the streets.

"He was extremely social," he said. "He really did like to talk to people. He was like the greeter for the City of London, since he introduced so many people to each other, always willing to have conversations with anyone who happens to meet him. I think that was his great gift to the city."

Rip said he would like to raise money to one day erect a bronze statue of McDonald at his usual spot on Richmond Street, between Joe Kool's and Toboggan.

"I even talked to him about it when he was alive and he really liked that idea."

Jeremy Hobbs is a local musician and longtime friend of McDonald.

Hobbs said it's almost impossible to imagine a downtown London without McDonald walking (he walked everywhere) from one coffee shop to another, his bags bulging with reading material.

"He was as rooted in the fabric of this city as the trees in Victoria Park," said Hobbs.

Hobbs said McDonald's dishevelled appearance often caused people to mistakenly think he was homeless.

Friends of McDonald became concerned when he suddenly failed to show up as his usual haunts, which included downtown coffee shops and Covent Garden Market. Hobbs said it appears he had died in his sleep.

"He was just a very kind, gentle soul," said Hobbs. "A sweet warm person who loved talking to people."

Tributes on social media

Below is a selection of some of the tributes people posted about Hobbs on social media Wednesday.

Cheryl McLean

@creativeartprac

RIP Roy McDonald of London philosopher poet a man who asked your name in a world where few care to know

11:20 PM · Feb 21, 2018

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Lincoln McCardle

@Canucklehead_ca

Feb 21, 2018

My condolences to his friends and family, and perhaps most of #LdnOnt on the passing of our dear friend and poet Roy McDonald. #RIP

Lincoln McCardle

@Canucklehead_ca

#LdnOnt

6:49 PM · Feb 21, 2018

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LondonPublicLibrary

@londonlibrary

We will miss our meaningful connections with #LdnOnt street poet, writer and literary aficionado, Roy McDonald. Roy's work, as well as work inspired by Roy (by Jason Rip and Don Bell) is available at the Library. bit.ly/2FjiZQv

8:35 PM · Feb 21, 2018

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London Arts Council

@LdnArtsCouncil

"I and the whole LAC team are saddened to hear of the passing of Roy McDonald, one of London's most well-loved citizens ..." —Tom Cull, London Poet Laureate facebook.com/londonartscoun

8:36 PM · Feb 21, 2018

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Joel

@joelcadams

Goodbye to my friend, and the friend of so many, the late, great, Mayor of Richmond Row, poet, author, professional conversationalist, last of the beatniks, first of the hippies, Roy McDonald. #ldnont #westernu

4:48 PM · Feb 21, 2018

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AlvegoRoot Theatre

@AlvegoRoot

#Roy_McDonald, our friend, supporter and collaborator has passed on. Everyone at AlvegoRoot felt privileged to present BEARD in 2012. Roy also read at every Story Evening we ever hosted. Roy was a friend to countless people, a poet who's view was life, love and London. #ldnont

5:33 PM · Feb 21, 2018

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Ms. Briscoe

@BriscoeClass

Found a familiar #LdnOnt face @WAGwoodstock #RoyMcDonald by #AlanDayton

4:52 PM · Oct 26, 2017

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Western Archives

@westernulibsARC

We along with rest of #ldnont are saddened to hear of the death of our friend Roy McDonald. Proud to have his papers in our holdings here at Western Archives. Photo taken Apr 6, 2004 when Roy visited our Reading Room for official opening of the ARCC. #westernu #londonontario