Doug Bennett, lead singer of Doug and the Slugs and his wife Nancy bought an old house on Semlin Drive in 1987. The house received heritage designation last month.
This story is from my book Sensational Vancouver
2146 Semlin Drive:
Current owners Adrienne Tanner and Mike Walker now have a Heritage Revitalization Agreement with the City of Vancouver. This means that the house cannot be demolished or substantially altered. In return, the owners can sub-divide the lot and build a second house with a rental suite.
Michael Kluckner, past chair of the Vancouver Heritage Commission tells me: “This is a great, unfortunately rare, example of a heritage project where the old house will be retained rather than stripped to its studs and rebuilt with new materials. It and its garden will survive much as it has for decades. The large lot and the fact the house stood on a corner made it easy to subdivide, and the new house will be a good addition to the neighbourhood.”
Built in 1911:
The seven-bedroom house in Grandview-Woodland, was built by Charles Kilpin, a carpenter and builder in 1911. He filled it with large art glass windows, fireplaces and lots of verandahs. The Kilpin’s lived there until 1920, when the house sold to Harry and Susie Wilson of Wilson’s Shoe Store. The house stayed in the family for the next 50 years, and other families followed including the Bennetts in the ’80s.
Doug was born in Toronto, moved to Vancouver in 1973 and became a graphic artist at the Georgia Straight. Four years later he formed Doug and the Slugs and notched up four gold albums. Doug emerged as a respected singer and songwriter, actor, producer, video maker and comedian. He designed his own album covers.
The band had several hits that he wrote including “Making it Work” and “Tomcat Prowl.” I love this quote by the Vancouver Sun’s John Mackie: “In an age of glamorous video-friendly performers, Bennett was an Everyman in a Sally Ann Suit, an independent spirit who succeeded through sheer determination and a unique talent.”
Doug died in October 2004 just a few weeks shy of his 53rd birthday. At the time he was living at the Eldorado Motor Hotel on Kingsway and his cause of death was reported as a “long-standing illness.”
The house was on a Vancouver Heritage Foundation tour in 2011. According to the guidebook, the band painted a mural on the dining room wall that showed their perspective of the history of Canada. I desperately want this to be true. If you know anything about this—or even better have a photo—please get in touch eve@evelazarus.com or leave a comment.
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16 comments on “Doug and the Slugs (1951-2004)”
WOW great house. Ah yes. Douglas and the Slugs. World Cup at Whistler 1982 with the result of the race giving Steve Podborski the Downhill Title over the hated Suisse Peter Mueller. Coincided with Umberto opening his 6th restaurant Il Caminetto and the first of 3 there with non other than Tom Jones in attendance. Umberto, Peter Brown, Joel, JJ Aaron, Jean~Claude Romand and various stock jokers had flown up to go heli fishing sending their limos up empty. Whistlers biggest moment with the village jam packed { this is before we had a police presence] for the awards ceremony. Dance at the school with Doug and Co playing. Franz Klammer with a gorilla mask on sitting in my lap while we samples some Nepalese Temple Balls. Those were the days
Podborski’s second place finish at the 1982 Whistler downhill all but clinched the World Cup title (becoming the first North American male downhill skier to do so). But it wasn’t confirmed until a following race in Aspen, Colo. The only skier who had a chance of catching the Canadian, Austria’s Harti Weirather, had to win back-to-back races at Aspen, a tall task. Coincidentally, the “hated” Mueller deprived Weirather of that opportunity by winning the first Aspen race ahead of the Austrian. Podborski, who finished 14th, thus became the season’s downhill champion. (P.S. I was there to see it). Those were the days, as you say . . .
When I was a taxi driver several years ago I had Doug Bennett as a fare, what struck me about him was apparent lack of a huge ego, he was warm and friendly and was curious to know about me, which struck me as unusual for a person of some celebrity.
I told him how much I enjoyed the many shows of theirs I had taken in and how much fun they were.
In the course of the conversation he spoke of a benefit they had done for a poor woman who had her leg blown off by some nincompoop who was playing around with a 12 gauge shotgun and accidentally shot her–while she was sitting in an outdoor privy…
For those who maybe never got a chance to meet Doug, check out this fun interview on the Saturday morning BCTV kids show ZigZag from many years ago. https://youtu.be/gNuZ62sTK38
Before the house sold to Doug, I had a chance to visit an Open House there. The asking price was a little over $100 thousand, and it was surely a “money pit”, but it had charm! Just about everything needed updating. Plumbing, heating, electric service. Even at that time we did not consider making an offer due to reno costs. The house sits on a marvelous view lot only steps from where we lived at the time, on 8th and Semlin. Happy memories of our former neighbourhood where we saw Doug out and about often.
My partner and I also went to that open house in early 1986 and were very tempted to buy it, but the asking price was a little beyond what we could afford. My recollection was it was listed for $140K. Someone we knew bought the house intending to operate as a b&b, but soon abandoned that plan and sold it to Doug.
I was in that house a couple of times in the early 2000’s when Ian Gill and family lived there. I do recall a mural on one of the walls (and my thought was paint over that eyesore…sorry). I also recall at Ian’s 50th birthday party in the back yard around that time and the joke was that we were in the first house in East Van worth over one million dollars (ha ha).
I babysat at that house for the Bennett’s. It was actually kind of scared being alone with a small child. I alway went the long way to the kitchen so I didn’t have to walk by the glass door leading to the basement.
Hi Eve! I was a regular guest of Doug & Nancy’s, and spent many happy hours there. There was in fact a mural in the dining room. I remember Doug painted a prairie scene, with a grain elevator, I believe. I never heard talk about a “History of Canada” theme but it’s not out of the question. I think there were other elements to the mural–family members will know.
So happy this story about the mural turned out to be true! Hopefully a photo will turn up at some point.
Hi Eve my wife’s family purchased the house in 1956 and then sold it 10 years later for $13,500. She has fond memories of the neighbourhood. Goimg to the local school Laura Secord then Van Tech. Hauling sawdust into the basement for the furnace and on and on.
Such a beautiful house! Thanks for adding to the story
Further to the mural: Teresa Alfeld, former next-door neighbour who is now doing a documentary about Doug, tells me there was a cross-Canada theme to the mural: Rockies, Prairies, Great Lakes, and Maritimes, from a historical/settler perspective.
Excellent! Thanks so much, hopefully a photo will emerge
I worked as a nanny for the Bennetts in the early 90’s for their three children. I lived with them in an upper bedroom- top left window. It was a great house and a fun job.
Well that must have been interesting…. Lucky you.