Saskatchewan creator of popular ethnic comic figure dead from heart attack

REGINA – A Saskatchewan-born entertainer who created the ethnic comic character Metro and earned a Canadian gold record for his parody of popular Christmas songs has died.

Les Pavelick, who was 70, suffered a heart attack Tuesday night at his home in Yuma, Ariz. His brother Lorne Pavelick confirmed his death.

The former radio ad salesman in Regina created Metro in the late 1960s and took the character with the funny accent and wry sense of humour from dinners and trade shows to television across Western Canada.

Pavelick released an album of Christmas classics in 1975 called “11 Days From Christmas,” generating sales of 50,000 plus and a Canadian gold record.

More albums and appearances that poked fun at life followed, including a six-week tour with a Christmas show for peacekeepers in the 1970s that made stops in Canada, Germany, Cypress, Israel and Egypt.

Pavelick was doing shows and fundraisers across Canada and in Arizona until just before his death. (CKRM, CJME)