Toronto theatre impresario Ed Mirvish, founder of Honest Ed's discount emporium, has died at age 92. Mirvish made a splash in 1948 as proprietor of Toronto's first bargain store, using catchy, self-deprecating slogans to attract customers. In 1962 he branched out into the theatre business, buying the Edwardian-era Royal Alexandra Theatre and building an entertainment empire that lives on. In this 1963 CBC-TV clip, Mirvish is the mystery guest on Front Page Challenge.

"We have to run it as a business if it's to survive," Mirvish said of the Royal Alex shortly after buying it. Today, that business thrives, bringing such smash musicals as Mamma Mia!, The Lion King, The Producers, and many more to Canada.

Born in Virginia in 1914, Mirvish came to Canada with his family at age nine. His father died when Mirvish was just 15, leaving him to take charge of the family's grocery store.

Mirvish opened Honest Ed's at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets in Toronto in 1948, and the store was an instant hit. Mirvish's success with the Royal Alexandra led to his purchase, sight unseen, of London's venerable Old Vic theatre in 1982. Each July, Mirvish Village — a block of artists' studios and shops around the corner from Honest Ed's — played host to Ed's Birthday Party, attracting over 60,000 people.

Ed Mirvish is survived by Anne, his wife since 1938, his son David and daughter-in-law Audrey.

• The first newspaper ad for Honest Ed's read: "Our Building is a dump! Our Service is rotten! Our Fixtures are orange crates! But!!! Our Prices are the lowest in town!"
• When Mirvish opened Honest Ed's, its floor space measured 200 square feet. It has since expanded to over 160,000 square feet, occupying almost a city block.
• The exterior sign on Honest Ed's uses about 23,000 light bulbs.

• In the 1960s, Mirvish opened a chain of restaurants near the Royal Alexandra to capitalize on throngs of hungry theatre-goers. Collectively, Ed's Warehouse, Most Honorable Ed's Chinese Restaurant and four others could seat over 2,500 for dinner.
• It cost $480,000 to refurbish the Royal Alexandra — over twice what Mirvish paid to buy it. "If I had known anything about the theatre business I wouldn't have done it," Mirvish once said. "But it seemed like a bargain."

• Mirvish was an accomplished ballroom dancer who won numerous competition trophies yet continued to take lessons for years.
• In 1993, Mirvish wrote a best-selling book about his business strategy called How to Build an Empire on an Orange Crate or 121 Lessons I Never Learned in School. He followed it up four years later with There's No Business Like Show Business: But I Wouldn't Quit My Day Job.

• David Mirvish, Ed's son, continues the day-to-day business of running Honest Ed's, Mirvish Entertainment and a bookstore called David Mirvish Books.
• Among the other slogans posted around Honest Ed's are: "Honest Ed's attracts squirrels. At these prices they think he's nuts," "Honest Ed won't squeal, he lets his bargains do the talking," and "Don't just stand there, buy something!"

Medium: Television
Program: Front Page Challenge
Broadcast Date: March 12, 1963
Host: Fred Davis, Panellists: Pierre Berton, Betty Kennedy, Gordon Sinclair, Phil Stone
Guest(s): Ed Mirvish
Duration: 3:55

Last update: July 31, 2007