Deborah Cox, Heather Reisman, Lionel Conacher among Canada’s Walk of Fame inductees

TORONTO – R&B vocal powerhouse Deborah Cox, retail executive Heather Reisman and the late multi-faceted athlete Lionel Conacher are among the names joining Canada’s Walk of Fame this year.

The first round of 2022 honourees was named at the organization’s annual Music Under the Stars fundraiser on Thursday night at Casa Loma in Toronto.

The three influential Canadians join the induction of comedy brand Just For Laughs and a special recognition given to Hamilton rock band Arkells, who receive the Allan Slaight Music Impact Honour for their contributions to music.

Organizers say further inductees will be announced in the coming weeks.

All of them will be celebrated at an in-person gala that takes place on Dec. 3 at Beanfield Centre in Toronto.

CTV will air an edited television special of the gala at a later date.

Of this year’s inductees, Cox is best known for her 1990s R&B hits, including the dance remix smash “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” while for years Reisman was a rare female executive in Canada’s business world, building a book and homeware empire as chief executive of Indigo.

Conacher, who died at age 54 in 1954, won the Canadian light-heavyweight boxing championship in 1920, a year before he led the Toronto Argonauts to a Grey Cup victory, accounting for 15 points in their 23-0 win over the Edmonton Eskimos.

Just For Laughs is an “international comedy institution” with its festivals, TV programming and other ventures.

Canada’s Walk of Fame is a national not-for-profit organization that’s grown from honouring inductees with engraved sidewalk stars in Toronto’s Entertainment District to a yearlong national series of programs and celebrations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2022.

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