ECHO VEDETTES APRIL 1992

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=130 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <IMG SRC="45b76cd0.gif" border=0 width="118" height="205" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> ECHO VEDETTES APRIL 1992</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="45720270.jpg" border=0 width="288" height="295" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">    <IMG SRC="45923230.jpg" border=0 width="291" height="291" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>    <IMG SRC="45524250.gif" border=0 width="292" height="37" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="45524250.gif" border=0 width="292" height="37" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>No, he’s not an actor, a singer, or a famous star. But he is the brother of Roy Dupuis. Since Roy became famous Rodrick Dupuis has also experienced changes. It’s got to be said that the two Dupuis brothers are very alike, have the same walk, the same build and especially the same shy smile. Wherever Rodrick goes he can no longer hide. As soon as people realise who he is, their embarrassment is overcome by their desire to find out things.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Many of their friends jokingly suggest that Rodrick, Roy’s younger brother, becomes his stand-in, or ask why he hasn’t followed in his brother’s footsteps as a performer, because he’s got what it takes. He’s not ready to take that step at the moment. He has had a job in engineering with Canadair for five years. He is a hockey coach for the Laval Islanders. He has a promising, fulfilled life that he’s not ready to sacrifice. "I know what it’s like," he says with a smile. "When we’re walking down the street together I see what it means to be a star. Popularity is no picnic. Women, children, even old people all stop in their tracks." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When they go out together the two brothers certainly get plenty of attention. It’s a delight for people to encounter Roy Dupuis and his brother who is equally charming. The large number of fans want to know everything about their relationship, and the Dupuis brothers are great company. As soon as the shyness has worn off they turn out to be lively lads with a sense of humour. "We are all a little shy like Roy in our family, my sister Roxanne too," confides Rodrick. This didn’t stop Roy taking up a career in the public eye. "He had a shot of it at a very young age," says Rodrick, "when he performed in The Hypochondriac in Secondary V. Roy has a natural talent, a sort of gift, like all the members of our family as it happens." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Nowadays the two brothers don’t get together very often. But when they do there is always the same enjoyment and the same bond between them. They like to go for a beer together, share a family meal, "ours is like an Italian family, we’re very close." And there’s the hockey too. If the Dupuis brothers had taken up this sport they would without doubt have become professionals: "We had the talent to succeed," says Rodrick, "and we were very athletic. Our father (Roy Snr.) pushed us hard in this direction. He was a great amateur player, and all his life he had dreams of becoming a professional. He was given a trial with the New York Rangers, but unfortunately his mother fell ill at this time and my father, who was the eldest in the family, had to give up his budding career to look after his young brother and two sisters." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Unsurprisingly their father passed on his passion for sport to them. The Dupuis brothers were skating by the age of three, they swam, played baseball and football. In Kapuskasing in north Ontario, to where they moved from their birthplace of Amos in Abitibi, they formed a tough-as-nails hockey duo. The transition was difficult: "We were completely uprooted," remembers Rodrick, "finding ourselves in an English-speaking neighborhood. We went to a French school, but our crowd were English. They called us ‘French fries’ and ‘frog’." But after proving ourselves at hockey, at other sports, and in arguments with the English, people soon came to accept us and respect us." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>At this time Roy and Rodrick looked so like each other that bizarre things happened to them. "When we were little the resemblance was even greater. Sometimes it was a nuisance. There was only a year’s difference between us which meant that one year out of two we were in the same team. One year, when we were in two different baseball teams, the coach of the opposing side made a lot of trouble for us. Roy had finished his game before our one, but the coach mixed us up and wanted to declare the game void. It was no good telling him I wasn’t Roy but Rodrick; he didn’t want to know. I had to go and fetch my brother who had left the ground to prove my innocence." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In such cases the resemblance between the Dupuis brothers was detrimental. But in other cases one or the other benefited greatly ….. "One day Roy played a trick on me. I don’t know exactly how he did it but he managed to pass himself off as me in order to kiss my girlfriend!" The Dupuis brothers were also alike in character. As teenagers they spent their time teasing each other and fighting mock battles. "Roy would call me ‘barn doors’ to insult me," says Rodrick, laughing. "At that time I had a ‘pudding-basin’ haircut which accentuated the size of my ears. Me, I called him Tiny Roy." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The hockey careers of the Dupuis brothers was interrupted when their parent separated. Their mother came back to settle in Quebec near her family. In spite of everything they retained the taste for ‘challenge and competition’, peculiar to sporting types. From their musician mother Ryna, who played piano, they learned classical music; Rodrick the flute, Roy the cello, Roxanne the violin. They often formed a choir for traditional festivals in the church. Each in his own way, the Dupuis children have risen to their challenges. Over and above his full-time job on the Airbus project with Canadair, Rodrick has become coach for the Atoms at the insistence of his nephew Matthew. The first year wasn’t bad. His team won the Laval regional championship! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Rodrick Dupuis is also captain of the Canadair soccer team. "I’m a quiet sort of a guy. I have a love of nature and the countryside. I like to fish and hunt game."   A sensible lifestyle which he’s fond of. "When I’m with my girlfriend Natalie and we want to be left alone I don’t let on who I am to stop people asking too many questions. But often Natalie bursts out laughing." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Most of the time it’s with pride that he signs autographs and has a few words with one or other of his brother’s admirers. "Often I get stared at in public places. Some people start to call out thinking that I’m Roy and come over to see me. At the time of Filles de Caleb I was asked all sorts of questions. I’m proud of Roy and I’m happy to talk to people about him. I like to hear people’s reactions." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The first time that Rodrick and the other family members saw Roy on television there was euphoria. "We started off laughing then we were clapping with joy and crying with emotion. We couldn’t believe our eyes. We still watch his television appearances with a great deal of pleasure today." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Rodrick doesn’t know what he would do if one day he got an offer of a role alongside his brother. "It would mean a big sacrifice of my career I know, but we shall see what the future has in store for me.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>    <IMG SRC="45524250.gif" border=0 width="292" height="37" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="45524250.gif" border=0 width="292" height="37" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>TRANSCRIPT FROM L'HEURE JUSTE MAY 1992                         </B><A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="LHEURE JUSTE MAY 1992"><U><B><IMG SRC="14f50500.jpg" border=0 width="80" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>