One of his nine pets, his pal Peanut, is in the living room at his home.
A musician and impresario who helped discover and develop The Band and numerous other musical acts that emerged out of Toronto in the 1960s and 1970s, died on Sunday.
A friend reported that he died of old age.
After moving to Canada in the late 1950s, he started touring the country as a musician and lived in and around the city of Mississauga.
He played an important role in the Toronto music scene in the 1960s, where many prominent artists such as Neil Young, the Band, Rick James, Gordon Lightfoot and others played. One of the few non-Canadians to be awarded the Order of Canada in the past few years was the musician, singer, and philanthropist, David Hawkins, who received the award for his contribution to Canadian music and his support of charitable causes.
Nelson Thall said thatRonnie did a lot for people.
Thall said he met Hawkins at a club in Toronto in the 70s. Thall said that often, Hawkins would perform his own music, and then hang around the bar, buying drinks for others.
He said that he was comfortable talking to a watermelon farmer in the U.S. South as he was talking to an intellectual like Thall, who studied with the Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan.
Thall said there was a philosopher side to him, and he stayed up through Saturday night and Sunday morning holding a prayer.
When he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in 2003 he was given three months to live, but was able to beat the illness thanks to alternative medicines and herbal remedies.
Ronnie Hawkins: Thank you for changing my life when you invited me to dance onstage at the 1969 Toronto Pop Festival. You helped fuel my teenage dreams and showed me what true legends are made of. Forever in my heart… 🖤🙏🏻🎶 pic.twitter.com/KqEQlTP55G
— Jeanne Beker (@Jeanne_Beker) May 29, 2022
He may be most famous for helping to create The Band, a group of mostly Canadian musicians hailing from southwestern Ontario who started off as his back up group called the Hawks, later backed Bob Dylan and eventually broke out on their own.
Pat Travers and many other musicians were discovered by Hawkins.
John Lennon and his wife, Ono, spent several weeks at his home in Ontario in 1969 as part of their world peace campaign.
Eric Alper, a publicist in Toronto, said that he met Hawkins while his grandfather owned a musical venue. He is the most important figure when it comes to Canadian rock and roll.
He was an actor with several notable films. He played Bob Dylan in a film directed by Bob Dylan. He has played roles in movies and TV shows.
In the film The Last Waltz, directed by Martin Scorsese, the last concert performed by The Band was played by Hawkins.
He had his own hits as a musician. He helped write and perform with the Hawks, who reached number 26 on the Top 100 in the summer of 1959.
In 2002, the City of Toronto honoured Rompin, as he was sometimes called, with a key to the city and a Walk of Fame in recognition of his lifetime contribution to music and his generous support of the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario.
Thall said that he could always come up with a unique metaphor, like "That guy looks like a bullFrog on the patio."
He said that the house on the quiet street in the city of Peterborough was where Hawkins had lived until he sold his ranch near the lake.
He is survived by his wife Wanda and his three children.
There will be more details to come.
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