34 PL & P
In Focus
Tribute to Bob Johnston , 1960-2021
The Canadian professional entertainment products industry is shaken by the loss of Bob Johnston , the vice president of Christie Lites Sales and a 40-plus-year veteran of the AVL industry . He passed away peacefully , surrounded by family , on Dec , 2 , 2021 , at the age of 61 . Bob ’ s extensive and accomplished career in the professional lighting and entertainment industry began in 1976 and spanned over 40 years , working in theatre , TV and film , and the live music and event fields . He was also a former president of the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology ( CITT ) and a driving force behind its founding .
“ The industry has suffered a great loss and he will be missed by all who knew him . He had a big personality and an even bigger heart ,” says Claudia Pfaffinger , CEO of Christie Lites Sales .
Stories about Bob are infamous in the Canadian AVL world . He was a larger-than-life persona who people gravitated to . And so , Professional Lighting & Production has asked a few of his friends in the industry to share some thoughts and stories about Bob :
Keith Danby
Marketing Contractor
Bob Johnston : an industry icon that influenced – over an epic career – striking change to the Canadian theatrical / architectural / architainment / entertainment industries . Astute , ambitious , passionate , and yet personable , Bob influenced the business and personal lives of many who will keep him with them and remember their own personal anecdotes that remind them of the epic personality that was Bob Johnston .
Bob made things work . “ Problems ” were “ challenges .” He never relented on what he believed in , yet , was wholly capable of compromise and moving his position based on an environment to benefit any “ challenge .”
One of many anecdotes ( there are many gems ) is a crucial lastminute meeting . Bob was wearing street clothes one particular day ( in contrast , in early years Bob , typically , was impeccably “ suited up ”): “ Hey , I ’ ve got to attend a last-minute important meeting , I need a suit and your suit will fit me - let ’ s switch clothes !”
Who else do you know that would attend a meeting wearing someone else ’ s clothes – a suit , no less – that had only minutes earlier been the property of someone else ? Bob Johnston – and with that confidence and smile that dominated a room or meeting . Power Suit 101 .
Ever been in Las Vegas having a great time late in an evening and bought 74 or so Big Macs with fries and Cokes for everyone in the restaurant ? Bob did .
While Bob was indeed business-minded , his success can be credited to an astute evangelistic persona of closing relationships , not the specific deals . Bob was the Canadian lighting industry ’ s evangelist who specialized in his acute vision of precise , yet sincere relationship-building . He implicitly understood the lines of business versus pleasure , and maximized both to the benefit
BOB WITH HIS WIFE KAREN of most any circumstance .
From Canadian Staging Projects ( CSP ), to Rosco Canada , Bob ’ s incomparable persona and interpersonal sales skills elevated his ambitions that succeeded in becoming vice president at William F . White ( Sales ) Limited , and putting the entity on the top shelf as Canada ’ s largest theatrical and architectural lighting provider .
Accomplishments that would fulfill many personas ; not Bob Johnston . Bob ’ s next professional feat was to experience U . S . success within L . A .’ s Matthews Group subsidiary , The Expendable Supply store .
But wait , there ’ s more . Returning to Canada , Bob joined Huntley Christie ’ s Christie Lites and then pretty much single-handedly directed