From the moment Jennifer Shannon {Lori Loughlin} first met Dr. Tramell in Garage Sale Mystery: The Deadly Room a few years back, I have adored this character’s disarming demeanor as well as his trademark humor. His role may be brief, but the viewers can always depend on this jovial coroner for a few “punny witticisms” as well as some vital clues to ultimately aid in the eventual solution of the case at hand. This is the third time I have interviewed the man who plays this role in his inimitable fashion–Jay Brazeau–and I am extremely grateful to Hallmark that this network continues to feature this delightfully talented and impeccably gracious man whose reputation is one of benevolence and encouragement, in addition to his signature humor (that he obviously shares with everyone’s favorite coroner).

RH: Jay, it is so great to get to talk with you again!

JB: And, Ruth, it is so great to talk with you again too. I hope you’ve had a wonderful summer.

Oh, I have. My daughter and I took some time for a vacation down in California. And now, we’re just trying to survive the heat. 

How old is your daughter now?

She is fifteen.

Oh my gosh, that’s a great age.

I agree, and I know that parents often brag about their kids, but in this case, other people agree that she a great kid. Thankfully, she’s not the typical teenager who’s getting into all sorts of trouble.

The greatest thing a parent can hear is when other people talk about your child and about what a great kid they are. It makes you feel so good inside that you did the right thing and they’re becoming honorable students of the world.

I agree with you completely. It is a wonderful feeling. So how are things with your family?

Everyone is just great! I’ve got two boys–one is twenty-five and the other is twenty-two. The youngest is always getting into trouble. One of the hardest things to find in Vancouver is to find a place to live because it’s rather expensive to live here, but our youngest finally found a place after much searching. He was only there a couple of months when he broke his leg, and then he had to come back here with us so we could care for him.

Oh no!

He was hobbling around and having to ask us to get him things. It’s just one of those things that happens. But other than that, they’re both doing well. However, now that they’re those ages, they’re not kids anymore. They’re young men and they’re their own kind of guys. It’s really very interesting how that happens. They’re both so busy that you have to make an appointment to be able to see them. {laughs} It used to be so easy for us to able to go to a movie, but now it’s, “Oh, no, I promised my girlfriend that…” They’re busy with life. It’s interesting now for my wife and me because we spent so much time–twenty years or whatever–taking care of them and being the parents. That’s been the job. And now you have this time to get to know each other again! {laughs} You don’t have to focus on taking care of the kids, school, and all that. While your kids are growing up, you become business partners for a while. Then once the kids are grown up and gone, it’s like you’re sent back to the way things were in the beginning. It’s been really nice rediscovering each other.

I understand what you’re saying to a degree. I’m trying to make the most of my time with my daughter. Next year, she’ll be driving and in three short years, she’ll be an adult. She’s already a busy kid and involved in so much on her own.

That’s great that she’s her own person. When I was growing up, I just liked hanging around. The greatest thing that ever happened to me was I found a guitar, and I would just be at home banging out songs. It was a great way to deal with my emotions or if I was mad at the world or whatever! You must see yourself in your daughter too.

Oh, yes, I’ve always been musical, but I didn’t know if she would want to be involved in choir. But she did, and she worked very hard to get in the most select group this next year in her school. So yes, there are similarities. But one of the biggest similarities is we both tend to be too hard on ourselves. We don’t like to mess up or do something wrong. It’s one of my lifelong struggles, and she struggles with it too. So I try to help her, but then she sees me get upset at myself. She gets so upset when I’m upset at myself. Sometimes she’s the one who brings me back. I don’t want it to bother her, so I have to stop.

It’s so nice that we have those kinds of things that open our eyes. When you watch this little person, it’s like watching this little you wandering around, growing up again. And it’s hard to watch them go through the tough times. Their girlfriends or boyfriends leave, and those kinds of things just break your heart. But that’s just part of growing up, and they have to go through the tough times too. As a parent, it can be hard watching them go through those kinds of things, but in a way, it’s also the joy of being a parent. You get to see how they are able to go through the hard times and emerge stronger on the other side. Or at least, you hope that’s what happens.

Isn’t that the truth? So, Jay, we get to see you this month in four Garage Sale Mysteries films, two of which have already aired, and I’m so excited to see this series return!

Oh, yeah, can you believe it? It’s this thing that goes on and on and on. We’re at the point in the series now that it is so much fun to film these. In fact, it’s almost like getting together with the relatives. {laughs} It’s such a sweet show, and they’re leaving it alone and letting it be as it is, which is why I think it’s so popular. It’s like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner! We need out Kraft Dinner!

{laughs} I absolutely agree! And when you think of how long this series has been going on…I don’t think you were a part of the very first one.

No, I don’t think so. But I was very happy to get involved.

Yes, and once you did, you’ve been an important part of these films. 

True. And the characters have developed over time. In the beginning, my character, the coroner, was more the straight character, but then we found the humor and the relationship between Lori’s character and mine has continued to grow.

Well, I will say that I am always glad to see you in it, and I don’t say that just because I’m talking with you. I just love the way you play the character and insert the humor as you do. After all, it’s a murder mystery, and we sure don’t need it dark and heavy. You help to keep things lighter. 

Exactly. You know, an actor’s life sometimes is exposition. And people don’t always think about that. For example,  the play is not called Banquo; it’s called Macbeth. And my job is to support Macbeth. In Garage Sale Mysteries, Jen is the main character. It is up to me as Dr. Tramell to support her. Sometimes when a character first enters a series, it can be like they’re speaking a different language, and the other characters have to figure out how to relate to that person.  It’s so much easier when there’s a humorous side to it. It’s a way to get all that information across without boring your audiences. So it’s been wonderful to bring my character to life, and to show off his humorous side.

Your character typically only interacts with Lori’s character. And if you think about what a coroner does in real life, it’s not necessarily a fun job. You’re dealing with dead bodies.

Absolutely. It’s a very serious thing.

And then the coroner is usually working with the police department and having to follow all the rules, but when Lori’s character comes in, you get to bend the rules a little. 

Credit: Copyright 2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Sven Boecker

Right, you have this friendship between the two, which is great. In the beginning, it wasn’t like that. These characters have grown to like each other and expect certain things of each other. When they see each other, they have these little visits.

That’s right. In fact, I began to see a shift in the finale of last year’s series {A Case of Murder} between Trammel and Jen. I noticed just how much the relationship between these has grown. She came in and really tried to get the information out of you, and you continued to offer the information hypothetically. She didn’t have to pry it out of you. It was all off the record, so you didn’t get in trouble. But you were actually giving her somewhat unsolicited information to help her solve the crime. 

I think you’re right, Ruth. In every movie, there is a deepening of our friendship that has been growing.

So, Jay, with these four this month, are we going to continue to see that relationship grow?

Oh, yes, you will continue to see that friendship. And really, it’s just so nice to see each other again. It’s an enjoyable thing to work on these Garage Sale Mysteries. I always look forward to it. It’s usually been a year or at least several months since I’ve seen everyone, and it’s wonderful to connect with everyone again. It’s not just a gig or simply doing it for the money. It’s not a job where I feel like complaining that I “gotta do it.” From my first day back on set, it’s like I right away get back into it. I have gotten to know the camera guy, the first AD, and everyone on set. It’s like going camping. {laughs} Everyone involved really loves what they’re doing and has a great sense of humor. And you’re proud of something like that.

When you’re starting off as an actor, it’s about learning your lines and hoping none of them get cut. You have all these pressures and goals you place on yourself. By the time you’re sixteen, you gotta do this and you have to book this and that and all those kinds of things. But now–and I know we’ve talked about this before–acting is not what it is about anymore. You’re no longer defined by it. When you’re younger, you tend to think of yourself as an actor and let that define everything about you. But as you get older, acting is just something you do, and it’s not necessarily who you are. That makes it a joy just going into work to do things like this.

Sometimes you can burn out in this particular business. You can take yourself so seriously. You’ve accomplished everything, but you lose track of everybody and everything around you. And that’s the equivalent of going to the dark side. It doesn’t help, and it’s not the way to survive in this business. It’s dangerous when the very thing that you love and want to do begins to control you. As you get older, it becomes a different kind of thing. You keep saying you’re gonna quit, but it doesn’t work that way. In some ways, the business quits you. It gets harder to find good roles as you get older, but it doesn’t mean you have to stop acting. You can still do what you love. You can find different ways of doing the same thing and still be just as happy.

It certainly seems like Hallmark likes you quite a bit. 

Oh, it’s a wonderful place to work! You know, in this day and age, there are so many depressing and heavy movies out there. I know Garage Sale Mysteries is about death and killing, but it doesn’t feel that way. There’s no major car crashes. Nobody pulls out a gun and does some kind of mass shooting of everybody. It’s a totally different thing.

It’s kind of like the murder mysteries of old. That’s what I grew up watching. Perry Mason, Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and Diagnosis Murder. That’s what my parents and I watched. But network TV is not putting those out anymore. 

No, it’s about everything else. It’s all about special effects and the twisted storylines. On the other hand, our show is like a great puzzle. It makes me think about a family going out to a cottage for a weekend family gathering, and while everyone is seated around the table, you bring out a new puzzle. It’s always a harder puzzle or something like that. Everyone sits around the table, and the whole time you’re at the cottage, you go back to the puzzle at various times and you’re helping to put it together. It’s accessible and something you really enjoy. You feel like when you’re watching the show that you are part of the sleuthing team. It’s fun to work it out together. It’s fun to try to figure out who the murderer is together.

I am impressed that Garage Sale Mysteries has continued to make the murders difficult to solve. Sometimes murder mysteries can drop too many hints or make it too easy to figure out. But Garage Sale Mysteries keeps you guessing. It’s definitely a testament to the writers. 

Yes, their writers are very good, and they know what they want when they’re writing these. They keep getting new writers all the time, and the writers themselves keep learning better how to write a really good mystery. They are always improving.

I sure am excited to see all of these films. And this year, I finally got to interview Sarah Strange.

Sarah’s family was in the business for a long time. Her parents did one of the most successful Canadian TV series, The Beachcombers, which ran for something like twenty years.

And then I got to interview Kevin O’Grady again. 

{laughs} Oh great! We’re all a quirky bunch of characters in the film, and he’s so funny. And he’ s a really good solid actor too.

Well, I know everyone loves your character, and I look forward to seeing more from Trammel. 

That’s nice to hear. You know, I’ve played a lot of coroners over the years, but this one is the best. While you know you’re dealing with dead bodies, you just can’t help but love the way the story is told. People might wonder why Agatha Christie novels and movies are still popular and still selling. Why are we returning to something like Murder On the Orient Express? Because the mysteries are so well-done. Trying to find a good mystery can be hard at times. There’s nothing worse than knowing whodunit within the first twenty minutes of the movie.

Are you going to do any Christmas movies this year? Last year, we got to see you in two Christmas movies.

I don’t know right now. I did just finish filming a series for the CBC called Unspeakable. Have you heard about that one?

I think I have. 

It’s an eight-part series about the Red Cross tainted blood scandal here in Canada in the early 1980’s.  It’s got some wonderful people involved in it. There are people involved with the project that I’ve known here in town but have never gotten the chance to work with. And I finally got to work with them on this project. It’s an incredible story; it’s amazing how it all happened. It was really fun to get to be a part of something a little bit different and that deals with such an important project.

Also, I’m directing a play in September. I still do a little directing on the side. In fact, the last thing I directed was a very funny play called Bad Jews. The play I’m directing now, though, is a play I did first with my wife about thirty-five years ago, and it changed my life. Up to that point, I was known as a sort of funny guy. This play is called Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, written by John Patrick Shanley, who did a wonderful film called Moonstruck. He’s such a wonderful writer. But this play is actually a love story. A fellow in town was going to acting class with a fellow actor friend of mine, Ben Ratner, and they did a scene from this play. They found out I was the guy who did this play originally, and we met. Then we decided to go in and form a cooperative and bring this play back. It won all sorts of awards back when it was done originally. I could never play the role again; I’ve aged out of the role. But it’s nice to revisit it in a different way and look at it from the other side. And it’s good to know that as it is, it is still a really good piece of work. The message still comes across.

Finding Santa

And of course, I’m still auditioning for stuff. Also, my wife and I both got into writing, and we wrote a play, but it’s interesting. It’s like starting over in a different place. As an actor, it gets you through the door, but it’s hard to get people to read your plays. There’s just so many out there. I figure I’ll do one more rewrite and then do the old “knock on the door” and try to get people to read it. At sixty-four, I figured I dabbled around a bit when I was younger, and so now I’m just finding new ways to do different things. It’s important to keep busy doing what you love.

I’m also finding out different things about life. I love acting and all the things that come with it. But as we get older, we still try to figure out what life is all about. I want to do something that means something. I spoke to my wife the other day, and we made a pact that while we can’t do this tomorrow, we have plans to get ourselves in shape over the next couple of years and go walk the Camino Santiago trail. It’s a path between Spain and Portugal that people say Jesus walked way back when. Today, people still go there and walk. It’s about eight hundred kilometers. People say they go on this walk for religious reasons and other reasons. Some say the walk changed their lives in a way. It sort of slows everything down. You’re walking from Portugal to Spain, and you can take as long as you want. So it’s something we might try to do or maybe even see if the rest of our family would like to do it with us.

There was a movie called The Way starring Martin Sheen about this famous trail. And it sounds like something really interesting to do that is different from acting. It is a chance to walk that far on the ground rather than drive. It’s this once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, so if I can check that off my bucket list, I’ll be happy. I’m sure it would be a walk that gives me blisters galore. {laughs} We just have to make sure we’re ready and visit the doctor before we go and get rid of this extra weight in my middle. It would be a real challenge getting ourselves ready and in shape for that. But people go on these long walks all the time, so we figured we’d try this one out.

Since selling our house and becoming condo people, it’s easy to close the door and leave. We have the freedom to get out and visit things. We are able to rediscover life, and we are learning how to survive. Some people retire and they don’t know what to do. But luckily we’re still involved with different groups. We have a group that meets together once a month and we sit together and read a play. And then we have dinner. It’s a nice thing. It’s a group of other people who are our age. I know there’s always going to be acting in my life in some form or another.

Finding Santa cast

Well, I hope that Hallmark calls you up to be in one of their Christmas movies since I understand they’re doing a record number again this year. 

I had such a great time on the ones I did last year. They’re bound to need a Santa Claus, right?

Absolutely. It’s nice to have Hallmark where you can turn off the news and watch something the whole family enjoys. My daughter will sometimes come and watch Garage Sale Mysteries with us. And it’s nice to have something the family can watch together.

I was sent this wonderful t-shirt from Garage Sale Mysteries. My younger son saw that, and he came up to me and asked, “Can I have it?” I said, “Sure,” and he’s been walking around wearing it! {laughs} He just loves this shirt! I thought that was just so sweet.

Christmas Homecoming

With Garage Sale Mysteries, Lori is the head of the series, and she is such a nice person. She’s so reliable. And what I’ve noticed is that everyone in that series is so cooperative. Everyone is necessary to the production, right down to the assistant grip. You don’t have to be a jerk and be there and say that it’s all about you. You can all just join together and have a great time. And that’s what you look for as you get older. Life can be hard to take sometimes. It doesn’t need to be made harder by going to work and dealing with that kind of stuff. And, Ruth,  I appreciate that you are always focusing on being positive and showing that these actors are just regular people. You show their humanity, and we are all so grateful for that. I love that in my line of work I can make a difference even if it’s just a small one.

I think the interesting thing about the old Hollywood stars from years past…you felt like you knew them as human beings, and they were honorable people.  They were heroes. We wonder now what makes a hero. These days it’s hard to find a real hero. I believe heroes are people that make a positive difference in the world.

When I’m out and about, I will always meet people who at the end of our conversation, they might recognize me. They’ll ask my name again and we’ll shake hands. And I feel like we had a nice interchange. And that’s what it’s all about. You carry on the stuff you do. I mean, I’m in everybody’s homes! And for me, it’s about being respectful in their homes. They feel like they know you because they see you in their homes. Then when you have the chance to meet them, they realize you’re a real person. You share this experience and you feel really good. I feel like I really get to meet some of the neatest people. They don’t all have to be movie stars. Sometimes just the guy you meet on the bus in the morning can be one of the neatest people you’ll ever meet.

I’m now getting the chance to be the person I always wanted to be in acting. I never wanted to be Romeo. I always knew there was gonna be a bald and fat guy somewhere in there. {laughs} And to be able to be that fun kind of character is a wonderful thing. I know what they can put on my tombstone: “He played the coroner!” {laughs} I’m happy I get to play that character in Garage Sale Mysteries, and I feel like a star every day.

Jay, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. I always enjoy chatting with you. And I’m looking forward to seeing all these new films this month and hoping for more next year too.

Ruth, it is always a pleasure. Thank you so much, and I hope all the fans continue to enjoy Garage Sale Mysteries for a long time to come.

Jay Brazeau Credit: Copyright 2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Sven Boecker

Even if Jay is not a household name, there is no denying the legendary status which he has unpretentiously established for himself over his multi-decade career, which is brimming with more incredible credits than most industry professionals could amass within two lifetimes. If you speak with anyone involved in the entertainment business in Vancouver, they will rhapsodize Jay in glittering superlatives as they boast of his generous nature, his winsome personality, his undeniable talent, and his sweet spirit. Additionally, his entire essence is one that continues to search out and recognize the accomplishments of his fellow comrades within the film and television community. I appreciate his stupendous support of my work both personally and professionally, and it is always an honor to chat with him and then, in turn, feature him on my site.  He has not permitted age to keep him from pursuing what he fuels his passions in this world, and his knowledge and corresponding insights about a variety of topics consistently cause me to ponder the deeper things of this life. His characterization of Dr. Trammel is one of my absolute favorite things about the Garage Sale Mysteries film series, and I look forward to savoring his work in these films for numerous years to come.

If you have not been watching Hallmark Movies & Mysteries this month and luxuriating in the new Garage Sale Mysteries films that they are premiering each Sunday evening, I invite you to do so the next two Sundays and also watch for the encore presentations of those you may have missed. Additionally, please check out Jay’s links below and consider following him where applicable. I am still confident that Hallmark may choose to cast him in a high-spirited Christmas film, so that we may witness and enjoy his affable humor and charming persona in yet another entertaining, heartwarming tale. I count Jay as a very dear friend whom I’ve not had the honor of meeting as of yet, and I do hope and pray that we can relish several more decades with Jay in this business as he unselfishly shares his inspiring spirit, his jocund temperament, and his profound talent.

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