Chris Hyndman
{{Short description|Canadian interior decorator and television personality}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chris Hyndman
| birth_name = Christopher Edward Hyndman
| birth_date = {{birth date|1966|3|3}}
| birth_place = Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|2015|8|3|1966|3|3}}
| death_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| occupation = Television personality, designer
| years_active = 1992–2015
| spouse = {{marriage|Steven Sabados|2008|2015}}
}}
Christopher Edward Hyndman (March 3, 1966 – August 3, 2015) was a Canadian interior decorator and television personality, who was co-host of the afternoon talk show Steven and Chris on CBC Television until his death in August 2015.
Career
Hyndman worked in the makeup department of the Hudson's Bay Company before becoming a makeup artist for Citytv{{cite news |url=https://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/NewsAlert+Chris+Hyndman+CBCs+Steven+Chris+died/11264661/story.html |title=Chris Hyndman of CBC-TV design series 'Steven and Chris' has died |last=Szklarski |first=Cassandra |work=The StarPhoenix |agency=The Canadian Press |date=2015-08-05 |accessdate=2015-08-06}} at the invitation of television personality Jeanne Beker.{{cite news |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/chris-hyndman-remembered-as-a-vibrant-spirit-1.2503089 |title=Chris Hyndman remembered as 'a vibrant spirit' |work=CTV News |date=2015-08-05 |accessdate=2015-08-06}}
Hyndman and his husband Steven Sabados launched the interior design firm Sabados Group in 1992.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/christopher-hyndman-co-host-of-cbc-s-steven-and-chris-dead-at-49-1.3178833| title= Christopher Hyndman, co-host of CBC's Steven and Chris, dead at 49|date=2015-08-04|work=CBC News}}
Aside from private clientele, they also did set design work for various television productions in the Toronto area, and later starred in the first three seasons of Designer Guys, a Canadian design show."Decor without decorum ; Designer Guys use a playful approach to dispense advice". Toronto Star, January 14, 2001. In 2004, Sabados and Hyndman debuted a new show with a similar format, titled Design Rivals,"Designer guys duke it out". Calgary Herald, June 27, 2004. and a makeover show called So Chic with Steven and Chris in 2005.{{cite news |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/2663022/steven-sabados-of-steven-and-chris-announces-next-big-career-move/ |title=Steven Sabados of 'Steven and Chris' announces next big career move |last=West |first=Rachel |work=ET Canada |publisher=Global News |date=2016-04-16 |access-date=2019-09-14}}
According to Beker, Hyndman did not originally have aspirations of becoming a television personality himself, but was active in supporting Sabados' goals while being personally content to work behind the scenes.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/chris-hyndman-saved-my-life-says-friend-jeanne-beker-1.3179773 "Chris Hyndman 'saved my life' says friend Jeanne Beker"]. CBC News, August 5, 2015. He became an on-air personality, initially reluctantly, only when a television producer suggested that they work together as a duo because of their unique and telegenic chemistry.
Personal life
Hyndman was born in Ottawa and grew up in the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. He first met Sabados through mutual friends at a Toronto bar in 1988.{{cite news |url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2015/08/04/chris-hyndman-of-cbcs-steven-and-chris-has-died/ |title=Chris Hyndman of CBC's 'Steven and Chris' has died |work=CityNews |date=2015-08-04 |access-date=2015-08-06}} They moved in together three months later.{{cite news |title=How 8 prominent Canadian couples met |url=http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/how-8-prominent-canadian-couples-met |accessdate=2015-08-06 |work=Maclean's |date=2013-12-19}} Despite being a longtime couple off-screen, they did not publicly acknowledge their relationship until 2007. They married a year later.{{cite news|last1=Zekas|first1=Rita|title=Hyndman and Sabados: The perfect cupcakes|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2008/02/16/hyndman_and_sabados_the_perfect_cupcakes.html|accessdate=August 4, 2015|work=The Toronto Star|date=2008-02-16}}{{cite news|last=McLaren|first=Leah|title=Every woman's favourite gay husbands are back|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/every-womans-favourite-gay-husbands-are-back/article17977975/| work= The Globe and Mail|date=2008-01-10|accessdate=2019-09-14}}
Death
On August 3, 2015, Hyndman was found unresponsive in a laneway directly below the condominium unit he shared with Sabados in Toronto, shortly after 11 p.m. EDT. He was pronounced dead shortly after. He was 49 years old.{{cite news|title=Chris Hyndman of CBC's 'Steven and Chris' has died|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/2146588/chris-hyndman-of-cbcs-steven-and-chris-has-died|work=Global News|date=August 4, 2015}} Hyndman and Sabados had just returned from a vacation in Barbados one day earlier.[http://www.macleans.ca/culture/television/chris-hyndmans-death-is-a-loss-to-the-national-family/ "Chris Hyndman’s death is a loss to the national family"]. Maclean's, August 4, 2015.
While no confirmed cause of death has been released, the Toronto Police Service indicated that it was not considered a criminal matter, leading many to suspect it may have been a suicide. Two days after his death, his mother told the media that Hyndman was a sleepwalker, and she believes he fell off the couple's balcony during a sleep walk.[http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/08/06/chris-hyndman_s-mother-believes-he-died-while-sleepwalking.html "Chris Hyndman’s mother believes he died while sleepwalking"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020224012/http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/08/06/chris-hyndman_s-mother-believes-he-died-while-sleepwalking.html |date=2015-10-20 }}. Metro, August 6, 2015. In May 2016, Sabados said he does not share this view.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/sabados-hyndman-interview-1.3597975 "Chris Hyndman's death 'shattered my life,' says Steven Sabados'"]. CBC News, May 24, 2016.
Following Hyndman's death, production and airing of Steven and Chris was suspended pending a decision from Sabados on whether he wanted to continue the show on his own or with a new co-host. On August 21, 2015, Sabados announced that he would not continue the show, resulting in its cancellation.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/chris-hyndman-death-prompts-end-of-steven-and-chris-show-1.3199257 "Chris Hyndman death prompts end of Steven and Chris show"]. CBC News, August 21, 2015. In May 2016, Sabados gave his first in-depth media interview since Hyndman's death, telling Heather Hiscox of CBC News that Hyndman was the "idea guy" in their personal and professional partnership.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/steven-sabados-chris-hyndman-1.3593019 "Steven Sabados reflects on Chris Hyndman and the 'strength that he gave me'"]. CBC News, May 24, 2016. Around the same time, Sabados announced that he was creating a new daytime talk show, The Goods, to premiere on CBC in fall 2016 with co-hosts Jessi Cruickshank, Andrea Bain and Shahir Massoud.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/daytime-bain-massoud-1.3684215 "The Goods, CBC's new daytime show, adds Andrea Bain and Shahir Massoud to cast"]. CBC News, July 20, 2016. According to Sabados, while he couldn't imagine returning to television on his own or with a single replacement co-host for Hyndman, the new show's four-host panel format felt more comforting and freeing for him.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris Steven and Chris program website], cbc.ca; accessed August 4, 2015
- {{IMDb name|id=4101786}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyndman, Chris}}
Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people
Category:Canadian interior designers
Category:Canadian television talk show hosts
Category:Participants in Canadian reality television series
Category:Canadian LGBTQ broadcasters