Controversial Edmonton photographer Con Boland dead at 69
Controversial Edmonton photographer Con Boland, whose life at times unfolded in public during a series of high-profile scandals, has died at the age of 69.
Boland died of cardiac arrest on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
A prominent photographer in the city for three decades, he took photos of many high-profile Canadian figures, including Wayne Gretzky and former Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington.
He was first thrust into the spotlight in 1992, when he accused his ex-girlfriend, Marilyn Tan, of drugging him and injecting him with HIV.
Tan was found not guilty in the case.
Dianne Young, a family spokesperson who has known Boland for 35 years, said he had heart problems. She said Boland was known for being eccentric, but he did plenty of good for his community.
"Con saw life through a lens and when you do that, life stops," Young said. "You see the beauty, but you also see things like discrimination and poverty and social injustice, which are the things he would stand up and speak about."
Young said she will remember Boland as a philanthropist who planted 160 trees at Riverdale School and donated regularly to more than 60 Edmonton charities.
Maria Manna, who first met Boland while he was taking photos of her as Klondike Kate in 1999 and 2000, said they quickly became friends. "[He was] always the consummate gentleman," Manna said Wednesday. "Truly a maverick of a man."
Manna said when she first heard Boland had died, she posted on his Facebook page to ask if it were true. She expected him to quickly refute the rumour, since he had visited her Victoria, B.C., home in April. She said he looked healthy.
"The world has lost a very talented person and a beautiful human being," she said.
News of his death prompted an outpouring of condolences from Boland's friends and colleagues on social media.
"Our deepest sympathy to the friends and family of Con Boland," Carla Richardson wrote on Facebook. "May you find peace in remembering all the good he has done for all of us."
Boland is survived by his wife, Rose.
Making headlines
A sometimes controversial figure, Boland's life was punctuated by a few public scandals.
In 1993, he was left with severe burns on his face, chest and arms after a man wearing a disguise threw a cup of sulphuric acid on him.
Tan, his former girlfriend, was charged in the attack, along with New Zealand multi-millionaire Geoffrey Clarkson and two local private detectives. The case against them later fell apart when key testimony was deemed inadmissible. All 23 charges laid in the case were stayed.
Boland was victim of another violent attack in March 1997, when he was stabbed multiple times. Model June Delma Vivian pleaded guilty in that case.
The photographer stayed out of headlines until 2009, when his name resurfaced during a battle over his dream home in Riverdale. Boland had built the house too high — much to the aggravation of some neighbours — and had to tear down an entire third floor.
The building sat unfinished until August 2013, when Boland was given an ultimatum by the city to either finish the construction on the home or face the wrecking ball.
He said he didn't have any money left and criticized the city for "all these penalties and work stoppages" that prevented him from finishing the construction.
A week after saying he had no money left to finish the project, Boland told CBC News he had a last-minute investor help him finish the house.
