MONTREAL - Montreal actor Michael Sarrazin was hailed as a fighter who distinguished himself through his unwavering desire to act.
That was among the descriptions that summed up the Hollywood movie star, at his funeral in Montreal on Tuesday.
Pierre Sarrazin said that his brother, who never completed his schooling at D'Arcy McGee High School, struggled for years before attaining stardom in Hollywood.
In a simple service at the St. Patrick's Basilica in downtown Montreal, he recalled his brother's many years of study at the Actors' Studio in New York.
Michael Sarrazin, who died in Montreal of cancer April 17 at age 70, acted alongside such legends of the silver screen such as Paul Newman, Jane Fonda and George C. Scott.
He is best known for his role in They Shoot Horses Don't They?
Pierre Sarrazin said his brother never stopped believing in himself despite the poverty he had to battle in his early years.
`"Hollywood finally realized what his family had known for so long - he was a star, but it took time," 'he said.
He added that whereas Michael Sarrazin lived with actresses Jacqueline Bisset and Margot Kidder, he did not wish to discuss these relationships or any of his private life.
"For him, it was the work that was most important," said Pierre Sarrazin.
Born in Quebec City, Michael Sarrazin also played the monster in the miniseries Frankenstein: The True Story in 1973 and in Joshua Then and Now, adapted from the novel by Mordecai Richler.
