The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Eleanor Spooner once delighted audiences in local theatre productions, and now her talents are taking her across the globe. The silky-voiced 26-year-old is a successful singer who, along with husband Eric Glyn-Jones, provides entertainment for thousands of vacationers aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines. "I'm so happy with what I'm doing now and I just feel so lucky," said Eleanor, who grew up in Flin Flon and now lives in Saskatoon. "I make a living singing and performing, doing what I love doing." The duo, stagenamed Mr. Jones and Me, has gained a solid reputation in the cruise industry as they've crooned their way through some 50 countries in three years. Eleanor and Eric, who hails from Vancouver, perform a repertoire of hundreds of well-known songs by the likes of Elvis Presley, The Beetles, and The Rolling Stones, to more current tunes by artists like Shania Twain. "Music is the universal language," smiled Eleanor, the daughter of Tony and MaryLou Spooner. "Popular music is known worldwide. Everyone knows Elvis, everyone knows Frank Sinatra music." Though she studied to become an actor, earning a theatre arts degree from the University College of Fraser Valley in Chilliwack, B.C., Eleanor is thrilled with the path she has taken. "I always wanted to perform, but I thought that I was going to be an actor," she said. "I didn't consider singing as a career because I was more sort of geared toward the theatre. But since I've started working as a professional singer, I understand that acting and singing really are sister performing arts." Eleanor discovered her passion for performing at an early age, and when she began attending Hapnot Collegiate, nothing could keep her from being a part of the school's dinner theatre productions. After graduating in 1994, she became involved with community theatre before heading to B.C. for school. It was at the University College of Fraser Valley that she met her future husband, who drew her to singing. The duo started out with the usual gigs for new musicians Ñ casinos and bars Ñ but found their niche in December 2000 when they joined the world of cruiseline entertainment. "We've played a lot casinos and you know, sometimes we were playing for people who were really there because they were trying to win money to pay off their debt, or people are in a bar drowning their sorrows," said Eleanor. "The nice thing about cruise audiences is that they are on vacation, so they're at the happiest times of their lives." The couple's cruiseline adventures have allowed them to see more of the world then most people ever will. Some of Eleanor's favourite destinations include Estonia, Russia and Canada's east coast. "There are so many spectacular places in the world and I'm so grateful that I get to visit them, but in the end I'm always happy that I come from Canada," commented Eleanor. See 'Cruise' P.# Con't from P.# Along the way, the couple has even had a brush with fame. They once performed on a charter cruise for the American sports network ESPN with hockey legend Grant Fuhr on board. "It was funny because Eric and I and about three other crew members were the only Canadians on board, so we of course knew who Grant Fuhr was, but no one else really knew about hockey," recalled Eleanor with a chuckle. There are a lot of perks to being part of a floating respite for most of the year, but it can be tiring. That's not surprising considering Eleanor and Eric perform seven nights a week and average 300 shows a year. "There are times when you miss sleeping in your own bed or being able to walk down to 7-11," said Eleanor. "We might be in a country where you need toothpaste but you can't speak Flemish or whatever the local language is," she added with a laugh. Acting has taken a back seat for Eleanor, but she has still had some success in the field. She has appeared in a series of commercials for the phone company SaskTel and once played 11 different characters in a play in Regina. "Whenever I'm home from the cruises, I phone my casting director to see if there are any auditions," she noted. The couple wouldn't trade in their current occupations for anything, but that doesn't mean they don't want to branch out. They plan to put together an album of their own material early next year and hope it will be the start of a successful recording career. Eleanor will use the stagename Elly Paris (her mother's maiden name) for the album, tentatively titled Legacy. "The album's name is in reference to the legacy of my voice, which has come from the generations before me," she said, mentioning the vocal talents of her mother and grandmother. Until the album becomes a reality, Eleanor will continue to put her talents to use at sea Ñ the same talents that delighted local audiences all those years ago.
