[1] He is best known for his longtime role as a television pitchman in Canadian commercials for Esso on Hockey Night in Canada in the 1950s and 1960s, and also for his roles in Blue City Slammers, for which he garnered a Genie Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor at the 9th Genie Awards in 1988; and in the film adaptation of Two Solitudes, as the Prime Minister of Canada.
[2] Before becoming an actor, Westgate served as a radio operator in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.
[2] He won an ACTRA Award in 1979 for his performance in the CBC Television film Tyler.
[2] Westgate's final acting job was in 1991, at the age of 72, a reprisal of his Esso attendant character for two commercials aired by Imperial Oil during that year's Stanley Cup playoffs.
The spots featured both a black-and-white clip of one of his original Esso ads and newly recorded footage.