Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
television producer.
Early life
Douglas Stone Leiterman was born in 1927 in
South Porcupine, Ontario
The city of Timmins, Ontario, Canada contains many named neighbourhoods. Some former municipalities that were merged into Timmins continue to be treated as distinct postal and telephone exchanges from the city core.
According to Barnes, "With the ...
. In 1945, before his 18th birthday, he joined the
Canadian Merchant Navy
Canada, like several other Commonwealth nations, created the Canadian Merchant Navy () in a large-scale effort during World War II. 184 ships are involved in merchant shipping activity in the Canadian shipping industry.
History
An informal me ...
and became Second Mate on his ship; his career ended when poor working conditions led him to become involved in a mutiny. He and his wife settled in
West Vancouver
West Vancouver is a district municipality in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District, West Vancouver is to the northwest of the city of Vancouver on the northern side of English Ba ...
and he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
while working nights as a ''
Vancouver Province
''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...
'' reporter. In 1954, he moved to the U.S. to study Economics at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
on a
Nieman Fellowship
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships.
Nieman Fellowships for journalists
A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. ...
. He then became a correspondent on
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
for the
Southam News
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is a Canadian media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, new ...
Service.
Career
In the early 1960s, Leiterman joined the CBC, where he became well-known for the show ''
This Hour Has Seven Days
''This Hour Has Seven Days'' was a CBC Television news magazine that ran from 1964 to 1966, offering viewers in-depth analysis of the major social and political stories of the previous week.
The show, inspired by the BBC and NBC-TV satire seri ...
'' which he co-produced with Patrick Watson from 1964 to 1966. After that series was cancelled, Leiterman joined
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
to provide advice for the development of ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'', and he produced the CBC special "Sixteen in Webster Grove".
He produced other series such as "The Fabulous Sixties" and ''
Here Come the Seventies
''Here Come the Seventies'' was a Canadian Documentary film, documentary television series seen nationally on CTV Television Network, CTV from 1970 to 1973 normally on Thursday nights at 9:30 (Eastern Time Zone (North America), Eastern).
The pr ...
'' ( CTV, 1969–1972). He produced documentaries for the United Nations and a nature film documentary series.
In 1970, with producer Philip Hobel, he founded Hobel-Leiterman Productions, aka Document Associates. In 1971, he was part of a group that founded Wired City Communications, as a division of
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal I ...
.
In 1982, he founded Motion Picture Guarantors Ltd., and The Motion Picture Bond Company Ltd., which became the second-largest completion bond company in the world. He operated both companies internationally and bonded such films as "Peter The Great" and TV series such as "Baywatch". He sold his companies to
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
when he retired in 1998.
Personal life and death
Leiterman's brother was the cinematographer
Richard Leiterman
Richard Leiterman (March 7, 1935 – July 14, 2005) was a Canadian cinematographer, best known for documentary and feature film work in the 1960s and 1970s. His cinéma vérité, or direct camera, style helped define Canadian cinema at the time.
...
. His sister Elaine Campbell was married to producer Norman Campbell; another sister, Phyllis, was married to film director
Allan King
Allan Winton King, (February 6, 1930 – June 15, 2009), was a Canadian film director.
Life
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, during the Great Depression, King attended Henry Hudson Elementary School, in Kitsilano.Beryl Fox; they had one daughter.
Leiterman, who was a
Christian Scientist
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...
, died at his winter residence in
Vero Beach, Florida
Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...
on 19 December 2012. He was survived by his wife Beryl Fox, their daughter and three of his daughters from his first marriage.