Donald Lamont Jack (6 December 1924 – 2 June 2003) was an English and Canadian novelist and playwright.

Life

Jack was born in

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, England and grew up in Britain, attending the well regarded

Bury Grammar School (The key that opens sacred doors) , established = , type = Independent day schoolGrammar school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

and

Marr College Marr College (Scottish Gaelic: ''Colaiste Mhàrr'') is a co-educational secondary school in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is owned by the Marr Trust and is operated by South Ayrshire Council which was transferred to then Strathclyde Regiona ...

and later serving in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1943–47). After the war he emigrated to Canada in 1951, and became a Canadian citizen in 1964. From 1955 to 1957 he was a scriptwriter for

Crawley Films Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

. After 1957 he became a full-time freelance writer. He wrote for the stage, radio, and for television programs such as ''

General Motors Theatre ''General Motors Theatre'' (also known as ''CBC Theatre, Encounter, Ford Television Theatre,'' and ''General Motors Presents'') was a Canadian television anthology drama series of television plays, which ran on CBC Television under various title ...

'', '' The Unforeseen'', ''Playdate'', '' Hatch's Mill'', ''

The Forest Rangers The Forest Rangers may refer to: * ''The Forest Rangers'' (TV series), Canadian TV series *The Forest Rangers (band), band formed to create the soundtrack for TV series Sons of Anarchy * ''The Forest Rangers'' (film), 1942 film starring Fred MacMur ...

'', and '' On Camera'', but he is most famous for his novels, the ''Bandy Papers'', which recount the humorous adventures of

Bartholomew Bandy ''The Bandy Papers'' is a series of novels chronicling the exploits of a World War I fighter ace named Bartholomew Wolfe Bandy. The author, Donald Jack, himself served in the RAF during World War II. Every book in the Bandy Papers series contains ...

, a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

fighter pilot. His play ''

The Canvas Barricade ''The Canvas Barricade'' is a two-act play by Donald Jack. It won a Canadian play-writing competition held jointly by ''The Globe and Mail'' and the Stratford Festival, and had a six-performance run at the Stratford Festival in 1961. It was the f ...

'' was the first Canadian play produced at the

Stratford Festival of Canada The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

. Other stage plays included ''Exit Muttering'', ''Crash'', and ''Minuet for Brass Band''. He had 39 TV plays produced, 22 radio plays, and numerous documentaries. Most of Jack's book-length works are being re-published, or published for the first time, by Sybertooth. Jack died of a stroke at his home in Warwickshire, England in June 2003.

The Bandy Papers series

*''Three Cheers for Me'' – 1962 (Winner of the 1963

Stephen Leacock Award The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadians, Canadian writer, publis ...

) *''Three Cheers for Me'' (revised & expanded edition) – 1973 *''That's Me in the Middle'' – 1973 (Winner of the 1974 Stephen Leacock Award) *''It's Me Again'' - 1975 (Also published as two volumes, ''It's Me Again'' & ''Me Among the Ruins'') *''Me Bandy, You Cissie'' - 1979 (Winner of the 1980 Stephen Leacock Award) *''Me Too'' - 1983 *''This One's on Me'' - 1987 *''Me So Far'' – 1989 *''Hitler Versus Me: The Return of Bartholomew Bandy'' – 1996 *''Stalin Versus Me'' – 2005 *''Hitler Versus Me'' paperback combining H vs M with the author's novelette, "Where Did Rafe Madison Go?" – 2006 *''Me Bandy, You Cissie'' paperback combining the novel with the author's radio play ''Banner's Headline'' – 2009 *''Three Cheers for Me'' 50th anniversary edition of the original 1962 version, with a foreword by

Paul Marlowe Paul Marlowe is a Canadian author of historical fiction and science fiction. Much of his historical fiction is connected in some way with the Etheric Explorers Club, a Victorian society devoted to investigating unusual or supernatural phenome ...

– 2011

Other published works

*''

Exit Muttering Exit(s) may refer to: Architecture and engineering * Door * Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure * Emergency exit * Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane * Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange ...

'' – 1972 *''Sinc, Betty and the Morning Man'' – 1977 (non-fiction) *''Rogues, Rebels, and Geniuses: The Story of Canadian Medicine'' – 1981 (non-fiction) *''

'' – 2007 (stage play)

Stageplays

* ''Humbly, for Fyodor'' (1953) * ''Minuet for Brass Band'' (1953) A 3-act play first performed at the Canadian Theatre School in Toronto, founded by Sterndale Bennett. * ''Flamacue Serenade'' * ''

'' (1961) A 2-act comedy about an artist defying materialism. Set on the Quebec-Ontario border, and in Toronto. Performed in 1961 at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

, where it was the first original Canadian play performed. Music by

Harry Freedman Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as '' T ...

* ''Exit Muttering'' (1962) A 2-act comedy first performed at the Grenville Street Playhouse, directed by Hugh Webster, with set design by Vincent Vaitiekunas. Published 1974. * ''Reckless'' (1969/1971) * ''Folly'' (1985) Alternate titles: Love in Business Hours; Pension Play. * ''Blast'' (1988) Comedy about espionage at an English country house. * ''Crash'' A 2-act comedy about a timpanist who inherits a funeral home. First performed at the Ontario Playwrights' Showcase.

Radio Plays

* Three Cheers for Me (CBC Theatre 10:30, 1972) * Your Tiny Head is Frozen (for CBC Stage) * Grave Tidings (for Sunday Theatre) * Banner's Headline *

More Joy in Heaven ''More Joy in Heaven'' is a novel written by Canadian author Morley Callaghan and published in 1937. The central figure, Kip Caley, was inspired by Norman Ryan (1895-1936), a criminal who had committed a number of robberies in Quebec, Ontario and ...

(dramatization of

Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian Novelists 192 ...

's novel for Theatre 10:30)

Notes

External links

Web site about Donald Jack's books
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Donald 1924 births 2003 deaths Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian non-fiction writers English humorists British emigrants to Canada 20th-century English novelists English dramatists and playwrights English non-fiction writers Naturalized citizens of Canada People from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester People educated at Bury Grammar School Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Stephen Leacock Award winners Writers from Ontario People educated at Marr College Canadian male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers English male non-fiction writers 20th-century non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers