John Nihmey (September 22, 1951 – December 20, 2013) was an
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and founding partner of the communications firm NIVA Inc. He authored a widely syndicated travel feature in the late 1970s, co-authored a book about the
Dionne Quintuplets
The Dionne quintuplets (; born May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical girls were born just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbeil. All five survived to adulthood.
The Dionn ...
, and authored a book about the death of an
Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
woman. Nihmey is listed in Who's Who in Canada. He had two children.
Early life
Nihmey was born 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 ...
and grew up working in his family's
diner
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...
. His father, Philip Nihmey, died when he was nine, requiring that he and his four brothers help his mother (Lily Monsour: 1914–2003) in the family business.
Nihmey graduated from
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...
with a Bachelor of Arts, Honours in English in 1976. His first writing assignments were covering outdoor festival events in Ottawa for the ''
Ottawa Journal
The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980.
It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...
''.
Hotels of the World
In 1976, Nihmey wrote a feature article about the
Beverly Hills Hotel
The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Cinema of the ...
in
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...
for the ''
Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...
''. The feature caught the attention of a ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' Syndicate editor, who suggested that Nihmey independently syndicate the story and a monthly series on great hotels to newspapers across Canada. Within a year ''John Nihmey's Hotels of the World'' was syndicated in 15 Canadian newspapers and later in the
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
.
Over the next three years, Nihmey visited more than 40 countries, writing about
Hôtel Ritz Paris,
The Peninsula Hong Kong
The Peninsula Hong Kong is a colonial-style luxury hotel located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is the flagship property of The Peninsula Hotels group, part of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Group. The hotel opened in 1928 and w ...
,
The Pierre in New York, the Negresco in
Nice, France
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
and
La Mamounia
La Mamounia (Arabic: مامونية) is a five-star hotel in Marrakech, Morocco, opposite the Kutubiyya Mosque. It is one of The Leading Hotels of the World. For several years, ''Condé Nast Traveler'' has named La Mamounia as the best hotel in t ...
in
Marrakech
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
. He appeared as a regular on
CTV's ''
Canada AM'' and was a guest on other television and radio shows. Nihmey's special features also appeared in ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', the ''Book of Lists'', and ''
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation ownershi ...
''. He discontinued the series in 1980.
''Time of Their Lives: The Dionne Tragedy''
Nihmey and co-author Stuart Foxman wrote ''Time of Their Lives: The Dionne Tragedy'', a novel that looked at the Dionne Quintuplets story from the parents' perspective. The book chronicled the events leading to the alleged government exploitation of the children and the marginalization of the parents. The book was released in Canada in 1986 by Macmillan of Canada. The ''Toronto Star'' stated that readers "will read and weep" while the ''Globe and Mail'' said the book was "vindication for the Dionne parents". Literary Guild bought book club rights and Bantam bought paperback rights. The book was released in the US the following year, again to critical acclaim, with book club and paperback rights also acquired. Nihmey and Stuart appeared on in an exclusive interview by
Bryant Gumbel on NBC's ''
Today Show''.
Film rights were purchased in 1987, leading to the 1994 CBS/CBC miniseries, ''
Million Dollar Babies''. The book was re-released to tie-in with the television broadcast.
Fireworks and Folly
Nihmey wrote and published (Hushion House/General Publishing) the non-fiction narrative, ''Fireworks and Folly: How We Killed Minnie Sutherland'', in 1998. The book is a mosaic of Nihmey's narrative with police records, inquest testimony, personal interviews, and media excerpts about the life and death of Minnie Sutherland'', a woman of
First Nations ancestry..
The book was launched at the Press Club in Ottawa and John was introduced by Assembly of First Nations Chief,
Ovide Mercredi
Ovide William Mercredi (born January 30, 1946) is a Canadian politician. He is Cree and a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. He is also the former president of the Manitoba New Democratic Party.
Early life and career
A ...
. The ''Globe and Mail'' said the book was "must reading for all Canadians".
TVO Studio Two produced a documentary on the book with an interview of Nihmey. The book was also published in French by Vent l'ouest. A film project was in early development.
NIVA Inc.
Nihmey was a co-founding partner of NIVA Inc., a technical and scientific communications firm. Started in 1981, Nihmey was involved in communications for health sciences, science and technology, and transportation safety. Nihmey worked as Director of Marketing Communications for the firm.
Current projects
Nihmey wrote a
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
based on his years as syndicated travel journalist writing ''Hotels of the World''. The screenplay is called ''Johnny Diamond''. He also consulted on the development of ''Fireworks and Folly'' as a motion picture.
References
BookFinder.comGoodReads.comOpen Library
External links
TVO Studio Two: An interview with John Nihmey - Part 1TVO Studio Two: An interview with John Nihmey - Part 2NIVA Inc.*
Dionne quintuplets
The Dionne quintuplets (; born May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical girls were born just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbeil. All five survived to adulthood.
The Dionn ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nihmey, John
1951 births
2013 deaths
Canadian non-fiction writers