Leo Alan Orenstein (24 July 1919 – 5 February 2009) was a Canadian director, producer and writer who worked primarily in television and theatre. At

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

alone, he was director or producer in over 150 works there, many of which were adaptations of works by such authors as

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and Ionesco.

Career

Orenstein was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, to parents Max and Minnie Orenstein and moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in childhood. After graduating from

Central Technical School Central Technical School (CTS or Central Tech) is a Canadian composite high school in Toronto, Ontario. The school is run by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB); before 1998, it was run by the Toronto Board of Education (TBE). Central Tech ...

, he studied at New York City's

American Artists School The American Artists School was a progressive independent art school in New York City associated with socialism and the American Radical movement. The school was founded in April 1936 at 131 West 14th Street, upon the dissolution of the John Re ...

on a scholarship during which time he wrote for the ''

Columbia Workshop ''Columbia Workshop'' was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946–47. Irving Reis The series began as the idea of Irving Reis. Reis had begun his radio career as an engineer and devel ...

'' radio series. During a second stint in New York, Orenstein wrote for The Skeptics, a nightclub group. Otherwise, his career was generally based in Toronto. He wrote and produced ''The Big Leap'', a theatre play which opened in 1952 at Toronto's

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

. The production was adapted for

in 1953, and its later reprise at the Grand Dinner Theatre in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

lasted four years. In 2006, Orenstein won the Full Length category in Theatre BC's Canadian National Playwriting Competition for ''Homeless Hannah''. Orenstein died in Toronto aged 89 at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Theatre

* 1950: ''Golden Boy'', Dominion Drama Festival * 1952: ''The Big Leap'', Royal Alexandra Theatre (producer, writer) * 1956: ''Zone'', Crest Theatre

Filmography (television)

* ''Birthday Party'' (

) * ''Murder Story'' (CBC Television) * ''On Camera'' (CBC Television, producer) * ''The Queen of Spades'' (CBC Television) * ''To My Son With Love'' (CBC Television) * ''General Motors Presents''/''General Motors Theatre'' (CBC Television, producer) Detail for ''General Motors Presents''. ** ''End of Summer'' (producer) ** ''Forever Galatea'' (CBC Television) ** ''The Vigilante'' ** 1955: ''The Big Leap'' (CBC Television adaptation) * 1954: ''Ad and Lib'' (producer) * 3 October 1956: ''First Performance'', "Time Lock" (producer) * 1960: ''The Unforeseen'' (director, TV series) * 1963: ''Have Figure Will Travel'' (director) * 1973: ''

The Starlost ''The Starlost'' is a Canadian-produced science fiction television series created by writer Harlan Ellison and broadcast in 1973 on CTV in Canada and syndicated to local stations in the United States. The show's setting is a huge generational ...

'' ( CTV) ** 29 September 1973: "Lazarus from the Mist" (director) ** 13 October 1973: "The Pisces" (director)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orenstein, Leo 1919 births 2009 deaths Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Jewish Canadian writers Writers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian screenwriters