Paul O'Neill (October 1928 – August 12, 2013) was a writer, historian and former CBC producer. He wrote many books on the history of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. O'Neill was born in St. John's,

, and raised in Bay de Verde until the age of 8 when his family moved to St. John's. Educated at St. Bonaventure's College in St. John's, National Academy of

Theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

Arts at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, O'Neill was an aspiring actor in the United States and England from 1949 to 1952. Having performed on stage with such stars as Eddie Albert, Larine Day and

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomin ...

in the United States and in England he acted in films with such well-known actors as

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

and

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

. While he was in England broadcaster Margot Davies had helped him in radio and encouraged him to write O'Neill began his career in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

in 1953 with the CBC in Newfoundland where he produced many radio shows, TV shows such as

Reach for the Top ''Reach for the Top'' (also known simply as ''Reach'') is a Canadian academic quiz competition for high school students. In the past, it has also been a game show nationally broadcast on the CBC. Matches are currently aired online through Reach ...

and was responsible for

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

broadcasts for 25 years. He retired from the CBC in 1986. O'Neill wrote stage and radio

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, articles,

poems Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...

and stories in addition to works of popular

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. He has served as president of the Newfoundland Writer's Guild, chairman of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council and president of the St. John's Folk Arts Council. In 1988, O'Neill was awarded an honorary LL.D by

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

and in 1990, he was appointed to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. In 2004, O'Neill was awarded the Freedom of the City and in 2008, he received

Order of Newfoundland and Labrador The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador (french: Ordre du Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Instituted in 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Arthur Maxwell House granted Roya ...

. O'Neill left to his Niece, Irene O'Neil of Boston Mass all copyrights to existing publications and future publications. Paul O'Neill wrote his memoirs during the last years of his life, however fell ill before publication. His memoirs will be published in August 2015 on the 2nd anniversary of his death. The Book is titled "Something of Me". He died in August 2013 at the age of 84.Paul O'Neill wrote award-winning book on history of St. John's

Selected bibliography

* ''Spindrift and Morning Light'' an Anthology of Poems, Valhalla Press (1968) * ''Everyman's Complete St. John's Guide'', Valhalla Press (1974) * ''Legends of a Lost Tribe'' folk tales of the Beothuck Indians of Newfoundland, McClellan and Stewart (1976) * ''A Seaport Legacy'' the story of St. John's, Newfoundland, Press Porcepic (1976) * ''Breakers'' stories from Newfoundland and Labrador, Breakwater Books (1982) * ''The Seat Imperial'' Bay Bulls Past and Present, Harry Cuff Publications (1983) * ''A Sound of Seagulls'': the Poetry of Paul O'Neill, Creative Printers and Publishers Limited (1984) * ''Upon this Rock'' the Story of the Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland and Labrador, Breakwater Books (1984) * ''The Oldest City'' The Story of St. John's, Newfoundland, Boulder Publications (2003) * ''No Need To Wear Rubbers'' Travel Diary of James O'Neil, Boulder Publications (2005) * ''How Dog Became a Friend'' Picture book illustrated by Cynthia Colosimo, Flanker Press (2007)

References

External links

Tidespoint bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Paul 1928 births 2013 deaths Canadian male novelists Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador People from Bay de Verde 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers

Selected bibliography

See also

References

External links