Robert Marshall Blount Fulford (born February 13, 1932) is a

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 ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, magazine editor, and

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

. He lives in

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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Personal life

Fulford 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 ...

to Frances (Blount) Fulford and A. E. Fulford, a journalist and editor at

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

. He grew up in

The Beaches The Beaches (also known as "The Beach") is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is so named because of its four beaches situated on Lake Ontario. It is located east of downtown within the "Old" City of Toronto. The approximate boundar ...

neighbourhood in Toronto and was a childhood friend of

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

. He is married to writer and producer

Geraldine Sherman Geraldine Sherman (born Geraldine Judith Schoenmann) known as Dena Hammerstein, is a British actress and writer, and theatre producer. She was the third wife of James Hammerstein, and after his death became president/CEO of James Hammerstein ...

, with whom he has two daughters. His daughter Sarah became

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'' magazine in February 2022, after serving as

of "

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

" magazine for 14 years.

Career

Fulford's media career began at the age of 16, while still in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, when he worked for Toronto radio station CHUM reporting on

high school sports Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing ...

and producing a weekly radio show for

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

s. In the summer of 1950, Fulford left high school and went to work for ''

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 ...

'' as a sports reporter. Subsequently, Fulford rose to various editorial positions at the newspaper before moving to ''

The 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 ...

'' as a columnist (1959–1962, 1964–1968 and 1971–1987). From 1963 to 1964 he was a columnist and editor of the Reviews section at ''

'' magazine before returning to the ''Star''. He covered

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

for the newspaper and wrote a book on the

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

, ''This Was Expo''. From 1968 until 1987, Fulford was the editor of '' Saturday Night'' magazine and also wrote both a general column for the magazine under his own name, and film reviews under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Marshall Delaney". He then worked as a columnist for the '' Financial Times of Canada'' (1988–1992), ''The Globe and Mail'' (1992–1999) and the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' (1999–2019) Fulford worked as the co-host with

Richard Gwyn Richard Gwyn (ca. 1537 – 15 October 1584), also known by his anglicised name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a Bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Ro ...

of ''Realities'', a long-form interview show on

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

(1982–1989) and as a regular panelist on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's '' Morningside'' (1989–1993). In 1999, he delivered the

Massey Lecture The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, the former ...

. In 1984, Fulford was awarded the honour of Officer of 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 his 1988 entry for ''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'', Douglas Fetherling described Fulford's politics as being on "the more conservative end of the liberal spectrum". Fulford is also a critic of literature, art and films. He has written extensively about the Canadian abstract art group

Painters Eleven Painters Eleven (also known as Painters 11 or P11) was a group of abstract artists active in Canada between 1953 and 1960. They are associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. History Since the 1920s, artists in English Canada had been h ...

, its members (particularly William Ronald,

Tom Hodgson Thomas Hodgson (June 5, 1924 – February 27, 2006) was a Canadian sprint canoer who competed in the 1950s, and also one of the acclaimed Canadian artists known as Painters Eleven. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he earned his best finish o ...

, and

Harold Town Harold Barling Town, (June 13, 1924 – December 27, 1990) was a Canadian abstract painter. He is best known as a member of Painters Eleven a group of abstract artists active in Toronto from 1954-1960. Town coined the name of the ...

), and the

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

abstract artist

Mashel Teitelbaum Mashel Teitelbaum (1921–1985) (variant name Mashel Alexander Teitelbaum) was a Canadian painter, born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1921. He was the father of museum director Matthew Teitelbaum. Career At first, self-taught but studied from 1 ...

Selected bibliography

* ''This Was Expo'' - 1968 * ''Crisis at the Victory Burlesk: Culture, Politics and Other Diversions'' - 1968 * ''Harold Town Drawings'' - 1968 (editor) * ''Marshall Delaney at the Movies'' - 1974 * ''An Introduction to the Arts in Canada'' - 1977 * ''Canada: A Celebration'' - 1983 * ''Best Seat in the House: Memoirs of a Lucky Man'' - 1988 * ''Accidental City: The Transformation of Toronto'' - 1995 * ''Toronto Discovered'' - 1998 * ''The Triumph of Narrative: Storytelling in the Age of Mass Culture'' - 1999

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fulford, Robert 1932 births Living people Canadian art critics Canadian columnists Canadian male essayists Canadian social commentators Journalists from Ontario Officers of the Order of Canada The Globe and Mail columnists Toronto Star people Maclean's writers and editors National Post people Canadian magazine editors Canadian male journalists Canadian theatre critics Writers from Ottawa 20th-century Canadian essayists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian male writers Saturday Night (magazine) editors

Personal life

Career

Selected bibliography

See also

Notes

External links