William Frederick (Bill) Whitehead (August 16, 1931 – February 1, 2018) was 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 ...
writer, actor and filmmaker. Whitehead is best known as a writer of radio and television documentaries'' The Next Chapter'', April 8, 2013. and as the former partner of the late Canadian writer
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
,
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 ...
, to Marjorie and Berkeley Kyle Whitehead. His parents had moved there from
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 ...
, and the family moved back to Regina when Whitehead was a child. His parents subsequently divorced due to his father's
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
-related inability to maintain stable employment; Whitehead did not see his father again until his late teens.
His initial career goal was to become an
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
— by age 12 he was already a member of the Saskatchewan Natural History Society — but he also had a passion for theatre. He studied biology and theatre arts at the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, receiving a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in 1953 and a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in 1955, but decided against pursuing work as a biologist because he found it depended too strongly on having to kill animals.
He moved to Ontario in 1957 to become an actor, having several small roles with 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 ...
while serving as a propmaster and stage manager. He met Findley, at the time also a Stratford Festival actor, in 1962, with their lifelong relationship beginning when Findley appeared in a
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 ...
production of
Jules Feiffer
Jules Ralph Feiffer (born January 26, 1929)''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 is an American cartoonist and author, who was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 as North- ...
's play ''Crawling Arnold'' and Whitehead invited him over to watch it because Findley didn't own a television set.
Career
When Findley left the theatre to concentrate on writing fiction, Whitehead simultaneously took a job writing science documentaries for the CBC Radio documentary series ''The Learning Stage''. He remained an award-winning writer of radio and television documentaries, including the documentary film ''
Fields of Endless Day
''Fields of Endless Day'' is a 1978 Canadian docudrama film, directed by Terence Macartney-Filgate.Donn Downey, "Docu-drama on blacks doesn't go far enough". ''The Globe and Mail'', October 19, 1978. The film dramatizes various vignettes from B ...
'', over 100 episodes of the
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 ...
series ''
The Nature of Things
''The Nature of Things'' (also, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that hu ...
'', and many episodes of the
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 ...
series ''
Ideas
In common usage and in philosophy, ideas are the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being. ...
''.
He also co-wrote several works with Findley, including the television documentaries ''
Dieppe 1942
''Dieppe 1942'' is a Canadian television documentary film, directed by Terence Macartney-Filgate and broadcast on CBC Television in 1979."37 years later, CBC stirs on Dieppe raid". ''The Globe and Mail'', November 10, 1979. An examination of Canad ...
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...
'', April 24, 1975.
Following Findley's death in 2002, Whitehead compiled and edited the posthumous collection '' Journeyman: Travels of a Writer''. In March 2004, approximately two years after Findley's death, Whitehead donated a collection of Findley's theatre memorabilia to the
University of Guelph
, mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities"
, established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922)
, type = Public university
, chancellor ...
. He subsequently began a new relationship, with Trevor Green.
In September 2012, his memoir ''Words to Live By'' was published by
CBC Books
CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...
, April 2, 2013.
In 2014 he served on the jury of the
Dayne Ogilvie Prize
The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...
for LGBT writers, selecting
Tamai Kobayashi
Tamai Kobayashi (born 1966 in Japan) is a Canadian writer, who won the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT writers in 2014.
Kobayashi was co-editor with Mona Oikawa of ''All Names Spoken'', an anthology of lesbian writing published by Sister Vision Pr ...
Writers' Trust of Canada
The Writers' Trust of Canada (french: La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada) is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers.
Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laure ...
, June 23, 2014.
He died at his home 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 ...
on February 1, 2018, having earlier been diagnosed with lung cancer.
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...