Ralph Hamelmann (born July 21, 1967 in St. John's,

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 ...

) is a songwriter, professor, columnist, cartoonist and television producer. Since moving 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 1987, Hamelmann's cartoons and written articles have appeared in several publications including: '' The Newfoundland Herald'', ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'', ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', ''

Eye Weekly ''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following ...

'', '' 24 Hours'' and ''

Monday Magazine ''Monday Magazine'' is a free arts and entertainment magazine in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Contrary to what the name suggests, ''Monday'' was distributed throughout the greater Victoria area every Thursday until July 2013 when it became a ...

''. In 1994, a comic book anthology of Hamelmann's cartoon strip, 'For Warped Minds Only', was published by ''Odyssey Publications''. He was Editor-In-Chief of '' Inq Magazine'', a

-based holistic health journal that was launched in 2000 (ISSN 1499-6588). Hamelmann has produced television segments for 10% QTV (1997–98) and QT: QueerTelevision (1998). In 1998, he created and hosted ''Cutting Edge'', a documentary-style television series that aired on

Rogers TV Rogers TV (stylized as Rogers tv) is a group of English-language community channels owned by Rogers Communications. Many of these channels share common programs. Rogers TV broadcasts in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and ...

. The show earned Hamelmann the ''1999 Galaxi Award'' from the ''Ontario Cable Television Producers Society''. In 2014, he was Executive Producer and Backstage Host of ''Spectra Talent Contest''—an eight-part TV series that aired on

OUTtv OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community. The network is owned b ...

and Bell Local. Since 2001, Hamelmann has been a professor at

George Brown College George Brown College is a public, fully accredited college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, GBC was chartered in 1966 by the government of Ontario and ...

. He was the recipient of the ''2006 Award for Teaching Excellence''. Hamelmann is the founding President and Executive Director of the Rainbow Association of Canadian Artists, a Toronto-based non-profit organization that produces Spectra. In 2013, Hamelmann co-wrote "If You're Not Here At Christmas" with

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

winner

Gavin Bradley Gavin Bradley is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer based in Toronto who has worked with artists like Nelly Furtado, Tori Amos and Jane Siberry. Fusing Acoustic music, acoustic and Electronic music, electronic elements, his work is identi ...

and

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

winner Paul Bellini. This song was certified gold by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

. In 2014, Hamelmann co-wrote "Without Words" a song in support of the

Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society (Ontario SPCA) is a registered Canadian charity focused on animal protection and animal advocacy. The Ontario SPCA provides services in partnership with communities including provincial animal transferiAdoptan ...

that reached No. 1 on the ''iTunes Canada Easy Listening Chart''. In 2015, he co-wrote Not My Time—a song in support of the

Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society (french: Société canadienne du cancer) is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. History The idea to form the Canadian Cancer Society origin ...

that also reached No. 1 on the ''iTunes Canada Easy Listening Chart''.

References

External links

Ralph Hamelmann's biography on the Spectra website

1967 births Living people Artists from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian editorial cartoonists Canadian comics artists People from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian gay artists 21st-century Canadian LGBT people {{Canadian-comics-creator-stub