John Herbert was the pen name of John Herbert Brundage (13 October 1926 – 22 June 2001), 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 ...

playwright,

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

, and theatre director best known for his 1967 play ''

Fortune and Men's Eyes ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' is a 1967 play and 1971 film written by John Herbert about a young man's experience in prison, exploring themes of homosexuality and sexual slavery. Plot of the play The plot follows Smitty, a 17-year-old, after he ...

''.

Background

Herbert was born in Toronto on October 13, 1926.John Herbert
at

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 f ...

. After completing high school, he worked in the advertising department of Eaton's and began competing in drag pageants. In the 1940s, Herbert was the victim of an attempted robbery while he was dressed as a woman. His assailants falsely claimed that Herbert had solicited them for sex, and Herbert was accused and convicted of indecency under Canada's same-sex sexual activity law, which was not repealed until 1969. After being convicted, Herbert served time in a youth

reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...

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, Ontario. Herbert later served another sentence for indecency at reformatory in Mimico. Later, Herbert travelled across North America doing odd jobs to support himself before returning to Toronto in 1955. He studied at the National Ballet School of Canada and at

Dora Mavor Moore Dora Mavor Moore, (April 8, 1888–May 15, 1979) was a Canadian actress, teacher and director who was a pioneer of Canadian theatre. Life and work Born Dora Mavor in Glasgow, Scotland, she moved with her family to Toronto, Ontario, Cana ...

's New Play Society. Herbert co-founded the Garret Theatre with his sister Nana Brundage in 1960."John Herbert Dies at 75; Wrote of Prison Life"
''

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'', June 27, 2001. Herbert wrote ''

'' in 1964 based on his time behind bars.John Herbert
at

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. He included the character of Queenie as an authorial

self-insertion Self-insertion is a literary device in which the author writes themself into the story as a fictional character. Forms In art, the equivalent of self-insertion is the inserted self-portrait, where the artist includes a self-portrait in a pain ...

.John Herbert
at the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. The play was first staged as a Stratford Festival workshop directed by

Bruno Gerussi Bruno Santos Gerussi (7 May 1928 – 21 November 1995) was a Canadian stage and television actor, best known for the lead role in the CBC Television series '' The Beachcombers''. He also performed onstage at the Stratford Festival, worked in rad ...

, in 1965, but Herbert was unable to find a theatre company willing to mount a full production in Canada. It ultimately premiered as an off-Broadway play in

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, produced by

David Rothenberg David Rothenberg (born 1962) is a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with a special interest in animal sounds as music. He is also a composer and jazz musician whose books and recordings reflect a long ...

and Mitchell Nestor, on February 14, 1967 at the Broadway Actor's Playhouse. Because of his past conviction, Herbert faced difficulties entering the United States to attend productions of his work. ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' remains the most widely produced play in the history of Canadian theatre, both in Canada and internationally. It has been translated into more than 40 languages and staged internationally. A motion picture version of the work, based on a screenplay by Herbert, was directed by

Harvey Hart Harvey Hart (August 30, 1928 – November 21, 1989) was a Canadian television and film director and a television producer. Hart studied at the University of Toronto before being hired by the CBC in 1952.Rist, Peter Harry (2001). "Harvey Ha ...

in 1971. The play had a profound impact on producer David Rothenberg. Rothenberg went on to found the Fortune Society, a nonprofit advocacy organization that supports incarcerated and formerly-incarcerated people reintegrate into society. Although none of Herbert's other plays were as successful as ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'', Herbert remained active as a dancer, a theatre director, an acting teacher and a theatre lecturer at

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Tor ...

Glendon College Glendon College is a public liberal arts college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formally the federated bilingual campus of York University, it is one of the school's nine colleges and 11 faculties with 100 full-time faculty members and a student po ...

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. Herbert died in 2001. The manual typewriter on which he composed ''Fortune and Men's Eyes'' is in the possession of the

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. A selection of manuscripts, letters and personal papers were donated to the University of Waterloo Library in 1982.

Selected works

* ''Felice'' (1955) * ''Pearl Divers'' (1956) * ''Beer Room'' (1957) * ''Close Friends'' (1958) * ''A Ruby Fell'' (1959) * ''Time To a Waltz'' (1959) * ''Private Club'' (1960) * ''A Household God'' (1961) * ''World of Woyzeck'' (1963) * ''Born of Medusa's Blood'' (1965) * ''

'' (1967) * ''Omphale and the Hero'' (1971) * ''The Dinosaurs'' (1973) * ''The Token Star'' (1976) * ''The Power of Paper Dolls'' (1979) * ''Magda'' (1981) * ''The Butterfly and the Nightingale'' (1984) * ''The Biographers'' (1985) * ''Blanche and Rose's Dream Song'' (1986) * ''The Primadonna'' (1988) * ''Broken Antique Dolls'' (1991) * ''Merchants of Bay Street'' (1993) * ''Family of a Monster'' (1995) * ''Marilyn at Seventy'' (1995) * ''Marlene Richdiet'' (1998) * ''One Castle Court'' (1999)

Notes

References

External links

*
John Herbert
at the Internet Off Broadway Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, John 1926 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian gay writers Writers from Toronto Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian theatre directors LGBT theatre directors Canadian male dancers Canadian drag queens Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian LGBT people Gay dramatists and playwrights Glendon College faculty