Donald Bell (1937–2003) was a Canadian journalist who won the

Stephen Leacock Award The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

in 1973 for his book ''Saturday Night at the Bagel Factory''."Bell Receives Award for Most Humorous Book". ''

Brandon Sun ''The Brandon Sun'' is a Monday through Saturday newspaper printed in Brandon, Manitoba. It is the primary newspaper of record for western Manitoba and includes substantial political, crime, business and sports news. ''The Brandon Sun'' also pub ...

'', June 25, 1973. The book has also been credited with helping to make the

bagel A bagel (; ; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. ...

a staple of Montreal's food culture beyond the city's Jewish community alone. Based in Montreal, Bell was a columnist for ''

Books in Canada ''Books in Canada'' was a monthly magazine that reviewed Canadian literature, published in print form between 1971 and 2006. In its heyday it was the most influential literary magazine in Canada. Foundation One of the co-founders of ''Books in Ca ...

'' and a contributor to various newspapers and magazines. He was an early popularizer of the theory that

Thomas Neill Cream Thomas Neill Cream (27 May 1850 – 15 November 1892), also known as the Lambeth Poisoner, was a Scottish-Canadian medical doctor and serial killer who poisoned his victims with strychnine. Cream murdered up to ten people in three countri ...

, a Canadian medical doctor, was the real

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

, through pieces published in both '' The Criminologist'' and the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

''."Gruesome twosome: Jack The Ripper: The Bloody Truth by Melvin Harris and Jack: A Novel About Jack The Ripper by Chris Scott". ''

'', October 1, 1988.

References

1937 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Historians of Jack the Ripper Writers from Montreal Canadian humorists Stephen Leacock Award winners {{Canada-journalist-stub